The last setup day has arrived. To prepare our sleep schedule for the upcoming days, we headed to the hall at 7:30 AM today. Despite many tired faces, the focus was immediately there. It had to be, as our Technical Challenge “Black and White” starts at 8 PM, where the efficient changing of shell colors is tested. This challenge was introduced to make the different teams more recognizable to the audience.

LEAGUE TEST MATCH:

Yesterday, for the first time, we were able to conduct a test match against ourselves to identify many errors. Today, it was the TIGERs’ turn. Unlike us, they played a test match against RobôCIn to demonstrate the game flow to the entire league.

RADIO ISSUES:

Meanwhile, a third of the strategy team is working on fixing radio issues. If you fear that this RoboCup might face a similar downfall as the last one, let me reassure you. The radio now works well for 8 robots, which is sufficient for the group phase, as teams can play with 8 robots if they wish. However, this won’t work in the knockout phase, where each team can field 11 robots if they are able. Testing the solution is proving to be a persistent problem due to random parameters and outcomes. However, we remain confident that we will solve this in time.

ROBOT MANUFACTURING:

Not only the strategy but also the mechanics team is working at full speed. They are continuously manufacturing parts to have more robots in stock (and hopefully on the field). Special attention is being paid to the wheels to ensure they run more smoothly than before. However, a robot is not only made up of parts but also of firmware, which runs on the robot. Since there are still heat issues, the only solution is to keep at it, test, and not lose hope. Ultimately, errors, substitutions, and sources of damage should be minimized as much as possible.