RoboCup
We started our first robocup small-size league project in May 1998, in preparation for the Pacific-Rim RoboCup Competition in Nov 1998, Singapore. We aimed to get a team ready in 6 months, which was really ambitious. Hence we named our teamLuckyStar as we needed all the luck we could get. So far, true to our name, we had been fairly lucky in all the competitions we had participated.
Competitions results:
Pacific-rim RoboCup 1998 Singapore - Champion
Team members : Toh Kok Hwa, Leow Kwee Lye, Tan Jen Wei, Tan Chee Kian, Tan Chun Ping, Teo Teck Chye
3rd Robocup World Cup 1999 Stockholm - 3rd place (25 July - 6 August 1999)
Team members : Toh Kok Hwa, Chong Kim Ho, Chua Kiang Eng, Chou Dah Chiun, Tan Jen Wei, Toh Jinh Yin
4th Robocup World Cup 2000 Melbourne - 3rd place (awarded) (25 August - 4th Sept)
Team members : (L-R)Yuen Suen Yee, Tay Boon Hock, Koh Han Kiat, Quek Yee Ming,
Ng Beng Kiat (team leader), Toh Kok Hwa (not in picture),
2001 RoboCup qualification video LuckyStar - BigRed (Melbourne 2000)
5th World Cup 2001 Seattle. Champion (2nd - 10th August)
We finally won the RoboCup small-size league championship. Our only regret is that we did not get to play BigRed from Cornell, who knocked us out twice in previous world cups' semi-finals. 2001 diary
Other reports on the game, ieee_spectrum, cornell
Team members:
(L-R) Tan Chot Tie , Judy Wong , Lim Soon Yang ,
Ng Beng Kiat (Lecturer & team leader ),Low Wai Yee , Hui Tin Fat (Manager, ALPHA Centre)
6th World Cup 2002 Fukuoka/Busan. 3rd place (19th - 25th June)
This will be our fourth RoboCup competition. Sometimes, it's hard to believe that it's been four years since I started on this project. I must say that I enjoyed most of it, especially the competition and the chance to meet and discuss with other robocuppers from all over the world. The game has become more interesting, more competitive and harder to keep up with. I hope I have the energy to carry on a few more years. Since the last competition, progress has been slow, and it seems likely that we will end up using the same robots again. I hope they are still working fine. - 28Nov2001
Team members:
(L-R) Hui Tin Fat (Manager, ALPHA Centre) , Ng Beng Kiat (Lecturer & team leader ),
Pang Qi Wen, Peh Wee Kiong, Qui Wei Loong, Tan Jun Qiang
Post competition:
This year competition was much tougher as most teams have improved tremendously. Our robots used to be among the fastest, but not anymore. Both BigRed and FU-Fighters robots were faster, and the rest of the teams were not far behind. Many teams have robots that can kick more powerfully than ours. Since the robot size rule was changed in 2000 (something that I disagreed with as it defeats the purpose of increasing field size), almost all teams' robots are at maximum size and ours are puny by comparison. Most robots are omni-directional too, and they are equipped with powerful dribbler. I believe the robot trend is obvious; full sized, high speed omni-directional robot with powerful dribbler and kicker. We have no choice but to go along with it.
2002 RoboCup qualification video LuckyStar - 5DPO (Seattle 2001)
7th World Cup 2003 Padova, Italy (2nd-11th July)
We just started on our omnidirectional robot design. I hope to get a prototype out in 3 months. We have no experience in omnidirectional robot but we are quite optimistic that we will be able to build one of reasonable performance. My goal this year is to improve on the robot dribbling skills and to be able to do simple passing.(Oct2002)
Our omni-drive robots are ready. The dribbling is disappointing, and the kicking mechanism jammed easily. Our new lithium polymer batteries exploded twice, damaging two robots in the process. But I'm sure we will be ready come July.
2003 RoboCup qualification video LuckyStar - FieldRanger (Fukuoka 2002)
Team members:
Post competition:
We did fairly well in the preliminary round, winning all games without conceding a single goal. Hence, we were really surprised when we were trashed 9-1 by BigRed in the next round. The main problem lies in our defense, something we have to really worked on.
I used to think that speed is the most critical factor, but Roboroos had proven otherwise. Despite the huge speed difference between the two finalist, Roboroos and Big Red, the final match was fairly even, with BigRed finally scoring a single goal in extra time. Still speed, is important. Had Roboroos been swifter, the final match outcome would have had been different.
8th World Cup 2004 Lisbon, Portugal 3rd place (27th June - 5th July)
Preparation for this year competition was tough as there was major revision to the rules. The field size was more than doubled, requiring an extra camera and new vision system. The robots had to be modified to remove the side dribblers. Lots of effort were put in to make sure that the robots can do passing.
Team members:
Post competition:
Third again! After last year, I'm glad to have won something again. I'm most satisfied that LuckyStar robots made a few good passes during the games, which the spectators really enjoyed.
During competition setup, we had so much problem with the vision due to the bad lighting condition. Luckily, we managed to solve most of the problem (by changing some codes and the color tops of our robots), about 2 hours before our first match. For a while, during setup days, I thought we would not make it to the playoff as our vision cannot differentiate the opponent pinks from the ball. I guess the biggest surprise turned out to be BigRed not making it to next round.
9th World Cup 2004 Osaka, Japan (???)
Team members:
Post competition:
Mirosot:
We also have a Mirosot team, Nemesis, which had participated in the following competitions:
1) Asia Pacific Mirosot Competition, 2000, Singapore - 1st runner-up
2) ISI-Mirosot Competition, 2001, Dubai - Champion
3) Singapore Robotic Games (SRG)- Mirosot Competition, 2002 - Champion
We are not really active in Mirosot, and there is no real development of the team since the first competition in 2000. I was quite amazed that the robots were still working when I was preparing them for the SRG 2002 game. The robots had been in cold storage for more than a year. The batteries were flat and were brought back to life after a few charging and discharging cycles. Some parts of the robots were rusty though and had to be cleaned.
Right now, there's no more work done on Mirosot. I just don't have the time. Beside, it's similar to RoboCup, and I don't see the need to do both.