Why smart robots should be as lazy as possible

Practical challenges

In addition to the football competitions, the RoboCup has other categories to compete in, such as autonomous care robots and rescue robots. Tech United, for example, is participating in the @Home competition with their care robot HERO.

Within this competition, the focus is on the development of robots that can provide service and assistance in home or care situations. In the future, it is hoped that this will allow elderly people to live at home longer. Here too, the team is mainly a spectator during the matches.

The RoboCup focuses on practical challenges in the care and rescue competitions.

René van de Molengraft, professor of Robotics

“You see that the other leagues focus on very practical challenges, such as picking up a cup of tea. The care robot needs to know how big the cup is and how full it is, but also what material such a cup is made of. A plastic cup is easily crushed, which causes hot tea to form everywhere. I see significant progress there, although the step to practice is still large.”

“For rescue robots it’s a different story. Robots are already being used in rescue operations where people are difficult to reach or where it is too dangerous. Examples are the disaster in Fukushima or the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.”

“It’s really amazing to see rescue robots finding living people in incredibly difficult circumstances, even though a human is usually still needed to remotely control the robot.”