Category Archives: TIGERs Mannheim

RoboCup 2026 Recap

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Greetings from South Korea! RoboCup is already over by now, and the team can be very satisfied with its performance.

The group stage began with a match against TIGERs. Since a lot of new hardware was built in the hotel and the new radio system was being tested on a large scale for the first time, excitement was high. It was a very exciting game in which TIGERs couldn’t show their best side, as they struggled heavily with network issues. The vision and game controller packets are distributed across the field network via multicast to certain groups, but exactly these multicast groups were not being managed correctly. As a result, the TIGERs actually had a few moments of weakness, which we unfortunately couldn’t exploit, and the game ended 0-0.

The next day, things continued right in the morning against Ri-One. Against the 2024 Division B World Champions, we were able to prevail 2-0. The next opponent that day was RoboDragons. Unfortunately, the schedule was quite mixed up because some games took significantly longer than expected, which is why this match took place on a Division B field. Initially, we struggled a lot with problems regarding the calibrated field geometry. Some values were set incorrectly and confused our strategy. We were able to quickly communicate this to the referee and get it fixed, after which the game ran rather smoothly. We managed to secure a narrow 1-0 victory.

Thus, we emerged from the group in second place, tied on points with TIGERs, who only edged us out with a better goal difference. We started the knockout phase in the Upper Bracket; our first opponent was KIKS from Japan. We won decisively here as well with a 6-1 score. It was one of the few SSL games that didn’t end in a shutout. KIKS’s goal was well deserved, beautifully set up, and poorly defended by us at the crucial moment due to a tiny radio dropout on a key center back.

Moving further along in the Upper Bracket, our next opponent was RoboCîn. Notorious for their aggressive driving style, characterized by many hard collisions, we were already fearing for our robots. The match turned out to be a nail-biter. After regular time the score was 0-0, just as it was after extra time. So it went to a penalty shootout and remained tense. But after three saved shots and one goal for both teams, we were able to clinch the game 2-1 on the fifth penalty. [1]

Next, we played against TIGERs. By this time, the field setup had been switched from multicast to broadcast to permanently resolve the network issues. Both teams played very well; it was an incredibly fluid, exciting, and balanced game, where ER-Force also managed to get some shots on the Mannheim goal. Unfortunately, 2 of the Tigers’ shots made it through, so it ended 2-0. It was probably one of the most beautiful games of the tournament; overall, the match lasted only 30 minutes, which speaks volumes for both teams.

Final day. First against RoboCîn, then the winner against TIGERs in the Grand Final. After the beautiful 2-0 defeat, the team was already mentally picturing a scoring chance or two. But first up was Cîn. Like us, the Brazilians were not idle overnight and were able to change quite a bit about their driving style. Consequently, it was a much smoother game with fewer fouls. Unfortunately, they were able to take the lead through a shot that was incredibly bungled by our defense. Even though there were some chances, we couldn’t follow up and thus were eliminated from the tournament 0-1, finishing in third place.

In the final against TIGERs, they were then beaten 5-0. With this, TIGERs Mannheim has reached 1st place in the Hall of Fame with 6 World Championship titles!

However, we still see third place as a huge victory. The robots survived the entire tournament electronically and mechanically without any notable losses. The firmware and control systems have also reached a stable level. Together with the new radio system—which still has some minor teething troubles but offers a clear path forward—the current generation forms a solid foundation for next year!

With that, the big event of the year comes to an end once again. After a great Major Party and a well-deserved sleep-in, the team is now taking some vacation time in Korea and Japan before we catch our return flight.

Finals Day – Semi-finals

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As mentioned yesterday, we played our match against Tigers Mannheim in the evening. As expected, we lost, but unlike most teams, we weren’t swept off the field 10–0; instead, we managed to hold them to a 2–0 scoreline.

Today—finals day—began with the match to decide who would advance to the final. The winner plays Tigers Mannheim for the championship title at 1:00 PM local time (6:00 AM German time), while the loser secures third place.
Unfortunately, we were unable to win this match against RoboCin; instead, a ball rolled into our own net during the first half, caused by one of our defenders.
Regrettably, we couldn’t equalize, resulting in a 1–0 loss in the semi-final.
Despite our deep disappointment, we are happy for RoboCin and look forward to an exciting final match.

Following the final games, the dismantling of the setup and the awards ceremony will take place, as happens every year. There is no trophy for third place, unfortunately, but a certificate is at least guaranteed.
The closing party will provide a sweet end to the evening for everyone—a fitting conclusion to an exciting RoboCup in Incheon.

First day of the tournament – ​​Group stage

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A new day brings fresh motivation after a long evening yesterday. Our team was on-site as soon as the hall opened at 7:00 AM local time.
Although the official RoboCup has only just begun, the lack of sleep is starting to take its toll. Hence, our first order of business upon arriving at the hall was to track down some coffee.
Afterwards, a bit more awake, Jakob and Marko got ready to take on our first Ref + GCO slot at 8:30 AM. The schedule for the initial matches is already set, though network issues in the hall have caused significant delays for some games.

Our next match will presumably be at 11:30 AM against Tigers. Before that, we have a test slot at 10:30 AM to verify some final adjustments. We are all hoping our first official match goes better than yesterday’s friendly. That game was, unfortunately, a total disaster — plagued by our famous wireless connection issues. These stem from the Raspberry Pi chips, which scan surrounding networks to determine their location and ensure only legal frequencies are used. However, because the Teams in the hall use various routers configured for different countries, the 6 GHz band — which is crucial for us — is flagged as illegal, even though it is permitted in Korea. In classic ER-Force fashion, our solution is a case lined with aluminum foil to act as a Faraday cage, since the problem only occurs when the robots are booting up.

As always, things remain exciting right down to the last minute.

A livestream link is now available, if you click here, you can watch the matches live or catch up on previous games. For more details on match times, I also recommend checking the tournament schedule linked here.
We look forward to reading your comments in the streams.

Day 7 – The End in Penalty Shootout

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How does a tournament day start? Just like any other: breakfast – more swallowed than enjoyed – grab your bag, step into your shoes, and head off to the venue. At this point, we could walk the route in our sleep. Still, the mood was good – full of energy, because the first match of the day was coming up. Focus on, tunnel vision engaged, everything aligned for the match against TIGERs Mannheim.

ER-Force vs TIGERs

And the match? Surprisingly solid. Sure, we lost 0:5 – but that score doesn’t tell the full story. We played way better than in our first game against them. Managed some real attacks on their goal, had much more presence in their half. Overall, it felt structured, stable, clean. A huge improvement – and it showed.

Then about two hours until the next match. A proper team meeting: what worked, what didn’t, who’s doing what. Then we got to work. The venue was as hectic as ever – people fixing, coding, testing. The match before ours – ZJUNlict vs RoboCin – ran long, so we didn’t get on the field until right before kickoff.

The game against RoboDragons was tough but intense. We took an early 1:0 lead – quick moment of hope. Then the equalizer: 1:1 due to an own goal. A chip bounced off our own centerback and deflected straight toward the goal. It happens. The match went into overtime – and eventually to a penalty shootout. Sadly, we lost.

Naturally, the mood after that was subdued. No one really knew what went wrong. We had barely changed anything since the last match. One possible explanation: maybe the vision system was adjusted for another team’s robots at some point and never switched back. Whether that was the reason? Hard to say. But that’s part of the game – learning to deal with stuff like that.

The rest of the evening was more relaxed. We watched some matches, chatted with other teams, repaired a few things here and there. And then, of course: the open TC/OC meeting – another late night in the hall until 10 PM.

ER-Force vs RoboDragons

Some ended the day with a walk on the beach, others crashed straight into bed – completely wiped.

Day 5 – Early Start, Lots of Stress, and Broken Encoders

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After a good breakfast, we headed out a bit earlier than yesterday – since yesterday we arrived too late at the hall. This time we were on time, and the stress kicked in right away: charging batteries, calibrating robots, prepping covers, testing encoders… At 9 a.m. (local BRA time), we already had our first match against TIGERs.

Overall, the game went okay – especially the first half. Even though we were down 4:0 at that point, as our first match of the tournament, and against the TIGERs no less, it was a solid start. Particularly frustrating: in the last 45 seconds of the second half, we conceded three more goals. Ouch.

In the team meeting afterward, it quickly became clear: our encoders were causing trouble. Untested battery and encoder mounts had damaged some cables, which led to faulty data. Some voltage levels (3.3V) also dropped intermittently – another encoder issue. On top of that, we were getting frequent fouls during kickoffs.

 

1.Spiel: ER-Force vs TIGERsOur quick (and pretty much only) solution: we heavily reinforced the broken encoder cables with duct tape. That was all we could do, since we only brought a limited number of spare parts. The electronics crew is now trying to recycle broken encoders and build new ones from the parts.

 

The rest of the day was filled with fixing, testing, and more fixing – but it paid off. We made noticeable progress and even took on our first official roles in the group stage.

One highlight: We got to use HWTK’s gimbal and managed to shoot some pretty cool clips of daily team life. There might be a little video coming soon!

As always in the evening: everyone on the team shares what went well and what didn’t. After that, another team meeting to get everyone up to speed. We also put together a game plan for tomorrow – it’s going to be intense: three matches, two ref duties. Pure stress.

Oh, and the betting game is back on too! Let’s see who’s got the best gut feeling this year.