3/28/2006 09:12:00 am|W|P|Oli|W|P|March is already almost over, and this is the first entry this month (sigh!). Three month before the official start, media in Germany started to discover RoboCup 2006, for example RoboCup was a topic in the half-time break during the match Germany vs. USA (actually, I missed the match until the 2nd half, but over 15 Million other people have seen Germanys soccer experts next to the new humanoid robot from Freiburg :) The ZDF (one of the big public broadcasters) is now looking for a name for the new robot...
The simulation is progressing slowly, but a few bugs have been discovered just recently, which I hope to fix this week. The good news is that Spark (the basis for the 3D Soccer Simulation) will not only be used in 3D Soccer Simulation, but also for a project at Osaka University, where tiny Eco-Be! robots (made by Citizen, see the picture) are used to play soccer. Actually, the idea is to have a kind of enhanced reality setup, where the robots (kind of) visualize a simulation run with Spark.
In this setting, the robots play on a big flat panel, ball and the soccer field are simulated by Spark, and a camera tracks the robot position from above (see the picture on the left. Pictures courtesy of the Asada lab, Osaka University). On the Eco-Be! project web page, there are much more details about the robots and the new mini league planned for RoboCup 2007. I think this is a great application for Spark, and I'm already looking forward to see the new league... I only wonder how long it will take until we get a humanoid mini league ;-).
Anyway, 
what would you do with a couple of these tiny robots (besides playing soccer)? For example, a setup like the one above could be used to create new kinds of computer games... any ideas?|W|P|114353114988084201|W|P|Simulation meets Real Robots|W|P|oliverobst@gmail.com
The simulation is progressing slowly, but a few bugs have been discovered just recently, which I hope to fix this week. The good news is that Spark (the basis for the 3D Soccer Simulation) will not only be used in 3D Soccer Simulation, but also for a project at Osaka University, where tiny Eco-Be! robots (made by Citizen, see the picture) are used to play soccer. Actually, the idea is to have a kind of enhanced reality setup, where the robots (kind of) visualize a simulation run with Spark.
In this setting, the robots play on a big flat panel, ball and the soccer field are simulated by Spark, and a camera tracks the robot position from above (see the picture on the left. Pictures courtesy of the Asada lab, Osaka University). On the Eco-Be! project web page, there are much more details about the robots and the new mini league planned for RoboCup 2007. I think this is a great application for Spark, and I'm already looking forward to see the new league... I only wonder how long it will take until we get a humanoid mini league ;-).
Anyway, 
what would you do with a couple of these tiny robots (besides playing soccer)? For example, a setup like the one above could be used to create new kinds of computer games... any ideas?|W|P|114353114988084201|W|P|Simulation meets Real Robots|W|P|oliverobst@gmail.com