Category Archives: RoboCup

RoboCup: ER-Force vs. Immortals

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Now it’s time: Our possibly last game of this tournament. We’re playing against the team Immortals, which has already performed brilliantly against TIGERs Mannheim. We’re tense but also relaxed, knowing that we’ve done everything in our power.

By unanimous team decision, our robots have all been retrofitted to the old radio system. Only if everything is on fire will we switch the low numbers to the new radio. Additionally, we’re going into the game with a heterogeneous fleet of old and new robots.

You can find the link to the live ticker as always on the YouTube platform of Twente or under this link.

First Half

05:00 The game will be kicked off soon. We’re playing in white shells as the blue team, Immortals is playing in black shells as the yellow team.
05:00 The game starts with a 7-minute delay at 15:37.
04:42 Apparently, the kick-off isn’t going well, there are constant ball placements and free kicks for Immortals. However, they’re not making use of these free kicks.
04:19 Dangerous situation in our half. Currently, Immortals seems to be playing more stably; we’re defending more through physical presence than through clearances or passes. Also, our robots are moving quite strangely and are therefore not really able to play the ball.
04:18 Immortals take a timeout. One can only speculate why they need this. One noticeable thing was that they always missed the last meters of their “Cola kisses Orange” ball placement maneuver. At least it doesn’t seem to be a hardware timeout, as the robot handler is not on the field.
03:46 And thus, the inevitable happens: A goal against us by Immortals. One of the Immortals bots shoots from the corner towards the center, where his teammate shoots on goal from an acute angle and scores.
ER-Force 0 : 1 Immortals
03:19 Currently, Immortals is clearly dominating; the ball hardly reaches the opponent’s half. The only reason we’re not conceding more goals is that we’re overwhelming our defense with quantity rather than quality: Many robots in our own penalty area. But how long can we keep this up, and how long can our robots handle it?
03:11 Timeout for Immortals again. Apparently, Immortals is also getting a penalty against us. Given the number of fouls we have, this is not surprising; after all, we have two yellow and even a red card. If we get one more card and thus reduce the allowed number of ER-Force bots to 7, we would actually feel the reduction! A novelty for us, as we usually have so few robots that the reduction never affected us.
03:11 Since Immortals didn’t implement a penalty, they seem to have opted for a corner instead. An arbitrary decision, but whatever.
02:20 The game is primarily being played in our penalty area, but no goals are being scored at the moment.
01:49 By now, we already have 2 red cards and a nearly expired yellow card, which means that with our 7 robots on the field, we’re close to the allowed maximum of 8.
01:45 Timeout for ER-Force, presumably related to the radio system.
00:51 We’ve discovered a drawback of “Cola kisses Orange”: When the ball is right on the goalpost in the goal, the two Immortals bots, one on the left and one on the right of the post, try to squeeze the ball together but don’t realize that a post is in the way, so they keep trying over and over again. Quite entertaining.
-00:31 With that, the first half ends after about 40 minutes. In summary, we’re doing better than in the previous games, but still terribly. We hardly manage to get a shot on goal, as our robots are mostly misoriented and their “snouts” are not facing the ball. At least we had a good number of robots on the field, but the radio problems were constantly noticeable.

Second Half

05:00 The second half is kicked off.
04:42 The game starts off excitingly: Our Erhard takes the initiative and rushes directly into the opponent’s half. He even manages to reach the penalty area, but he can’t score. However, Immortals seizes the opportunity to launch a dangerous counter-attack, which we fortunately manage to defend against.
02:54 OK, that was unexpected: It’s our Erhard again who takes the initiative: Initially, he races forward to engage in a duel with the opponent, but due to wild spins, he doesn’t gain the upper hand at first. But then he finally manages it and kicks towards the goal: But the post! Of all things, the post! We didn’t need that, very unfortunate! But great effort from our Erhard, our number 2, for the team.
02:02 I’m starting to get the feeling that they gave our goalkeeper, number 10, a better radio (quite realistic, as the new radio only works with a single bot). At least the keeper saves balls fantastically, clearing a dangerous situation. But the number 3 also shines. Commonality: They’re all old bots, and everyone else is new.
01:35 Another timeout for ER-Force, probably primarily for radio adjustments again.
01:04 Again, lots of duels in our half, but the situation ends harmlessly.
-00:13 One last struggle and a few final attempts, again from Erhard, but unfortunately, we can’t change anything about it: The ball ends up out of play, and the game ends 1-0 in favor of Immortals. Thus, we’re eliminated from the tournament.
00:00 Although it’s disappointing that we’ve been eliminated from the tournament and that our radio had such problems, we’re at least glad that we could offer a much better resistance than in the previous games and in the second half, we could present some good game situations.

RoboCup: KIKS vs. RoboDragons

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The last game before ours is between the two teams KIKS and RoboDragons. The favorite here is RoboDragons, which is currently among the top four teams this year, along with Immortals, TIGERs Mannheim, and ZJUNlict.

You can find the link to the live ticker as always on the YouTube platform of Twente or under this link.

First Half

05:00 The game starts on time, KIKS play in blue, RoboDragons in yellow.
03:43 The first few seconds of the game start rather calmly, the ball moves on both sides, but there are no truly dangerous situations. Still relatively smooth so far.
03:04 Audible crashes of the robots from RoboDragons, without fouls being indicated, meaning the robots are crashing into each other, not their opponents. Perhaps a flawed rule? Or rather a poor strategy?
02:30 The underdog KIKS scores a goal! One of the bots passes from the corner towards the center, only for the receiving player to volley the ball directly towards the goal and scores. Unfortunately, the goal does not seem to count, presumably because the ball is too fast.
01:47 Very dangerous situation in KIKS’ half! A very hot ball is shot towards the goal by one of the Dragons, but unfortunately not on target.
00:31 After some ball placements, there’s a phase of very fluid play, but no really dangerous situation arises.
-00:05 Thus, the first half ends after only 14 minutes. A very nice and fluid game, even though there were only two serious goal situations. However, it’s noticeable that neither of the two teams is playing at the level of TIGERs, Immortals, or ZJUNlict.

Second Half

05:00 The second half continues, the teams still play on the same side and with the same jersey colors.
02:44 The game is very fluid, but not much is happening currently. The initial assessment that RoboDragons would be the better team is not confirmed at the moment.
02:44 The commentator is confused: When was a goal scored??? It magically shows 0:1, and I have no idea why.
KIKS 1 : 0 RoboDragons
00:09 The ball is moving around in one half, then the other half, but neither of the two teams has finishing power.
-00:23 After only 30 real minutes, the game is already over. It wasn’t really exciting now, neither of the two teams had a really good attack, but at least it was extremely fluid.

RoboCup: TIGERs Mannheim vs. Immortals

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And so the third game of the day begins: TIGERs Mannheim vs. Immortals. While Immortals are doing very well this year, their opponent is TIGERs Mannheim. Therefore, we expect a very one-sided game.

You can find the link to the live ticker as always on Twente’s YouTube platform or at this link.

First Half

05:00 The game starts with a 5-minute delay. TIGERs play in blue, Immortals in yellow.
04:27 Already 30 seconds into the game, and no goal has been scored by TIGERs. Seems to be a tougher opponent.
04:02 Hot situation in the Immortals’ penalty area. TIGERs manage to kick the ball there, but Immortals can stop it just before it rolls into the goal.
03:52 Would have been surprising if the goal had waited much longer: TIGERs take a shot and score the first goal of the game!
TIGERs Mannheim 1 : 0 Immortals
03:38 And another goal for TIGERs, now they are really stepping up.
TIGERs Mannheim 2 : 0 Immortals
02:58 Immortals isn’t playing poorly, at least: They can hold their own very well against TIGERs, as evidenced by the defended goal. Even under pressure, the formation doesn’t collapse.
02:27 It doesn’t seem like Immortals are really attacking, but their defense is excellent: Playing 11 vs. 5 against a team that is not only a multiple-time world champion but has also swept aside every other team so far is absolutely remarkable!
01:47 Still, it’s only a matter of time until TIGERs score the next goal: 3-0 for TIGERs Mannheim
TIGERs Mannheim 3 : 0 Immortals
00:34 And another goal for TIGERs Mannheim, they’re now up to 4 goals.
TIGERs Mannheim 4 : 0 Immortals
-00:37 Impossible!!! After many battles in the midfield, Immortals achieve the impossible: They score a goal against TIGERs Mannheim. It’s now 1-4.
TIGERs Mannheim 4 : 1 Immortals

Second Half

05:00 And so the game continues. The teams have now switched sides, but TIGERs continue to play in blue, Immortals in yellow.
04:37 No matter how the game unfolds, the ball placement strategy of the Iranian team, “Cola Kisses Orange,” is simply a visual delight every time.
04:21 Even though Immortals are the moral winners for a long time, we must still admit that this is another goal for TIGERs. The score is now 5:1 for TIGERs Mannheim.
TIGERs Mannheim 5 : 1 Immortals
03:56 Once again, very good defense by Immortals: You almost thought you’d see the 6th goal, but the Immortals defense forced TIGERs to play a poorly planned pass that flew past its target and rolled out of bounds.
03:50 Timeout for Immortals. We hope they’ll get better and the game will heat up, but at their current performance, this seems unlikely.
03:30 Unfortunately, the timeout doesn’t seem to have changed anything fundamental, as TIGERs takes another shot at the goal. The Immortals keeper missed it a bit, but he could have managed it.
TIGERs Mannheim 6 : 1 Immortals
02:43 And another goal for TIGERs, making it 7:1.
TIGERs Mannheim 7 : 1 Immortals
02:17 Too bad, now the goals are raining for Immortals. The keeper defended well for a long time, but eventually he was a bit off, allowing the ball to zip past him and roll into the goal.
TIGERs Mannheim 8 : 1 Immortals
01:49 And once again, the keeper is slightly off, he even almost dodged, which leads to another goal. Perhaps they should fine-tune this to get even closer to the perfect defense.
TIGERs Mannheim 9 : 1 Immortals
01:23 That’s it. The keeper is off again, and the game ends prematurely at 10:1.
TIGERs Mannheim 10 : 1 Immortals
00:00 A beautiful game. It was truly great to see, probably also for all the team members of TIGERs, that the Mannheim robots were given a serious opponent. And with only 5 robots! That’s what this tournament is for. Absolute viewing factor!
01:06 We’re postponing the conclusion and the final goal a little bit, because the goal DID NOT count, Immortals is still in the running!
TIGERs Mannheim 9 : 1 Immortals
00:47 Just barely: Immortals managed to prevent TIGERs’ shot at goal, and so the game continues. Currently, everyone hopes that Immortals will survive the remaining game time. They’ve earned it.
00:18 Too bad, there were only a few seconds left they had to hold out. But that’s how it is: TIGERs Mannheim scores the last goal, the game is officially over, this time for real.
TIGERs Mannheim 10 : 1 Immortals

RoboCup: ZJUNlict vs. RoboDragons

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The second game of the day is ZJUNlict vs. RoboDragons. The clear favorite here is ZJUNlict, although they had some issues with their robots here and there. You can find the link to the live ticker as always on Twente’s YouTube platform or at this link

First Half

05:00 The game starts with a half-hour delay. ZJUNlict is in yellow, RoboDragons in blue.
04:33 Shot on goal by ZJUNlict, but the ball was at 7.2 m/s, clearly too fast, the limit is 6 m/s. Therefore, it remains 0-0
04:26 Counterattack by RoboDragons, but the ZJUNlict goalkeeper clears with a chip kick. Maybe the game will be more exciting than expected.
03:43 Many game situations in the midfield and the RoboDragons’ half; the game is running very smoothly so far. ZJUNlict’s dribbler is as expected ridiculously good; apparently, they use almost no dribbler damping and consider this a secret to their success.
02:53 Very dangerous situation in RoboDragons’ field. Only a few millimeters were missing for a goal, but the goalkeeper can clear at the last second. Let’s see how long that holds up; the dominance of ZJUNlict is clearly recognizable.
02:53 RoboDragons now take a timeout.
02:12 Currently, the game is meandering along; there are no real eye-catchers at the moment.
01:17 Attacks on both sides, but both teams have been able to clear so far.
00:16 Not much of the initial dominance can be seen at the moment. A very dangerous situation in ZJUNlict’s half, but it remains without consequences.
00:00 And so it goes into halftime without any goals. While RoboDragons have been impressive, showing significant progress compared to previous years, ZJUNlict disappoints: Instead of strong dominance, fast play, and clever use of their dribbler, there are many missed passes and defensive maneuvers in their own half. However, ZJUNlict is a wildcard; they showed excellent performances in the two test matches against TIGERs Mannheim (unfortunately not recorded).

Second Half

05:00 The game continues with the second half; neither team colors nor sides have changed.
04:42 And now, finally, the first goal is scored, as expected by ZJUNlict.
ZJUNlict 1 : 0 RoboDragons
03:40 The game is meandering along again. RoboDragons now take another lengthy timeout.
03:30 And another timeout by RoboDragons; the game is a bit sluggish right now.
02:32 While RoboDragons isn’t achieving much right now, ZJUNlict isn’t shining either.
02:14 At least there was another shot on RoboDragons’ goal, although a bit lackluster. It’s not going to be a 2-0 like this!
01:03 After the game was very sluggish for a long time, things are moving forward again now. But the shot on RoboDragon’s goal is too weak, and the goalkeeper can save it.
00:47 Timeout for ZJUnlict.
00:31 Brief moment of shock: It rattles in ZJUNlict’s goal. But it was either Ball Placement or Double Touch. In any case, the goal doesn’t count, and it remains 1-0 for ZJUNlict.
-00:08 One last exciting situation in ZJUNlict’s half: After an unsuccessful clearance from ZJUNlict’s robot from their corner, RoboDragons win the ball and make one final attempt on goal, but the keeper can save it. Thus, the game ends 1-0 for ZJUNlict.
00:00 Overall, RoboDragons delivered a very good performance. ZJUNlict, on the other hand, was disappointing; much more was expected. There weren’t too many attacks, and they couldn’t shine in ball and passing control.

RoboCup: RoboDragons vs. ER-Force

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After finishing in 3rd place in our group during the group phase, we’re now playing the first game of the knockout phase. Unfortunately, SRC couldn’t participate in the tournament due to VISA issues, which has made the schedule somewhat strange, so we’ll have one more game after this one regardless of whether we win or lose.

You can find the link to the live ticker as always on Twente’s YouTube platform or at this link.

First Half

05:00 The game begins. We’re playing in blue with 8 robots, and RoboDragons are in yellow with 8 robots as well.
04:02 Surprisingly smooth gameplay so far. However, some robots, including our 9, are mostly motionless on the field. Soon, they and another robot are taken off the field, leaving us with only 6 robots.
03:02 Intense battle in front of our penalty area. Unfortunately, this battle ends successfully for our opponent, and it’s 1-0 for RoboDragons.
RoboDragons 1 : 0 ER-Force
02:54 And now, there are only 4 robots left.
02:43 The game is primarily taking place in our half, although “taking place” is an exaggerated expression, given the limited playing time.
01:53 Unfortunately, there are fewer new ER-Force robots and more old ones because the robots are having problems with the new radio equipment.
01:39 Attack on our goal, but our goalkeeper managed to catch the ball and chip it away.
01:29 And another goal for RoboDragons, making it 2-0 now. We’re also playing with only 3 to 4 robots.
RoboDragons 2 : 0 ER-Force
00:50 Minor interruptions in the live ticker, as we’re currently busy soldering so much that there’s no time for updates. We’re trying to fix the radio issues with the old robots to replace the new robots with old ones. It’s a shame, but there’s nothing we can do.
00:50 Unusual interruption of the game: lizard on the field. It takes a few seconds to catch the lizard and peacefully remove it from the field.
00:05 And another goal against us. Initially, the goalkeeper defended very well, but then he simply stood still and let the ball roll in.
RoboDragons 3 : 0 ER-Force

Second Half

05:00 And the second half kicks off.
03:30 Another goal is scored, making it 4-0 for RoboDragons. Considering that we’re playing with very few robots, it’s highly unlikely that we’ll recover from this deficit.
RoboDragons 4 : 0 ER-Force
03:30 At some point, another goal must have been scored, so it’s already 5-0…
RoboDragons 5 : 0 ER-Force
00:00 At some point, the sixth goal is scored; the exact timing isn’t clearly visible in the stream. The game ends 6-0 in favor of RoboDragons, and we move to the lower bracket of the tournament.
RoboDragons 6 : 0 ER-Force

Overall, it’s very unfortunate that we’ve had so many radio problems. This meant that we played with a significant numerical disadvantage, making it disproportionately difficult to hold and defend goals.

We’re now trying to switch as many new robots as possible to old radios, although this is somewhat frustrating. We’ll see tomorrow at 2:00 PM in our potentially final game how well we manage and if it makes a difference – after all, our old radio wasn’t very good either.