Now it’s our turn, and we are about to start our first official match of this RoboCup in just a few minutes. Our first group match starts at 3:00 PM against the Brazilian team RoboCin.

This match can be watched live on RoboTeam Twente’s livestream.

Before the match, final repairs are being made to the field, as the field lines are already starting to come off after just a few games.

First Half:

05:00 – Kick-off, the match begins. ER-Force is playing with white shells and yellow color.

4:30 – Good passing and a tough fight, and the ball is out. One of our robots seems to have temporary radio issues, and we take this robot out of the game. We are playing 7 vs. 8. Ball placement for RoboCin and intense play near our goal. Challenge flag from RoboCin. The game is stuck in a stalemate, and the game controller operator seems unsure of how to proceed.

4:00 – Intense play with big passes across the field. Ball placement for us. Finally, after a year of many failed attempts, we manage the ball placement again. The ball is in our half again, and our robots immediately manage to play it back to the opponent.

3:30 – Both we and RoboCin receive yellow cards for some light crashes.

3:00 – Problems with the game controller. There is another game controller on the network again. Our strategy and the audio ref are immediately causing problems. Fixing the problem will probably take a few minutes. The game resumes. The RoboCin robot can’t dribble but still manages the ball placement. Our robots are successful in defense and repeatedly fend off the opponents.

2:30 – Intense battle from our robots in front of our penalty area. Corner successfully defended.

2:00 – Very dangerous situations in front of our penalty area. Our defense let the ball through but no goal. Ball placement for RoboCin in their half.

1:30 – Long shot across the field and the ball is out again and needs to be placed by us. Nice chip kick but unfortunately, our robot couldn’t receive it.

1:00 – Parts are found on the field. Luckily they are not from us. Ball placement by RoboCin. Poor defense from us. Unfortunately, we are dueling very poorly, creating dangerous situations again and again.

0:30 – We challenge a potential excessive dribbling, which we believe was actually pushing by an opposing robot.

Half-time: The score remains 0:0 in this intense and exciting game.

Second Half:

5:00 – Kick-off for blue, double touch, and we have the kick-off. Foul by RoboCin. Very close situation in front of the RoboCin goal, but not converted.

4:30 – Ball placement for RoboCin. As always, with very little dribbling. Strong defense by our number 6. One of our robots had no radio, but it recovered just in time for ball placement.

4:00 – Successful defense by our robots. Unfortunately, a lot of dribbling is happening in front of our penalty area.

3:00 – Timeout for us. We need to restart one of our robots as it apparently went off during a collision. The referee is confused, asking us if we are ready to continue during our timeout. The game resumes.

2:30 – Intense battle in front of our penalty area. Ball placement for us in the opponent’s half. Success.

2:00 – Again, intense power play in our penalty area. Potential goal for us, but before that, the ball was shot too fast by RoboCin. Therefore, discussions ensue. Goal for us. It was very difficult to hold as it was deflected by RoboCin’s defender. The game continues. Kick-off for RoboCin.

1:30 – Immediate intense battle. Unfortunately, the ball is out. Ball placement by RoboCin. Nice chip over our robot, but the ball quickly goes out again. RoboCin is discussing again. The game resumes. Now the referee has to manually place the ball. RoboCin chips the ball out again. We are stuck in the opponent’s goal. Of course, this is a yellow card and a foul for us. Dangerous shot by RoboCin but saved. We place the ball, and RoboCin is discussing again. We don’t know why. They take a timeout.

1:00 – Ball placement for RoboCin, but their robot seems to have problems with it, and we get to try. Kick-off. Immediately the ball is back on the opponent’s side. Strong defense by number 5.

0:30 – Intense play on the opponent’s side. Only a few seconds left on the clock. Robot crash during ball placement. The ball is out, and the game is over.

It’s great to see that after the drought in the last RoboCup, we can finally win games again.

By now, the second setup day is almost over, and yet there are problems everywhere. However, these are not only with us. For example, it took up to 4 hours after the hall opened for the light switches for the fields to be turned on. The Vision software – the software for seeing the robots – is very light-sensitive and was calibrated to full light exposure yesterday. Since only about 50% of that was available this morning, all vision-dependent tests could practically not be carried out. At least this year, we have an extra day for setup compared to usual. Now a bit more detail on the sub-teams:

MECHANICS:

First, the mechanics team had to make the robots suitable for the tournament. This means securing the screws and cutting the league paper for the patterns on the robots. The former was particularly slow, and the work, as important as it is, is one of the more tedious kinds. Currently, the robots’ kickers are also being calibrated. The software setup was probably the hardest part, as it took a total of 3 attempts and 3 laptops before it worked. Intermittent repairs on the robots, such as on the light barrier, are also always necessary.

ELECTRONICS:

Since our electronics sub-team has been preparing for RoboCup for weeks by ordering parts and repairing boards, everything is going quite smoothly here. The biggest problem is the overheating of the robots, where a connection with the regulation is suspected. A solution to this problem could be heat sinks, which are being shaped on-site with considerable physical effort.

STRATEGY:

This year, too, the strategy team was not spared from the traditional network problems. However, the problem was eventually found after many hours of frustration and detective work. Meanwhile, continuous improvements are being made to our ball tracking behavior. The penalty shootout is also being improved, and work is being done on the Technical Challenge. Additionally, we have a dedicated sub-sub-team trying to automate the substitution of robots in case of errors since only 5 manual substitutions are allowed under the new rules.

FIRMWARE:

First, the firmware team implemented self-repairing behavior on the robots so that errors can be fixed on their own during the game without substitution. Currently, they are working with the electronics team to get the overheating under control by implementing more energy-efficient algorithms and systematically fixing problem sources.

SATURDAY: 13.07.2024

Our journey was plagued by a police operation, confusion and delays by the DB, as well as the aforementioned train cancellations. For this reason, we arrived at the hotel around 5 PM, about an hour late. Despite everything, it was worlds better than the trip to Bordeaux. Conveniently, there was a restaurant right next door to feed 14 hungry ER-Force members after a 9-hour journey. After unpacking and setting up, we decided to unwind a bit and explore Eindhoven:

SUNDAY: 14.07.2024

At 9:30 AM, hunger was great, so we set out to find breakfast. Since most cafes were too expensive and the bakery had little to offer despite open doors, most of us ended up at McDonald’s, where we discussed the day’s plan and the status of the various sub-teams. Back at the hotel, things quickly got underway, and some were surprised to find it was already 5 PM and time for the Journal Club – the ETDP discussion of other teams. This took place in the same spot as in the morning, but it was much fuller now. After 2 hours of discussion and a filling dinner, we went straight back to work on the robots, which lasted for some until 12:30 AM:

MONDAY: 15.07.2024

Full of anticipation for the hall, the tournament, and a bit more space to work, we set off around 8:30 AM. While most of the team brought the equipment into the hall and set it up, a small group went to get essential snacks and breakfast. At first, there was concern about getting the badges for entry. They were only available in the paperless RoboCup against a signed piece of paper, and we didn’t have a printer in our hand luggage. However, the procedure was fairly quick and painless. By now, everyone is strengthened, and the work on the robots is in full swing.

Fun Fact: The site of the ETDP discussion also featured a statue of Frits Philips, the founder of the Philips company, who lived to be 100 years old and witnessed both world wars.