Intelligent eyes focus on robot soccer glory

Paul Boughton

Two teams whose robots featured intelligent cameras from Vision Components were among the winners of this year's RoboCup, the soccer world cup for intelligent robots in Graz, Austria.

The Tech United team from Eindhoven University, Netherlands, finished second in the Middle Size League. Their robot soccer players are equipped with VC 4458-type 1 GHz cameras which are installed to 'look up' at an angle, thus providing a 360° field of vision.

Thanks to the Smart Cameras, the robots never lose track of the ball. Intelligent algorithms ensure that game tactics are implemented – a strategy that carried the team into the finals.

A German junior team – the Rockys Senior from Rockenhausen – also managed to secure a podium position by means of VC cameras. The students won third place in the Soccer A Secondary category of the RoboCup Junior competition, which consists of soccer, dance and rescue contests. In this case, the image processing tasks were performed by the flexible, easy-to-integrate VCSBC4016C board cameras.
 
Vision Components GmbH is a leading supplier in the field of industrial image processing. The company develops and distributes intelligent, network-compatible real-time cameras. Equipped with the proprietary multitasking operating system VCRT, the devices operate without an additional PC, making them easy to integrate into almost any industrial facility.

Typical application areas include quality and completeness checks, measurement technology and biometric access control.
 
For mmore information, visit www.vision-components.com