Κουρήτες 2008
RoboCup Robot Champions!
RoboCup RoboCup robotic soccer competition started in 1993/1994 by Hiroaki Kitano in Japan RoboCup federation: www.robocup.org Extensions RoboRescue: search and rescue missions RoboCup Junior, RoboCup@home, RoboDance Vision By the year 2050, to develop a team of fully autonomous humanoid robots that can win against the human world soccer champions 2002 was the first year with a humanoid robot league! "One small step for a ROBOT, one giant leap for mankind." TM
Where do we stand today?
RoboCup Divisions
RoboCup Soccer Leagues Simulation League 11 vs. 11 independent software agents Small-Size Robot League 5 vs. 5 small robots up to 18 cm in diameter Middle-Size Robot League 4 vs. 4 robots up to 50 cm in diameter Standard Platform League 4 vs. 4 Aldebaran Nao robots 5 vs. 5 Sony Aibo robots Humanoid Robot League autonomous biped humanoid robots
Why RoboCup? Research Challenges can I see clearly? [ machine vision ] what do I see and where? [ object recognition ] where am I right now? [ localization ] what do I do next? [ planning ] how can I help my teammates? [ coordination ] how can I move effectively? [ motion control ] am I sure about what is going on? [ uncertainty ] do I have to do everything? [ integrated solutions ] can I take my time? [ real-time decision making ] Applicability autonomous teams of robots in dynamic environments search and rescue, planetary exploration, surveillance,...
RoboCup Participation Event Place Teams Countries RoboCup 2008 Suzhou, China 397 41 RoboCup 2007 Atlanta, USA 321 33 RoboCup 2006 Bremen, Germany 440 35 RoboCup 2005 Osaka, Japan 330 31 RoboCup 2004 Lisbon, Portugal 345 37 RoboCup 2003 Padua, Italy 238 35 RoboCup 2002 Fukuoka/Busan, Japan 188 29 RoboCup 2001 Seattle, USA 141 22 RoboCup 2000 Melbourne, Australia 110 19 RoboCup 1999 Stockholm, Sweden 85 23 RoboCup 1998 Paris, France 63 19 RoboCup 1997 Nagoya, Japan 38 11
Local RoboCup Events Japan Open since 1998 German Open since 2001 US Open since 2003 Australian since 2003 Other Opens Brazilian, Latin American, Dutch, China, Spanish, Iran,...
Standard Platform League Where software makes the difference!
Aldebaran Nao Robots
Standard Platform League Nao
Sony AIBO ERS-7 Robots
Standard Platform League Aibo
Standard Platform League Challenges Motion legged locomotion: 5/3 degrees of freedom per leg ball handling (grab, dribble, kick), balancing, goalkeeper actions Vision object recognition: low-resolution, noisy, unstable images directed sensing: camera mounted on a movable head Localization uncertainty, limited view of landmarks, perceptual aliasing Behavior coordination of multiple robots, dynamic role assignment
Κουρήτες RoboCup@TUC
Team Κουρήτες (Kouretes) History the team was founded in January 2006 Kouretes ancient Cretan warriors who were protecting ancient god Zeus when he was born by Rhea in a cave in the mountains of Crete Robot Names Επιµήδης (Epimedes) Ίδας (Idas) Ιάσιος (Iasios) Παιωναίος (Paioneus) Ηρακλής (Heracles)
Where it began...
Where it continued...
Where it kept going...
Where it stands... Participation RoboCup 2006 [ Technical Challenges ] RoboCup German Open 2007 [ Four-Legged League ] RoboCup 2007 [ MSRS Simulation Challenge ] RoboCup 2008 [Standard Platform: Aibo, Nao, MSRS, Webots] Website www.intelligence.tuc.gr/kouretes www.kouretes.gr Publicity TV: Mega, Ant1, NET, SΚΑΙ, Κύδων Radio: Sky Radio, ΕΡΑ Press: Βήµα, Έθνος, Τα Νέα, Ελευθεροτυπία Magazines: Στιγµές, Popular Science
Κουρήτες 2007 Members Color Table and Localization Πέτρος Πατέλης, Γεώργιος Πιερρής Software Architecture Αλέξανδρος Παράσχος, Χρυσαυγή Κοντογεώργου Object Recognition Σουζάννα Βολιώτη Behavior Control Γεώργιος Κόντες Motion Control Ανδρέας Πανάκος
Κουρήτες 2008 Members Bipedal Skills Γεώργιος Πιερρής Bipedal Walk Αλέξανδρος Παράσχος Vision Ανδρέας Πανάκος Communication Ευάγγελος Βαζαίος MSRS/Webots Simulation Ευστάθιος Βαφειάς, Νταίζη Χρόνη, Ελευθέριος Χατζηλάρης
Κουρήτες Education Reading group weekly meetings, study and discussion of related papers Diploma theses Coordinated Team Play using Petri-Net Plans (Κόντες) Histogram-Based Visual Object Recognition (Βολιώτη) Interactive Tool for Designing Complex Robot Motions (Πιερρής) Robust Color Segmentation using Classifiers (Πανάκος) Central Pattern Generator Bipedal Walk Engine (Παράσχος) Programming the Champion Nao Team in MS Robotics Studio (Βαφειάς) Reinforcement Learning for Humanoid Robots (Χρόνη) Courses Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Agents (Λαγουδάκης) Robotics, Algorithms for Robotic Problems (Βλάσσης)
Κουρήτες Research Walk learning central patterns generators Motion special actions: kick, stand-up, goalkeeper falls Vision histogram-based object recognition, robust color segmentation Localization particle filters over the x,y,θ space Behavior tactics and roles using petri-net plans Learning reinforcement learning of complex skills
Kouretes Image Processing
Kouretes Color Segmentation
Κουρήτες Localization
Κουρήτες Behavior Control
Κουρήτες Coordinated Behavior
Κουρήτες Special Kick
Κουρήτες Aibo Moments
RoboCup Team Κουρήτες Κουρήτες Motion Editor
Κουρήτες Nao Moments
RoboCup Team Κουρήτες Κουρήτες MSRS Simulation
Κουρήτες MSRS Action
Κουρήτες Webots Simulation
Kouretes Webots Action
Kouretes Skill Learning
Κουρήτες Distinctions Distinctions 7 th place [ Four-Legged League RoboCup German Open 2007 ] 2 nd place [ MSRS Simulation Challenge RoboCup 2007 ] top 8 [ Standard Platform League, Webots RoboCup 2008 ] 3 rd place [ Standard Platform League, Nao RoboCup 2008 ] 1 st place [ Standard Platform League, MSRS RoboCup 2008 ]
Acknowledgements Technical University of Crete, Chania university administration financial support for participation RoboCup 2006/2007/2008, German Open 2007 Parish of Panagitsa, Kounoupidiana Rev. Fr. Dimitrios Alexandrakis valuable laboratory space for development and testing January 2007 May 2007 European Commission Marie Curie International Reintegration Grant IRG-044980 partial financial support
The End! See you at the next RoboCup competition!