While the England football team may be struggling their robot football counterparts go from strength to strength. On 31 March & 1 April 200 the annual UK Robot Championship took place the University of Warwick. This year the University of Warwick WMG team will be unveiled their first bipedal robot football squad.

In the normal UK robot football championships, two teams of small cubic robots play with an orange coloured ball on an internationally specified pitch, and try to score as many goals as possible. Pitch marks and ruling correspond more or less to those of conventional soccer. A referee watches over both of the five minute halves of the game. Teams from The University of Warwick. Plymouth and Nottingham will compete for robot football cup this year.

However the Warwick team will used the event to show off their new squad of five bipedal robot footballers who can not only kick a ball but can also cartwheel down the pitch in pursuit of balls and other players.  They have no other UK opponents yet sufficiently advanced to take on their bipedal team but at the rate robot footballers are developing maybe Steve McClaren might soon consider using  robots to freshen up his squad.

The event took place in the WMG IMC building on the University of Warwick campus on Saturday 31 March and Sunday1st April.

 University of Warwick robot researcher Dr Ken Young (and Director of WIMRC who sponsored the Warwick robot team and event) said:

 

 “Warwick IMRC uses events such as this to encourage both undergraduate and postgraduate interest in autonomous systems research. By putting up these prizes we get a tremendous level of commitment from students which in turn drives technology forward. Competition in research makes things happen and drives innovation.”

 

 

 

For further information please contact: 

Peter Dunn, Press and Media Relations Manager
University of Warwick   07767 655860
02476 523708 p.j.dunn@warwick.ac.uk

Zoë Howard  WMG
on 02476 524721 or 07824 540845
Zoe.Howard@warwick.ac.uk

PR23 PJD 30th  March 2007