As usual we were in the hall even before 9 am. But this time there were security checks, everybody was checked, and the backpacks were either scanned or searched per hand. This was done, because a high-level politician (a representative of the province) was expected to come

That day we mainly watched the matches. In our league, the final match was slow and dragged on. The CITBrains (Japan) played against the ZJUDancer (China). After normal time nobody had scored and just in the play-offs the CITBrains scored and became this year’s World Champions.

A lot more interesting was the final match of the middle size league, which was also watched by the representative. They played with driving, one meter high robots which are heavy and quick, and shoot nearly as strong as the average human. A chinese team (Water) and a team of the netherlands (Tech United Eindhoven) made it to the top.

In the first half the match was balanced with the same amount of scoring chances, but the chinese team scored three times and the dutch team once.

The second half was different, the dutch played offensive and scored a goal, but the chinese were more effective and used one of their few chances. So it ended 4:2 and the chinese team “Water” became winner of the league.

Even more exciting was the final of the adult size league, in which the robots are nearly as large as humans. They play one on one and it is the goal to dribble the ball around obstacles and shoot the ball in the goal where the other robot is goalkeeper.

This has to happen within a certain time and proceeds like the penalty shoot out (five alternating chances and play-off afterwards). A team from the USA (THORwIn) and a new team from the Iran (Baset) played. First the US-american team was in the lead with two goals, but after a few miss-kicks the iranian team catched up and the round of decision began.

After several goals in a try of the us-american robot the ball crossed the goalline just after the time had run out, but it counted as the robot had shot before the time was over. Afterwards it was turn of the iranian team, and it looked like the ball would go into the goal, but the robot touched an obstacle which counted as an unsuccessful trial.

After the finals there was a victory ceremony, and to conclude the evening many teams went to the inner city to a few bars.

Thursday they will be at the Symposium, listen to a lot of lectures and present Hambot. Afterwards will be a farewell-party.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday the first group phase ended. In the morning we played against the empty goal (the fourth “team” in the group as not all teams ha showed up). What would be easy in human soccer was still difficult for robots, as it is hard to decide which goal is the own and which the other. Our match ended without us scoring an own goal, but unfortunately, no goals were scored since we weren’t able to walk on the artificial turf well enough to reach the ball or kick it.

Now all matches of the group phase had ended without one goal so that a penalty shootout tok place to sequence the teams. Even here none of the teams scored, so the time it took each of the teams to get to the ball was measured. We were ranked third with 0.36 seconds difference to the second.

Or next match was against the fourth-ranked of another group. The Kudos from South Korea had similar strenghts and weaknesses as we have, so the match ended 0:0 after the normal time. Together we decided to leave out the play-off and start directly with the penalty shootout. As here was no goal scored either the time was measured again. We reached the ball quicker but touched it one time less and thus exited the championship.
That’s a pity, but now we can use our time here to swap ideas on soft- and hardware problems and can show the other teams our platform Hambot.

Today it got serious, after two set-up days in the hall the first group phase in our league began as the opening was still going on. The CIT Brains Kid, current World Cup holders, beat Robo-Erectus Junior 4:0 and demonstrated they’re in the running.

Three and a half hours later we started with our first match (against the Robopatriots). As reported, Kuddel got hurt in the goal. On the one side irritating, on the other side the part was “just” a prototype and he was operational after we had assembled the new, better version within an hour.

Just as the first match the second (against the Bold Hearts) ended 0:0. Tomorrow, one match remains to entering the second group phase. And maybe after Kuddel Cascade will have its first match.

The day started for us at 7:30 with breakfast. Afterwards we headed with suitcases full of hardware and our robots to the hall, which opened at 9 am. We arrived a quarter of an hour early and had to wait in line. We decided to send Nils and Jessica ahead to register us. After an hour they returned with badges and two event-t-shirts for each of us.

With those we were allowed to enter the hall, past the queue and the security control with metal detectors. Inside the hall we organised ourself working space big enough for our team and began with our tasks.

Quickly we set up the infrastructure, carried out tests with our darwin-based robots on the artificial turf, tinkered on the hardware and finished tasks of the Technical- and Organisation Committee (which two of us are part of).

After one and a half hours we met and discussed the results as well as further course of action, after which we continued to tinker on the hardware, especially on the Hambots, and adjusted the software to the field to play on.

There are good news and bad news to this year’s condition: The good one is the artificial turf not being as bad as on the german open, and our small robots being able to walk on this turf. The bad one is just one of the four fields being unproblematic. On one it trickles from the ceiling so that there’s a puddle beside the field. On another there is a big unevenness in front of one goal, so that probably every robot will fall and it’ll be way harder to score on this side. The third field consists of multiple smaller parts which not just cause unevenness but also vary the colour of the turf.

This evening, after the team leader meeting, it will be decided how the groups are spread and on which field we’ll play, as each group will just play on one field so that the conditions are equal for everyone.

We did it, after 29 long hours we arrived in our hotel in Hefei. It was a long trip, with a short stay in Paris and a long stay (seven hours) in Shanghai, where we could shortly sniff the air. The planes flew without delays or disturbances and we weren’t hold up except for the usual Explosives Control of our robots and batteries.

Now we’re all alive and kicking in Hefei, except for one suitcase which went missing, we hope to get it delivered subsequently to our hotel.

In Hefei we were greeted by helpers of the organisation and brought to our five-stars fairytale castle. We are completely exhausted and look forward to sleeping.

More information and pictures follow tomorrow.