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Roberto Figueiredo is a grasp’s pupil on the College of Aveiro. He’s a member of the Daring Hearts RoboCup crew which competes within the Humanoid KidSize soccer league. He’s at present the native consultant for the Junior Rescue Simulation. We spoke to Roberto about his RoboCup journey, from the junior to the foremost leagues, and his expertise of RoboCup occasions.
When was your first RoboCup occasion and which competitors did you participate in?
I began in 2016 within the Junior leagues with my highschool and I took half within the rescue simulation competitors (though I initially joined the on-stage competitors). This primary occasion really occurred in Portugal, and it was just like a workshop. We certified to go to the world cup in rescue simulation, in Leipzig, Germany, and we ended up in second place. That was very nice, and it was my first contact with RoboCup, and with robotics usually. I’d been working with electronics prior to now, however simulation gave me a little bit of an introduction to the extra theoretical elements of robotics, and to AI generally. Rescue simulation makes you consider methods to make the robots impartial and never manually managed by people.
Roberto’s first RoboCup in 2016, Leipzig, pictured with the Singapore crew celebrating after the finals.
Might you inform us concerning the subsequent RoboCup occasions that you just took half in?
In 2017 we certified to go to Nagoya, Japan, which was not simply an incredible RoboCup, however an incredible journey. That’s one other benefit of robotics, you get to fulfill loads of new individuals in new nations. We did fairly nicely on this competitors as nicely, I feel we reached fifth place.
After that we went to European RoboCup Junior in Italy. The next 12 months was my final RoboCup as a junior, which was in Sydney. That was additionally an attention-grabbing occasion and I obtained to talk a bit extra with the majors and perceive how their groups labored. By this level, I had gained extra expertise, and I felt able to get entangled with a serious league RoboCup crew.
There’s a massive hole between the junior and main leagues. Once I joined my crew (the Daring Hearts), many of the crew have been PhDs and I used to be only a second 12 months bachelor’s pupil so it was fairly exhausting to choose up all of the data. Nonetheless, if you’re persistent sufficient and you have an interest in, and enthusiastic about, robotics you’ll get the cling of it and also you’ll be taught by trial and error.
EuroRoboCup 2022 in Portugal. Roberto (kneeling in photograph) was a part of the organising committee.
When was your first competitors with the crew within the main league?
My first competitors was really final 12 months, in Thailand. We didn’t carry out as we wish to, nevertheless, there’s far more to RoboCup than simply the competitors – it’s now extra of a scientific and knowledge-sharing occasion, it’s distinctive. Simply this 12 months, in Bordeaux, we had an issue with our robots. Each time we disconnected the ethernet cable, the robotic simply stopped taking part in, and we couldn’t determine what was taking place. I requested one other crew that was utilizing the identical software program – they’d found out the issue earlier than and so they informed us tips on how to resolve it. I don’t assume you’ll see that in different competitions. Each crew has a joint goal which is making science progress, making friendships, and making different groups higher by sharing their data. That’s actually distinctive.
How did you be a part of the Daring Hearts crew?
I made a decision to do my grasp’s within the UK (on the College of Hertfordshire), to expertise a unique nation and a unique type of training. Once I joined, I knew there was a crew so I used to be already wanting ahead to becoming a member of. After a few years of labor, we lastly obtained to go to a contest as a crew. It’s been an incredible time and an enormous studying expertise.
What’s your function on the crew?
In our crew, everybody does a little bit of every thing. We nonetheless have loads of issues to unravel – on each the {hardware} and software program aspect. All of us at present are pc scientists so it’s a bit extra of a battle to work on the {hardware} aspect. So, I do a little bit of every thing, each AI and non-AI associated issues. For instance, I’ve finished some 3d modelling for the robots, and I’m at present engaged on the balancing drawback. All of us work collectively on the issues which is wonderful since you get to see a little bit of every thing and be taught from everybody. Robotics is a really multidisciplinary subject. You get to study all types of subjects: mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, machine studying, coding generally.
The Daring Hearts’ qualification video for this 12 months’s RoboCup competitors
Might you inform us about this 12 months’s competitors (which happened in Bordeaux)?
This 12 months we have been much more ready than final 12 months, once we’d simply come again from COVID, and all of our skilled members had just lately left the crew, on account of ending their PhDs and beginning work. Making a profitable robotic crew is a big integration drawback. There are such a lot of items that have to go collectively and work completely for the robots to operate, and if one fails it seems to be like your system isn’t doing something. We obtained strolling working completely this 12 months, we had imaginative and prescient working nicely too, and we had a steady determination tree, and we have been in a position to hearken to the controller (which is sort of a referee and passes on details about fouls, sport begin and stops and so on.). Nonetheless, we had some bugs within the determination tree that made every thing crumble and we spent loads of time attempting to debug it. This occurs to loads of groups. Nonetheless, you’ll be able to nonetheless admire the work and progress of what they’ve finished.
RoboCup 2023 in Bordeaux. Roberto (left) with Daring Hearts teammates.
What are the quick plans for the crew?
We are actually fascinated by becoming a member of the simulation competitors, which is a part of our league. It takes place within the winter season and we’re planning on becoming a member of to work on our software program. The transition between simulation and {hardware} is kind of exhausting. You want an excellent simulation base to have the ability to switch immediately the data to the robotic. We’re engaged on having an excellent simulation so we are able to switch, not less than extra simply, the data learnt in simulation to the robots.
RoboCup is transferring extra in direction of AI and studying, which we are able to see within the 3d simulation. The robots be taught loads of the movement by means of reinforcement studying, for instance. Within the bodily leagues it’s not as straightforward as now we have to switch that to the actual world, the place there’s play within the joints, there’s backlash, there’s play within the 3d components – there are loads of variables that aren’t taken into consideration in simulations.
How has being a part of RoboCup impressed your research and analysis?
Each time I’m going to RoboCup I come out fascinated by what I’m going to do subsequent. I couldn’t be extra impressed. It’s a very intense subject however I adore it. It makes you wish to work actually exhausting and it makes you enthusiastic about science. I did my bachelor’s challenge associated to RoboCup, I joined a grasp’s course on robotics, I maintain asking my Professors in the event that they wish to begin a crew again in Portugal. I’m going to do my grasp’s thesis on robotics, on humanoids. I feel humanoids are a really advanced and attention-grabbing problem. There isn’t any one single resolution.
About Roberto
Roberto Figueiredo is a Portuguese, AI-focused pc scientist with a bachelor’s diploma from the College of Hertfordshire. He at present pursuing a grasp’s in Robotics and Clever Techniques from the College of Aveiro, and is enthusiastic about advancing his experience in robotics. He has lengthy been very keen about robots and AI, being a participant in RoboCup since 2016 within the Rescue Simulation league. He has since grow to be native consultant for the Rescue League in Portugal and joined a Main crew, Daring Hearts, within the Child Dimension league, one of the crucial difficult in RoboCup Humanoid Soccer.
Lucy Smith
is Managing Editor for AIhub.
AIhub
is a non-profit devoted to connecting the AI group to the general public by offering free, high-quality info in AI.
AIhub
is a non-profit devoted to connecting the AI group to the general public by offering free, high-quality info in AI.
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