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RoboCup bots experiment with our preconceived notions of competition, standing up
We've been tracking the glacial pace of RoboCup competition for a while now, and we're starting to see it as less of a credible threat to human soccer players, and more like an elaborate experiment on the part of the robots to broaden our perception of the world and competitive sport. Or maybe there's just a few more bugs to work out. This year's Standard Platform League of the RoboCup is based on Nao humanoid bots, and the Northern Bites team of Bowdoin College posted some truly insightful footage of the event -- the finals of which can be found after the break.
Nao robot replaces AIBO in RoboCup Standard Platform League
Aldebaran Robotics' Nao robot didn't exactly have all that many skills to show off at the recent RoboCup in Atlanta, but it apparently had enough to earn itself a place as the new de facto bot for the Standard Platform League (previously known as the Four-Legged League). Until now, that position had been held by Sony's AIBO, who will now apparently be relegated to cheering on its bipedal successor from the sidelines. The Standard Platform League, as the same suggests, requires all competitors to use the same robot, placing all the focus on software development instead of hardware tweaking. Unfortunately, it seems that you'll still have to wait a bit if you're thinking about competing as, last we heard, there was still no word on pricing or availability for the long-in-development Nao.[Via Robot Dreams]
