On June 1, 2024, the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), a scientific research center in Hamburg, opened its doors to over 15,000 guests. Various research groups showcased their work, and we were there with our robots.

Our booth was located right at one of the entrances, so many visitors passed by us. As a result, we constantly had a crowd of people in front of our booth, including many wide-eyed children who were amazed. After all, you don’t see a soccer-playing robot every day.

One of our robots ran continuously throughout the day and was repeatedly used for demonstrations. We showcased walking, kicking, and cheering. For a second robot, we only ran the vision system, which was then visualized live. Children were frequently allowed to interact with the robot, positioning it in various poses and having their parents take pictures with it.

We also learned a few things about our robots that day: our demo robot ran for nearly 8 hours straight (with several battery changes, of course), which is impressive considering they usually only need to last two 10-minute halves before taking a break. Additionally, our vision system occasionally recognized children as kid-sized robots.

Overall, we had a lot of fun and thoroughly enjoyed interacting with the visitors.