2 min.
The Nao Robot, the protagonist of the first Roman Robo-Olympics in 2009, is back as a footballer. Each team has three players and one reserve. In fact, since 2008, Nao has substituted the Aibo four-legged robot in these official competitions.
Nao is about 50 cm. high and has legs, arms, hands, sensors, interactive capabilities and two rather expressive little eyes.
The robot is controlled via its PC brain, an efficient processor lodged right in its head. The robot can maneuver at 25 degrees and is extremely well “sensored” … from the buttons on his feet to the ultrasound scan on his chest, the omnidirectional microphones in his ears, two cameras, etc.
All the teams in the Standard Platform Leaguemust use identical robots (Naos produced by Aldebaran Robotics), so the trick is all in the programming.
The robot has to be able to play autonomously without any external control. The soccer field measures 7.4 by 5.4 metres. The games last for two 10 minute periods with a short pause in between.
Seven teams compete:
• SPQR+UChile (Italia and Chile)
• SpelBots (Usa)
• Austrian Kangaroos (Austria)
• Portuguese Team (Portugal)
• MRL-SPL (Iran)
• Dutch Nao Team (Netherlands)
• Los Hidalgos (Spain)
