Category Archives: LUHbots

RoboCup 2024: Review

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Tournament

In our Division A of the Small Size League of RoboCup this year, nine teams from five countries competed against each other. A special feature was the two newcomers RobôCIn and luhbots, who this year made the step from Division B to a larger field and more robots in Division A. After three setup days, the teams first competed in a 4-team and 5-team group during the two group match days. The top three teams from each group then advanced to the knockout phase over the next two match days. By securing second place in our group, we were able to secure a good starting position here. In the double elimination mode, the respective group winners and runners-up could each lose once without being eliminated from the tournament. Thanks to our good performances on the field, we managed to secure a solid third place for our team despite many games in the lower bracket. Second place went to the Chinese team ZJUNlict and the current and past world champion is TIGERs Mannheim. A special mention should definitely go to the two new teams who managed to play exciting and balanced games against long-standing Division A teams almost right from the start. Particularly, the fourth place of RobôCIn is an extremely strong performance. At this point, we would also like to expressly thank luhbots, Immortals, RoboTeam Twente, RobôCIn, and TIGERs Mannheim for their help and extraordinary commitment to the league. This is by no means a matter of course.

 

Our Team in the Tournament

For us, the RoboCup started off quite bumpy again, and the first fears arose that we might experience a similar disaster to 2023 in Bordeaux. Fortunately, this was not the case. Instead, we managed to solve individual problems step by step. During the setup days and our first game, we still struggled considerably with our radio system and the control of the robots. But by the second game, we were already capable of fielding 11 robots. Nonetheless, we refrained from doing so in the group phase and fielded 8 robots each time. This was mainly because we were still plagued by overheating issues, and substitute robots were therefore extremely valuable.

For the knockout stage, we took a bold step and removed unnecessary parts from the module connector PCB and equipped our motor boards with heat sinks. Together with a relentless hunt for individual faulty robot components, we were able to increase the reliability of our fleet so that we could permanently field 11 robots in the knockout phase. This is a strong performance by the entire team, and we are excited about what the future holds with the now fully functional robots. Thus, we can conclude this RoboCup, tired from the strenuous days, but satisfied with our progress and success.

 

Betting Game

A novelty this year was the betting game we organized for RoboCup 2024. Just like in conventional football, bets could be placed on individual games, the outcome of the group phase, and the overall tournament. The most points were collected by our team members Michi and Mike, who stayed at home. Due to the great support from other teams, we plan to set up an official betting game for RoboCup next year.

 

Impressions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RoboCup 2025

Now that RoboCup 2024 in Eindhoven has ended and all teams have departed, we look to the future. We look forward to an interesting year with many improvements and innovations in our strategy and robots, as well as visits from other teams. But of course, our main focus is on the next RoboCup 2025. It will take place from July 15 to July 21, 2025, in the Brazilian coastal city of Salvador. The first images of the location already make us excited for sun, warmth, and of course a RoboCup hall right next to one of Brazil’s beautiful beaches.

See you in Salvador!

 

RoboCup 2024: Group Phase: ER-Force vs. luhbots

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Our second group match today is against LUHBots from Hannover. LUHBots is now the third German team in the SSL and has been participating in RoboCup since last year. Based on our observations and past games, we expect a balanced and exciting match. Kickoff is at 12:00. The Twente livestream will again show this game with live commentary.

We are playing 8 vs. 8 robots. ER-Force is playing with white shells and yellow pattern color. LUHBots is the blue team and wears black shells.

First Half:

5:00 – Kickoff for us, but something is not right as not all of our robots are moving. We take a timeout. Luckily, nothing happened and no goal was scored during this time.

4:30 – LUHBots places the ball in their half. We get the ball taken away just before LUHBots’ goal. Too bad, that could have been a good situation.

4:00 – Finally, more of our robots are on the field again. Ball placement in the corner next to LUHBots’ goal. Corner kick. Another new robot for us. Obviously, there were flash problems at the beginning. Shot on goal, but unfortunately just missed.

3:30 – Corner for us. That could have been a dangerous situation. Another attempt, and goal! 1:0 for us. Kickoff for LUHBots. Our number 0 has problems. Duel in our half. We commit a foul, and LUHBots gets a free kick. Luckily, our robots are dueling well.

3:00 – Ball placement, and LUHBots is in our half again. Battle in front of LUHBots’ goal. Good passing game, but unfortunately not converted, and we shoot out. Battle in the midfield, and we bring the ball back in front of LUHBots’ goal. The keeper from LUHBots has the ball.

1:30 – Very fast and fluid game. Passes across the field. We see two teams on par, playing very well together. Both LUHBots and we fail at ball placement, and there is no progress.

1:00 – Once again, we couldn’t manage to take the ball just before the goal, missing another good chance.

0:30 – Our number 7 is having problems again. This robot wants to get to the ball, and so not much is happening.

Halftime: We give our robots a breather. The game will resume in a few minutes. Nice to see how quickly such fluid games pass by.

Second Half:

5:00 – Kickoff for LUHBots. The ball is immediately pushed in front of LUHBots’ goal. And ball placement at the midfield. Duel at the midfield.

4:00 – Shot on goal by LUHBots, but unfortunately missed. We place the ball in the corner. Obviously a wrong decision by the auto-ref, as this goal kick should have gone to LUHBots. Passing game. The game is paused, we don’t know exactly why. Probably because of one of our robots on the edge. Referee and robot handler are discussing. The situation is obviously not quite clear. It is about when a robot can be taken off the field.

3:30 – The game continues at the midfield.

3:00 – Strong passing game, but unfortunately, we don’t approach precisely and miss this and the next chance for a shot on goal. Our number 12 wants to be replaced but drives to the wrong side, and our robot handler has to sprint around the field. Unfortunately, spectators are in the way.

2:30 – We are surprisingly often driving away from the ball, and due to heat problems, we are driving increasingly worse.

1:30 – The ball is back in play, and we bring it to the opponent’s half.

1:00 – Shot on goal, but well saved by LUHBots’ keeper. Ball placement by LUHBots. One of LUHBots’ robots is too close to the field and commits a foul. They take a timeout 37 seconds before the end. The game resumes.

0:30 – Nice play in front of LUHBots’ penalty area. Great passing game by our robots and immediately converted. 2:0. Kickoff for LUHBots. The ball is immediately dangerous in front of our goal again, but our defense holds fortunately. LUHBots commits a foul. We shoot the ball out, and the game is over.

That was an entertaining and nice game.

RoboCup 2024: First Match Day – Advance Notice

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Today marks the first day of this year’s RoboCup in Eindhoven. For us, this day is mainly characterized by the Technical Challenges in the morning and a match in the afternoon. Our other group stage matches will take place tomorrow. For regular updates, check out our Instagram page.

Today’s Match Times:

Technical Challenge 8:30 AM: ER-Force vs. luhbots

Technical Challenge 12:00 PM: ER-Force vs. ZJUnlict

Group Match 3:00 PM: ER-Force vs. RoboCIN

Livestream:

The matches of the day are available as a livestream. A novelty this year is that both Division A and B games will be broadcast. Our matches take place on the Division A field. Our Technical Challenges are expected to be shown on the Division B stream.

Division A: Stream by Robo Team Twente

Division B: Stream by Thunderbots

RoboCup 2024: Final Setup Day – Technical Challenge and Radio Problems?

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The last setup day has arrived. To prepare our sleep schedule for the upcoming days, we headed to the hall at 7:30 AM today. Despite many tired faces, the focus was immediately there. It had to be, as our Technical Challenge “Black and White” starts at 8 PM, where the efficient changing of shell colors is tested. This challenge was introduced to make the different teams more recognizable to the audience.

LEAGUE TEST MATCH:

Yesterday, for the first time, we were able to conduct a test match against ourselves to identify many errors. Today, it was the TIGERs’ turn. Unlike us, they played a test match against RobôCIn to demonstrate the game flow to the entire league.

 

 

 

 

 

 

RADIO ISSUES:

Meanwhile, a third of the strategy team is working on fixing radio issues. If you fear that this RoboCup might face a similar downfall as the last one, let me reassure you. The radio now works well for 8 robots, which is sufficient for the group phase, as teams can play with 8 robots if they wish. However, this won’t work in the knockout phase, where each team can field 11 robots if they are able. Testing the solution is proving to be a persistent problem due to random parameters and outcomes. However, we remain confident that we will solve this in time.

 

ROBOT MANUFACTURING:

Not only the strategy but also the mechanics team is working at full speed. They are continuously manufacturing parts to have more robots in stock (and hopefully on the field). Special attention is being paid to the wheels to ensure they run more smoothly than before. However, a robot is not only made up of parts but also of firmware, which runs on the robot. Since there are still heat issues, the only solution is to keep at it, test, and not lose hope. Ultimately, errors, substitutions, and sources of damage should be minimized as much as possible.

RoboCup Eindhoven: Arrival

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After nearly a year, it’s finally time again: RoboCup 2024 is here, this year in the Dutch city of Eindhoven! Teams from all over the world and various leagues are currently traveling and will all try to claim first place in their respective leagues!

Of course, our team is also ready to go, and this morning 14 students from our team boarded a train in Nuremberg heading to Essen. What they didn’t know at the time: The train in Düsseldorf that would take them to Venlo doesn’t exist. This brings back memories of a popular meme from last year:

So, our travel group will likely arrive at the hotel in Eindhoven with an estimated delay of one hour and begin to take over the hotel rooms and floors for us and our robots. Starting next week, our team will be allowed into the hall!

By the way: Besides us, this year’s Division A will also feature teams ZJUNlict (China), KIKS (Japan), RoboCîn (Brazil), luhbots (Germany), TIGERs Mannheim (reigning world champion, Germany), Immortals (Germany), RoboDragons (Japan), and RoboTeam Twente (Netherlands). From experience, TIGERs Mannheim, ZJUNlict, and Immortals are particularly strong teams that we need to surpass!