Category Archives: TIGERs Mannheim

Day 7 – The End in Penalty Shootout

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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.

RoboCup German Open 2025: ER-Force vs. TIGERs Mannheim

Posted on by

Now the time has finally come: The final match of the German Open will take place this Sunday at 12:30 PM between our team and the TIGERs Mannheim. After we were able to hold our ground quite well against the Mannheim team during this tournament, we can expect an exciting game here!

First Half

05:00 Both teams are preparing for the match. Our team is playing as the yellow team with—believe it or not—ELEVEN robots, while the TIGERs are in blue, of course, also with 11 robots.
05:00 The match kicks off on time at 12:30 PM with a kickoff for TIGERs. But right away, a timeout for ER-Force due to issues with Ra and the radio connection.
03:56 There are intense duels between the ER-Force robots and those of TIGERs in our half. Our robots are giving it everything they’ve got. The result: One of our high-kick flaps goes flying through the air!
03:41 Another very tense situation right in front of our goal. The ball keeps getting passed back and forth between our defense and the attackers, but our defenders ultimately manage to defuse the situation!
03:06 After some maneuvers in the Mannheim half, they strike back with a counterattack, unfortunately resulting in a goal from the side!
ER-Force 0 : 1 TIGERs Mannheim
02:33 The dangerous situations continue, but our robots are defending bravely so far. Both teams now have a yellow card, meaning only 10 robots are allowed to play!
02:17 Very well cleared by our goalkeeper! A throw-in by TIGERs near our penalty area turns into a dangerous attack on our goal, but the goalkeeper confidently defends with a chip kick.
01:35 This time, a small attack from our robots, with some of our field players showing great skills. Unfortunately, it does not result in a dangerous situation for the Mannheim team.
00:46 Our team is not showing any weaknesses: They relentlessly block every attempt to attack our goal.
00:23 A nice attack from our robots on the TIGERs’ goal, although the finishing power is lacking. The subsequent counterattack from Mannheim is successfully intercepted by our defense.
-00:02 The last attack from Mannheim on our goal, but it doesn’t pose a real threat. With that, both teams head into the five-minute halftime break.

Second Half

05:00 Without switching sides, the second half begins with a kickoff by ER-Force. Will our team manage to equalize?
04:42 Strong defense by our goalkeeper! A powerful attack by TIGERs, but our goalkeeper clears the ball towards midfield!
04:37 But unfortunately, now: The immediate follow-up attack is successful, and TIGERs extend their lead to 2:0!
ER-Force 0 : 2 TIGERs Mannheim
03:46 The dominance of TIGERs is clearly visible: The ball spends most of the time in our half. Nevertheless, we are holding our ground; despite the two conceded goals, our defense has been very strong so far!
02:56 Our defensive wall is rock solid: As soon as TIGERs find an opportunity for an attack, the wall closes in front of our goal and eliminates any danger.
02:22 A nice attack from our robots, but once again, we lack the finishing power to be truly dangerous!
01:43 What a scene in our penalty area! One attack on our goal after another, but with luck and relentless marking, we manage to prevent any further damage!
00:53 Our goalkeeper is as strong as ever and does not give up his goal easily! Unfortunately, we receive a red card after accumulating two active yellow cards and getting another one. A shame, as the first of these yellow cards would have expired in just four seconds.
-00:15 After one last effort and an incorrect interruption by the AI referee, the game finally ends 2:0 in favor of Mannheim.

Looking back, this match was a beautiful showcase of the current state of the Small Size League. In a very fluid game, both teams demonstrated their skills brilliantly.

Although TIGERs Mannheim dominated the match throughout, we still managed to launch attacks from time to time and defended even harder. As a result, we are still very satisfied with the outcome and take away many insights and opportunities for improvement for the next tournament, which will take place next week in Crailsheim!

RoboCup 2024: Review

Posted on by

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: Knock-out Phase: TIGERs vs. ER-Force

Posted on by

At 11:30 AM, we will play our first knockout phase game against TIGERs Mannheim. TIGERs won the RoboCup last year and have dominated all their games in this tournament so far. We expect a strong and challenging opponent. TIGERs play with a blue pattern color and their white shells. We play as the yellow team and have decided to remove the shell inlays due to heat issues. Therefore, our shells are translucent. RoboTeam Twente is streaming the game again with commentary. A special highlight in this game will be our robot handling. Dino from our mechanics team will be managing this in her dinosaur costume.

Both teams are getting ready. We currently have 13 functional robots. Hopefully, they will last as long as possible.

First Half:

5:00 Kickoff for TIGERs and we are competing well across the field, even managing to push the ball into TIGERs’ half.

4:30 Ball placement in TIGERs’ corner, but somehow it was assigned to TIGERs. Strongly parried by our defense and keeper. So far, we are seeing a balanced match, only slightly dominated by TIGERs. Both teams can place the balls very well, but unfortunately, we still stumble over some of our kicks. That’s unfortunate.

3:30 Many dangerous corners from TIGERs in front of our goal. But so far, we are holding up very well.

3:00 All our robots are still running. Shot on goal for TIGERs and converted. The score is 0:1. We have kickoff, stumble with the ball. Now we have to take a robot off, which is Dino’s entry. But TIGERs also commit a foul, so we are now playing 10 robots against 10. We need to free one of our robots in a timeout. So far, the game looks very good, considering how strongly TIGERs have dominated other opponents.

2:00 Another goal for TIGERs, 0:2. Their passing game is simply outstanding, allowing them to get past our defense.

1:00 Some crashes on our side, as our robots are still not driving precisely despite the new regulation. Therefore, we get another yellow card. TIGERs have a kickoff in our half, and we have to take another robot off beforehand. Unfortunately, our regulation still swings too much, and we keep collecting yellow cards, so we now have to play 10 robots against 11 permanently with a red card. It’s a shame, but the regulation has only been in place for a few games, and there are still some timing issues. Corner for TIGERs.

Nice chip from us. We are competing very well and even manage to take the ball from TIGERs a few times. End of the first half. During the halftime break, we need to cool down our robots again.

Second Half:

5:00 Kickoff for us, but unfortunately, we stumble again. Immensely good passing game for TIGERs across the field. Another goal for TIGERs, making it 0:3. Despite everything, we keep fighting bravely and defending as best as we can.

4:00 We produce another collision, but luckily our previous yellow card had already expired, and we didn’t get another red card.

3:30 The numerical disadvantage is very noticeable. TIGERs dominate and score another goal, making it 0:5.

3:00 Another goal for TIGERs. Our robots were clearly in the wrong position. Unfortunately, we keep missing our kicks and giving them away to TIGERs. Occasionally, our robots are also too fast, so we collect card after card. The score is 0:7.

2:00 Another corner for TIGERs. With our significant numerical disadvantage, the game is increasingly turning in favor of TIGERs. The score is 0:8. The next goal will end the game.

1:00 We have a kickoff in our half and bring the ball directly to TIGERs, where they immediately dominate again. They dribble freely and score another goal, 0:9. Can we hold on for the last few seconds of the game? Yes, we can. We are not defeated 0:10 by TIGERs. Considering TIGERs’ dominance and our significant numerical disadvantage, this is an acceptable result. TIGERs show off their victory moves, but our robots interfere a bit, causing some laughs among the spectators and team members.

We will play next at 3:00 PM against RoboDragons.