AUGUST 18, 2009--Two teams whose robots featured intelligent cameras from Vision Components (Ettlingen, Germany; www.vision-components.com) were among the winners of this year's RoboCup, the soccer world cup for intelligent robots which took place from June 29-July 5, 2009 in Graz, Austria.
The "Tech United" team from Eindhoven University, the Netherlands, finished second in the Middle Size League. Their robot soccer players were equipped with VC 4458-type 1-GHz cameras, which are installed to "look up" at an angle, thus providing a 360° field of vision. With the support of the smart cameras, the robots never lose track of the ball. Intelligent algorithms ensure that game tactics are implemented -- a strategy that carried the team into the finals.
A German junior team -- the "Rockys Senior" from Rockenhausen -- also managed to secure a podium position using VC cameras. The students won third place in the "Soccer A Secondary" category of the RoboCup Junior competition, which consists of soccer, dance, and rescue contests. In this case, the image-processing tasks were performed by VCSBC4016C board cameras.
-- Posted by Carrie Meadows, Vision Systems Design, www.vision-systems.com
