German Open: Technical Challenge Junior League: Survive against the TIGERs

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The third and final day of the Major League begins with a very special event: As part of a Technical Challenge, the self-built robots of the Junior League will face the world champion TIGERs Mannheim. The challenge: Keep their heads above water as long as possible and not be overrun by TIGERs.

However, to make this possible, the Junior Bots must first be modified: Since they drive autonomously with onboard cameras across the field, the TIGERs would mercilessly roll over them due to the lack of a color pattern on their heads. Therefore, makeshift patterns were created yesterday, which can be mounted on the Junior bots to enable camera detection through our SSL software.

You can find a link to the stream, as always, on the YouTube channel of TIGERs Mannheim:

Before the actual game starts, an individual Technical Challenge for the teams takes place: Each team gets a few minutes to try to detect and score as many of the golf balls scattered on the field as possible with up to two robots. This proves to be very difficult, as the Defense Area, which may only be entered by the goalkeeper, is very large in our league, making it hard for the Junior teams to shoot the ball into the goal. Only the Atlantis team manages to score two goals in this challenge.

After this individual Technical Challenge, it’s time to stick together: The robots of all Junior League teams now play together against three robots of TIGERs Mannheim. Their robots have also been significantly toned down. For example, the robots are only allowed to move at one meter per second. For comparison: The field is 12 meters wide, so a TIGERs bot would take several seconds to cross from one side to the other.

First Half

05:00 The game starts with a kickoff for TIGERs. Currently, the Junior Bots are only blocking the goal, but let’s see how this extraordinary game develops.
03:55 After some hesitant maneuvers in midfield by TIGERs, their robots finally move towards the goal. There, the TIGERs bot shoots, and the ball rolls past the motionless Juniors.
Juniors 0 : 1 TIGERs Mannheim
03:45 Now there’s some life in the game! After a kickoff by the Juniors, one of their robots drives straight towards the goal, but unfortunately, it only rolls out of bounds with the ball.
03:40 The missed shot at the goal immediately punishes the Juniors: The TIGERs drive with the ball towards the goal and shoot again. The goalkeeper tries to defend but can’t hold the ball.
Juniors 0 : 2 TIGERs Mannheim
03:22 Unbelievable! The Junior Bots manage not only to get the ball towards the goal successfully but also to score! They are catching up.
Juniors 1 : 2 TIGERs Mannheim
03:16 The joy for the Junior Leagues doesn’t last long: TIGERs come right back into the game and shoot at the goal again, this time even an empty goal.
Juniors 1 : 3 TIGERs Mannheim
02:58 And another successful shot at an empty goal by TIGERs Mannheim. This increases Mannheim’s lead to four goals.
Juniors 1 : 4 TIGERs Mannheim
01:44 The Juniors put up some resistance here and there, and occasionally there is a shot at the goal, but it all helps nothing: Another goal for TIGERs Mannheim!
Juniors 1 : 5 TIGERs Mannheim
01:23 This time, the Juniors rely on aggression and start with all their robots in the center circle. The ball comes close to the TIGERs’ goal but lacks execution. TIGERs can defend.
01:05 And TIGERs show again that you can’t show weakness towards them: Their robots increase the lead to five goals!
Juniors 1 : 6 TIGERs Mannheim
00:46 Very good defense by the Juniors! TIGERs try to aim at the goal, but the Junior Bots defend vehemently and can even stand their ground in a duel.
00:41 But the goal can’t be defended for long: TIGERs finally score to make it 7:1!
Juniors 1 : 7 TIGERs Mannheim
00:27 Unfortunately, the Juniors’ strength fades again, and TIGERs score another goal with no goalkeeper present.
Juniors 1 : 8 TIGERs Mannheim
00:07 And another shot at the empty goal by TIGERs, bringing them one goal away from an early victory.
Juniors 1 : 9 TIGERs Mannheim
00:00 Now it comes down to it, the Junior Bots give their all to keep their goal tight. With great effort, one of the robots tries to prevent the goal, but TIGERs show no mercy: The final goal of the game is scored, and TIGERs win 10:0!
Juniors 1 : 10 TIGERs Mannheim

Of course, it was already clear in advance that TIGERs would probably have the upper hand in a home game, especially since they are the world champions. Nevertheless, it was a very entertaining game that attracted many spectators. Hopefully, it also pleased the Juniors and motivated them for future participation in RoboCup events!

German Open: ER-Force vs. Immortals

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After we unfortunately lost our last group match against TIGERs Mannheim this morning at 11:30 AM with a score of 10:00, we now move on to the first semifinal match of the tournament against Immortals at 4:00 PM. The winner of this match will play in the Grand Final tomorrow at 2:00 PM against the winner of the second semifinal match today at 5:30 PM. The losers will play in the small final tomorrow at 12:30 PM.

Since yesterday’s match against Immortals ended with only a one-goal lead for them, we have a realistic chance of taking the win in this game. If we lose, there is also the possibility that we won’t play in this tournament anymore, as Tritons have not yet played a game and the small final tomorrow may be canceled as a result.

First Half

05:00 Both Immortals and our team are getting ready for the match. It will probably start in a few minutes. ER-Force is playing in yellow, Immortals in blue.
05:00 With a four-minute delay, the game starts with a kickoff by us. Once again, our robot doesn’t shoot, so after five minutes, the ball is released for all players. The ball ends up out of bounds.
04:40 The corner is actually dangerous for us, but our goalkeeper can defuse the situation.
04:05 Another dangerous throw-in by Immortals, but the pass goes past its receiver and directly out of bounds.
03:57 But now it happens: Immortals play the ball across our penalty area to a teammate on the other side, who doesn’t hesitate and shoots past our goalkeeper into the goal!
ER-Force 0 : 1 Immortals
03:50 This time it’s a chip goal by Immortals, but it doesn’t count, as the ball must not exceed 15 cm in height when shooting at goal.
03:15 The game continues to take place only in our half. A dangerous ball towards our penalty area is cleared by one of our robots, although out of bounds, which is a foul.
02:30 After some skirmishing, the ball is shot at our goal again, but so weakly that it poses no real threat to our goalkeeper.
01:47 Finally, an attack by us. But with only 3 robots in play, the attack fizzles out. It’s hard to mount a successful attack with just one striker.
01:39 And here comes the counter: During a nice attack by Immortals, their robot manages to shoot past our goalkeeper into the goal.
ER-Force 0 : 2 Immortals
00:41 There are several attacks on our goal, but our goalkeeper successfully defends multiple times.
00:37 What looks like a goal against us is fortunately a double touch by Immortals. Lucky for us, the score remains unchanged.
00:00 With two goals for Immortals, we go into halftime.

Second Half

05:00 With four robots for us and five for Immortals, the second half begins. At least this time we managed the kickoff successfully.
04:51 And already we are down to three robots. Our new motor drivers tend to get very hot and often need a short cooldown.
04:02 Actually, some really nice moments for our team. But unfortunately, our attacker lacks the passing options for his attacks, so the attack fizzles out into a sideline out.
03:30 With a fourth robot in play, our attacks and their dangers slowly increase, but unfortunately, no goal has been scored yet. The game is now visibly taking place in Immortals’ half.
02:51 The first time we seriously had a shot on goal. Unfortunately, it was a bit too obvious, so it didn’t go in.
02:38 A quick timeout by us to test a robot. After the test results are acceptable, it is promptly put in, giving us five robots again.
01:54 That was lucky! Immortals score a goal against us, but they also commit a foul by having a robot in our penalty area. Thus, the goal doesn’t count.
01:11 We have to substitute a robot again. Since this is now the sixth time this half, we receive a yellow card as only five substitutions per half are allowed.
01:02 The ball looked dangerous right from the kick-off, and it proved to be: Another goal by Immortals against us!
ER-Force 0 : 3 Immortals
00:00 Thus, the game ends with Immortals winning 3:0.

German Open 2024

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Less than two weeks after our last tournament in Crailsheim, our team heads straight to Kassel for the GermanOpen 2024. This is the first time in years that the tournament is being held with major leagues like ours, after having been exclusively for the junior leagues in the past. Our last participation in the German Open in 2016 was also the last time this tournament was offered for our SSL league.

The tournament itself runs from this Thursday through Sunday, with the group stage taking place on Thursday and Friday, followed by the knockout games and finals on Saturday. The schedule can be viewed at this link. A permanent livestream can be found on the YouTube page of the TIGERs Mannheim.

Participants in this tournament, besides us, include the TIGERs Mannheim, who are again favorites for the title as they were at the Crailsheim tournament, the German team Immortals, and the young American team Tritons. We are particularly curious about the latter team’s performance, as their qualification video for the RoboCup did not give the impression that their robots could even drive.

RoboCup Crailsheim: luhbots vs RoboTeam Twente

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The first match of the final day of RoboCup Crailsheim takes place between the third and fourth place teams from the group stage. The winner of this match will be our next opponent in the 1 PM game, as we positioned ourselves in second place during the group stage.

First Half

02:49 Twente takes a timeout.
02:49 Twente ends the timeout, but before the game can resume, a Twente bot spins wildly in circles.
02:07 Twente makes a bot substitution, and luhbots receive a yellow card for ball placement interference.
02:00 Twente plays the ball out of bounds, but luhbots fail at their ball placement, giving Twente a dangerous free kick.
01:29 luhbots shoot at the goal, but the Twente goalkeeper skillfully saves the ball. Both teams have had dangerous situations so far.
01:00 Twente holds the ball too long in their penalty area, giving luhbots a free kick which they convert into a goal. It’s 1:0 for luhbots.
00:15 luhbots commit a bot crash.
00:12 Out by Twente at their own goal line. luhbots get a corner.

Second Half

04:15 luhbots chip the ball over the boundary into the audience during their own ball placement.
04:10 Twente takes their second timeout and ends it again after about 10 seconds.
04:04 Twente makes a robot substitution and takes a robot off the field.
03:31 Twente holds the ball too long in the penalty area. luhbots get a free kick but fail at their ball placement, so the free kick goes to Twente.
03:25 A robot hits the already weakened goal wall of Twente, causing it to come loose. It is provisionally repaired while Twente makes another robot substitution.
02:52 Twente narrowly misses the luhbots’ goal.
01:07 luhbots score their second goal. It’s 2:0 for luhbots.
00:57 luhbots take the ball from Twente shortly after their kickoff and immediately score another goal.
00:34 Twente again takes too long to play the ball out of their penalty area, giving luhbots a dangerous free kick. They fail at the ball placement again, so the free kick goes to Twente.
00:01 luhbots hold the ball too long in the penalty area this time, and Twente converts the free kick directly into a goal to at least bring the score to 3:1, showing they won’t go down without a fight, although it doesn’t change luhbots’ victory.

Note: The above information is based on the public communication of the organizer. Our club is not the organizer of the tournament and therefore cannot independently verify the information.

RoboCup Crailsheim: ER-Force vs. RoboTeam Twente

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Directly after our game against TIGERs Mannheim, we continue with our third match of the day: ER-Force vs. RoboTeam Twente. We are, of course, hoping for a win here to secure a good starting position in the knockout phase on Sunday.

If we win this game, RoboTeam Twente will surely finish fourth in the group. Additionally, we are almost certainly second, as it is unlikely that luhbots will win against the world champion TIGERs Mannheim. The latter are already sure to finish first.

First Half

05:00 The game starts almost on time with a kickoff by Twente. In this game, there is again automatic game commentary from the speaker, which makes the game much more accessible.
05:00 Since we are not quite finished with our setup, we start the game with a timeout. Quickly checking if our AI is started in the correct mode, laptops are plugged in, and nothing else stands in the way of a victory before the game can really begin.
03:45 After Twente’s robots lose some parts, there is an emergency break by Twente, costing them a timeout.
03:30 The game goes on quietly, and a goal for us falls quite unobtrusively.
ER-Force 1 : 0 RoboTeam Twente
03:30 Twente uses the game interruption to take a timeout and check their robots.
03:24 And the goals keep coming: Once again, we successfully put the ball into the net, further extending our lead.
ER-Force 2 : 0 RoboTeam Twente
03:24 Even though we are currently scoring goals, the game is extremely leisurely and feels more like a Sunday game. It must be said, however, that we are currently testing a new motor control and new motor boards, so it was expected that the game wouldn’t be ultra exciting.
03:01 After questioning the loyalty of one of our robots, as it behaves more like an opponent’s robot, there is a robot substitution.
02:28 Initially, our 1 gives the impression of a great performance, successfully executing ball placement. But this impression is quickly dispelled when it botches the subsequent throw-in.
01:45 Maybe we should hang a net around the field: For no reason and to the great confusion of all our computer scientists, our robot chips the ball out of the field during a game pause. Definitely something we want to look into.
01:21 Now there are some camera problems. Already yesterday (technically this morning), the camera caused sleepless nights, as among other things, the yellow paper was not well recognized by the camera.
00:19 Our Spätzle has to be substituted due to knee injuries (= motor failure): Spätzle’s knees became as soft as… well, Spätzle.
00:03 Almost at the end of the first half, we manage to increase our score: a goal for us. But the goal doesn’t count, as we previously committed a double touch: our robot kicked the ball twice in succession without passing to a teammate in between. This is a foul.
00:00 Thus, the game goes into halftime. The game action wasn’t exactly grand, but at least it matches the amount of sleep most of our team members had last night.
00:00 The halftime is used to flash the robots anew.

Second Half

05:00 As our team members are still trying to get our robots a bit more up to speed by flashing them, but the halftime break is running out, we also start the second half with a timeout.
05:00 Since we are also running out of timeout, the second half starts just as leisurely as the last half ended. Since this game is our last for the day, we have more than enough time to tackle the problem calmly.
02:43 This half offers very few highlights: The ball moves very leisurely, the game is often interrupted by shots out of bounds by RoboTeam Twente.
00:57 The game is so boring right now that I didn’t even notice two goals being scored. Meanwhile, there’s already a discussion on how we can pimp our firmware to eventually compete against TIGERs. So far, however, our hardware gives the impression that we can expect significant improvements from a software perspective in the coming weeks, which is very positive. Regardless, two goals for us!
ER-Force 4 : 0 RoboTeam Twente
00:43 One last timeout for us to tweak the hardware a bit more.
00:06 We stylishly close the game with a final, fifth goal.
ER-Force 5 : 0 RoboTeam Twente

Reading the game might seem rather sobering, but we are fundamentally very happy with our robots’ performance. It was already expected that new hardware would not work immediately and that only a limited amount of manpower could be devoted to designing new motor board firmware and motor control over a weekend. All the more, we are pleased that the robots run so well and reliably. This becomes even more understandable considering that we only received our new motor boards five days ago and thus could hardly test them.

Additionally, our HBC radio has so far only shone on the large field; radio problems are now officially a thing of the past, both on the small Division B fields and the large 12x9m² Division A field, much to our delight.

Since we are now almost guaranteed to be second place, we will probably not have any mandatory games today and will instead play our next game tomorrow afternoon.

Note: The above information is based on the public communication of the organizer. Our club is not the organizer of the tournament and therefore cannot independently verify the information.