EGX ends week mostly higher on Oct. 16    Egypt, Qatar sign MoU to boost cooperation in healthcare, food safety    Egypt, UK, Palestine explore financing options for Gaza reconstruction ahead of Cairo conference    Egyptian Amateur Open golf tournament relaunches after 15-year hiatus    Egypt's Kouchouk: IMF's combined reviews will give clearer picture of fiscal performance    Egypt will never relinquish historical Nile water rights, PM says    Oil prices rise on Thursday    Fragile Gaza ceasefire tested as humanitarian crisis deepens    Egypt explores cooperation with Chinese firms to advance robotic surgery    CBE, China's National Financial Regulatory sign MoU to strengthen joint cooperation    Avrio Gold to launch new jewellery, bullion factory in early 2026    AUC makes history as 1st global host of IMMAA 2025    Al Ismaelia launches award-winning 'TamaraHaus' in Downtown Cairo revival    Al-Sisi, Burhan discuss efforts to end Sudan war, address Nile Dam dispute in Cairo talks    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Al-Burhan renew opposition to Ethiopia's unilateral Blue Nile moves    Egypt's Cabinet hails Sharm El-Sheikh peace summit as turning point for Middle East peace    Gaza's fragile ceasefire tested as aid, reconstruction struggle to gain ground    Egypt's human rights committee reviews national strategy, UNHRC membership bid    Al-Sisi, world leaders meet in Sharm El-Sheikh to coordinate Gaza ceasefire implementation    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile actions, calls for global water cooperation    Egypt unearths one of largest New Kingdom Fortresses in North Sinai    Egypt unearths New Kingdom military fortress on Horus's Way in Sinai    Egypt Writes Calm Anew: How Cairo Engineered the Ceasefire in Gaza    Egypt's acting environment minister heads to Abu Dhabi for IUCN Global Nature Summit    Egyptian Open Amateur Golf Championship 2025 to see record participation    Cairo's Al-Fustat Hills Park nears completion as Middle East's largest green hub – PM    El-Sisi boosts teachers' pay, pushes for AI, digital learning overhaul in Egypt's schools    Egypt's Sisi congratulates Khaled El-Enany on landslide UNESCO director-general election win    Syria releases preliminary results of first post-Assad parliament vote    Karnak's hidden origins: Study reveals Egypt's great temple rose from ancient Nile island    Egypt resolves dispute between top African sports bodies ahead of 2027 African Games    Egypt reviews Nile water inflows as minister warns of impact of encroachments on Rosetta Branch    Egypt aims to reclaim global golf standing with new major tournaments: Omar Hisham    Egypt to host men's, juniors' and ladies' open golf championships in October    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







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Heads up, World Cup teams: The robots are coming
Published in Ahram Online on 10 - 07 - 2014

When robots first started playing soccer, it was a challenge for them just to see the ball. And to stay upright.
But the machines participating in this month's international RoboCup tournament are making passes and scoring points. Their ultimate goal? To beat the human World Cup champs within the next 35 years.
''It's hard to predict what will happen in 2050, but we are on the right path,'' said event co-founder Manuela Veloso, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
A week after the World Cup title game in Rio de Janeiro, teams from 45 countries will face off at RoboCup about 1,200 miles away in the Brazilian coastal town of Joao Pessoa.
The ''players,'' which range from life-size humanoids to wheeled objects the size of soccer balls, compete in size-based divisions on miniature indoor fields. The tournament runs from July 19-25.
While certainly fun to watch, organizers say the annual competition isn't just about creating kicking machines. It's about teaching the fully autonomous robots to make quick, smart decisions while working together in a changing environment.
Those algorithms can translate off the field into technology like self-driving cars or delivery drones, said University of Pennsylvania engineering professor Dan Lee. RoboCup includes separate contests for service robots and search-and-rescue droids.
Lee, who directs Penn's robotics lab in Philadelphia, has been the head ''coach'' of the school's RoboCup soccer teams since 2002. Back then, the games resembled those played by 5-year-old children, Lee said.
''They would all cluster together,'' he said of the robots. ''Whoever got the ball would have a hard time figuring out which way to kick the ball.''
Now, it's like watching 10-year-olds execute basic athletic skills and strategies, said Lee. The battery-powered creatures play much shorter matches - about 20 minutes, compared with 90 minutes in the World Cup - but generally follow the same rules. Humans referee the games, entering their calls into a computer that communicates with the robots.
Penn, which has won the past three years in the kid-size humanoid league, is one of about eight U.S. universities traveling to Brazil. Students are bringing a 5-foot-tall metal humanoid named THOR (Tactical Hazardous Operations Robot) to play in the adult-size division, as well as a squad of smaller plastic white robots known as Naos - an off-the-shelf model that looks like a cross between a ''Star Wars'' Stormtrooper and the Stay Puft marshmallow man from ''Ghostbusters.''
Just like humans, the robots have to ''practice'' as students monitor (but do not control) their actions in the lab. And, just like humans, robots can get injured: THOR needed hip ''surgery'' last month to replace a blown motor.
When RoboCup first began in 1997, Veloso said, most robotics research focused on the abilities of single machines, such as NASA's Sojourner rover on Mars. RoboCup seeks to emphasize machine collaboration, she said.
The team from George Mason University in Virginia wants to teach its players to work together in real time - a crucial skill for using droids to respond to disasters or emergencies. Students plan to train their 18-inch-tall humanoids through field demonstrations immediately before each game.
''You don't program humans to play soccer,'' said team advisor Sean Luke, a computer science professor. ''We want (robots) to learn how to play soccer the same way humans learn how to play soccer.''
Georgia Tech plans to compete using small, boxy robots with omnidirectional wheels. Student Lindsey Langstaff, 22, said she looks forward to working with other teams to help further research.
''You want to be able to bring something to the table that nobody's come up with yet,'' Langstaff said.
And there's always something new to learn. Robot types and technologies are evolving as fast as smartphones, RoboCup co-chairman Alexandre da Silva Simoes said in an email. Organizers make the game tougher each year by changing parameters like field size or number of players.
Next year, Veloso said, the robots might play outside.
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