Autonomous Soccer Robot
Check out this bad soccer robot. Does it ever miss? It's fast, accurate and stays in-bounds. Can you image trying to play against a soccer robot like this? You would so lose because the ball is protected by the robot's body. Your only hope against this robot is that the goalie could grab the ball right after it's kicked, right at the goal or NOT. The robot could just run you over, crushing your body, and then kick the ball like an inch in front of the goal line. This is so NOT fair!
Here is what the builder of this robot has to say, "This is a robot I built for a class project at Yale. The task is to collect ping pong balls in an arena and score as many goals as possible in a time limit of three minutes."
Check out the video below of this soccer robot. Pele would be proud, and then he'd cry like baby if he had to play against this robot.
Duration : 0:4:17
So cool. What language is the robot programmed in?
The technology behind this is that a beacon sends out an IR light at the eye level of the soccer robot. The robot will spin in place until its eyes find the beacon. The robot then drives towards the ball while slightly turning left and right based on the eye that has the stronger reading. This helps it position itself perfectly in relation to the ball.
How does it recognize the position of the goal? Does it actually recognize the shape of the goal?
This is one awesome autonomous robot.