Category Archives: ZJUNlict

RoboCup 2024: Review

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Tournament

In our Division A of the Small Size League of RoboCup this year, nine teams from five countries competed against each other. A special feature was the two newcomers RobôCIn and luhbots, who this year made the step from Division B to a larger field and more robots in Division A. After three setup days, the teams first competed in a 4-team and 5-team group during the two group match days. The top three teams from each group then advanced to the knockout phase over the next two match days. By securing second place in our group, we were able to secure a good starting position here. In the double elimination mode, the respective group winners and runners-up could each lose once without being eliminated from the tournament. Thanks to our good performances on the field, we managed to secure a solid third place for our team despite many games in the lower bracket. Second place went to the Chinese team ZJUNlict and the current and past world champion is TIGERs Mannheim. A special mention should definitely go to the two new teams who managed to play exciting and balanced games against long-standing Division A teams almost right from the start. Particularly, the fourth place of RobôCIn is an extremely strong performance. At this point, we would also like to expressly thank luhbots, Immortals, RoboTeam Twente, RobôCIn, and TIGERs Mannheim for their help and extraordinary commitment to the league. This is by no means a matter of course.

 

Our Team in the Tournament

For us, the RoboCup started off quite bumpy again, and the first fears arose that we might experience a similar disaster to 2023 in Bordeaux. Fortunately, this was not the case. Instead, we managed to solve individual problems step by step. During the setup days and our first game, we still struggled considerably with our radio system and the control of the robots. But by the second game, we were already capable of fielding 11 robots. Nonetheless, we refrained from doing so in the group phase and fielded 8 robots each time. This was mainly because we were still plagued by overheating issues, and substitute robots were therefore extremely valuable.

For the knockout stage, we took a bold step and removed unnecessary parts from the module connector PCB and equipped our motor boards with heat sinks. Together with a relentless hunt for individual faulty robot components, we were able to increase the reliability of our fleet so that we could permanently field 11 robots in the knockout phase. This is a strong performance by the entire team, and we are excited about what the future holds with the now fully functional robots. Thus, we can conclude this RoboCup, tired from the strenuous days, but satisfied with our progress and success.

 

Betting Game

A novelty this year was the betting game we organized for RoboCup 2024. Just like in conventional football, bets could be placed on individual games, the outcome of the group phase, and the overall tournament. The most points were collected by our team members Michi and Mike, who stayed at home. Due to the great support from other teams, we plan to set up an official betting game for RoboCup next year.

 

Impressions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RoboCup 2025

Now that RoboCup 2024 in Eindhoven has ended and all teams have departed, we look to the future. We look forward to an interesting year with many improvements and innovations in our strategy and robots, as well as visits from other teams. But of course, our main focus is on the next RoboCup 2025. It will take place from July 15 to July 21, 2025, in the Brazilian coastal city of Salvador. The first images of the location already make us excited for sun, warmth, and of course a RoboCup hall right next to one of Brazil’s beautiful beaches.

See you in Salvador!

 

RoboCup 2024: Lower Final: ZJUNlict vs. ER-Force

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After our victory against RobôCIn last night, we play today in the Lower Final against ZJUNlict from China. This team has already met us once in the group stage, where we lost 0:1. So we expect an exciting match today as well. This time, however, we are playing 11 vs. 11 robots and not 8 vs. 8 like in the group stage. The game starts at 10:30 AM after the Lower Final of Division B.

The final day in Division A of the SSL is streamed again by Roboteam Twente. The numerous other finals of the other leagues can be watched on the RoboCup Live Channel.

First Half:

5:00 Smooth play in the first minute. ZJUNlict’s dominance is evident again, but so far our robots are very good at fending off all attacks.

4:00 We fumble a ball placement, but ZJUNlict sometimes fails at it too. Therefore, both teams are alternating kick-offs in our half of the field. So far, both teams are driving very carefully and there are few fouls. However, with rising temperatures and decreasing controller quality, this tends to get a bit worse for our robots. ZJUNlict is already taking their second timeout and has used up a lot of their timeout time.

3:00 Apparently, they are not yet satisfied with their strategy. Dangerous situation for us, but our robot does not shoot because there is no gap. That could have almost been the first goal. Shot from ZJUNlict, but our goalkeeper makes a perfect save.

2:00 We have accumulated 3 fouls and have to take out a robot. Corners are alternating in our half again. Despite their extremely strong dribbler, ZJUNlict has not been able to dominate us in duels so far. ZJUNlict challenges a corner that was awarded to us. Rightly so, as we were actually last to touch the ball.

1:00 No progress in our ball placement. Thus, we give the corner in our half to ZJUNlict. That is potentially dangerous. Fortunately, ZJUNlict’s robot fumbles the kick-off and we get another chance. So far, a balanced game. Timeout for ZJUNlict. Apparently, their strategy is causing problems again. ZJUNlict’s robots are moving again and the game continues. Tumult in front of our goal. Pass combination from ZJUNlict and a shot into our goal. But apparently, the shot was too fast. The score remains 0:0. Only 10 seconds left in the first half. But we give the corner to ZJUNlict. The field in front of our goal is damaged, but the referee decides to repair it at halftime.

Halftime

Both teams are working on the robots. We need to cool down our robots again and ZJUNlict is changing their batteries. The referees are trying to fix the field with some staples in the carpet, but the carpet has already suffered a lot from the numerous games.

Second Half

We take a short timeout as one of our radio modules seems to be having problems.

5:00 Kickoff for us. But our robot doesn’t shoot properly. Apparently, one of our robots is still having problems. We seem unable to perform ball placement from the goal. This has already happened twice in this game. ZJUNlict gets a yellow card for too many collisions. Apparently, one robot is not visible because it is stuck in a shadow. While solving the vision problems, our robots are slowly turning on the field as they have a position control implemented that still has a slight drift. TC/OC is brought to the vision computer, maybe it will continue soon. The referees are trying to remove the shadows from the field by shifting the screens for the game state. The game continues. Strong duel in the midfield, but we manage to prevent the ball from being shot at our goal.

4:00 We fail at ball placement. Thus, kick-off for ZJUNlict. Our robots are very confused by ZJUNlict’s strong dribbling. But it is also outstandingly good. Maybe we will achieve that in the coming years as well. Many passes in our half.

3:00 Two robots collide, resulting in yellow cards for both teams and both teams’ robots substitute themselves.

2:00 Neither team can make real progress and it is a constant back and forth duel. Unfortunately, we still lack a bit of precision, especially in handling the ball, and we often miss dangerous chances. Good pass combination from ZJUNlict. Shot at our goal and … converted. ZJUNlict takes the lead 1:0.

1:00 We take a short timeout. Apparently, we have significantly adjusted our strategy to be more aggressive. Our robots are now much stronger in the midfield and on ZJUNlict’s side. Unfortunately, we still lack precision in these last situations and we do not convert the shots. One last corner from ZJUNlict. But there was a referee’s error and the corner should have gone to us. In this faulty play, you can still see a brilliant save from our goalkeeper. He would have saved everything anyway.

We lose this game 0:1. Thus, we are out of the tournament. Nevertheless, we are happy about our third place, which would have been completely unthinkable with the quality of our play and robots two months ago.

The final ZJUNlict vs. TIGERs Mannheim takes place at 1:00 PM. Before that, there is the Division B final immediately following.

RoboCup 2024: First Match Day – Advance Notice

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Today marks the first day of this year’s RoboCup in Eindhoven. For us, this day is mainly characterized by the Technical Challenges in the morning and a match in the afternoon. Our other group stage matches will take place tomorrow. For regular updates, check out our Instagram page.

Today’s Match Times:

Technical Challenge 8:30 AM: ER-Force vs. luhbots

Technical Challenge 12:00 PM: ER-Force vs. ZJUnlict

Group Match 3:00 PM: ER-Force vs. RoboCIN

Livestream:

The matches of the day are available as a livestream. A novelty this year is that both Division A and B games will be broadcast. Our matches take place on the Division A field. Our Technical Challenges are expected to be shown on the Division B stream.

Division A: Stream by Robo Team Twente

Division B: Stream by Thunderbots

RoboCup Eindhoven: Arrival

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After nearly a year, it’s finally time again: RoboCup 2024 is here, this year in the Dutch city of Eindhoven! Teams from all over the world and various leagues are currently traveling and will all try to claim first place in their respective leagues!

Of course, our team is also ready to go, and this morning 14 students from our team boarded a train in Nuremberg heading to Essen. What they didn’t know at the time: The train in Düsseldorf that would take them to Venlo doesn’t exist. This brings back memories of a popular meme from last year:

So, our travel group will likely arrive at the hotel in Eindhoven with an estimated delay of one hour and begin to take over the hotel rooms and floors for us and our robots. Starting next week, our team will be allowed into the hall!

By the way: Besides us, this year’s Division A will also feature teams ZJUNlict (China), KIKS (Japan), RoboCîn (Brazil), luhbots (Germany), TIGERs Mannheim (reigning world champion, Germany), Immortals (Germany), RoboDragons (Japan), and RoboTeam Twente (Netherlands). From experience, TIGERs Mannheim, ZJUNlict, and Immortals are particularly strong teams that we need to surpass!

RoboCup: ZJUNlict vs. Immortals

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First Half

05:00 The game starts with a fifteen-minute delay, ZJUNlict in blue, Immortals in yellow.
03:08 Good shot on ZJUNlict’s goal, but the goalkeeper saves it.
02:40 Strong duels continue in ZJUNlict’s half. Overall, ZJUNlict is currently not meeting the performance expectations we had from their previous game quality.
01:55 Another powerful shot on ZJUNlict’s goal, again saved by the keeper.
00:55 For a change, an attack by ZJUNlict, but the Immortals’ goalkeeper makes the save.
00:44 Another beautiful attack on ZJUNlict’s goal.
00:00 And thus, the first half comes to an end. Looking back, it’s clear that the game was dominated by Immortals, and ZJUNlict has significantly declined since their last tournament participation.

Second Half

05:00 And so, the second half continues without changing sides or colors.
04:49 Attack on ZJUNlict’s goal, but the goalkeeper defends.
03:47 Minor duels in the vicinity of ZJUNlict’s penalty area, but without results.
03:10 Nice ball duels with no interruptions. But everything has an end, and the ball finally ends up in ZJUNlict’s goal out of bounds.
02:52 Very nice play across the entire field. Close passes to the sidelines, but the robots handle it well. Initially an attack by ZJUNlict on Immortals, but then the tables turn, and there’s almost a goal for Immortals! Fortunately for ZJUNlict, the ball is cleared out of bounds.
00:45 The second half is meandering along. No real attacks, the ball is sometimes in ZJUNlict’s half, sometimes in Immortals’, but it always ends up out of bounds instead of leading to a goal attempt.
00:30 Immortals shoots the ball over the sideline boards. Also, screws are occasionally found on the field, likely from Immortals.
-00:07 A final hot attack, indeed from ZJUNlict, after a pass from one side of the field to the other. But the goalkeeper makes the save, and the game ends 0:0.