Soccer Simulation League
Contents |
League Overview
Without the necessity to maintain any robot hardware, the RoboCup Simulation League's focus comprises artificial intelligence and team strategy.
2D Simulation League
In the 2D Simulation League, two teams of eleven autonomous software programs (called agents) each play soccer in a two-dimensional virtual soccer stadium represented by a central server, called SoccerServer. This server knows everything about the game, i.e. the current position of all players and the ball, the physics and so on. The game further relies on the communication between the server and each agent. On the one hand each player receives relative and noisy input of his virtual sensors (visual, acoustic and physical) and may on the other hand perform some basic commands (like dashing, turning or kicking) in order to influence its environment.
The big challenge in the Simulation League is to conclude from all possible world states (derived from the sensor input by calculating a sight on the world as absolute and noise-free as possible) to the best possible action to execute. As a game is divided into 6000 cycles this task has to be accomplished in time slot of 100 ms (the length of each cycle). Further information and the SoccerServer software can be accessed via http://sserver.wiki.sourceforge.net
3D Simulation League
The 3D simulation competition increases the realism of the simulated environment used in other simulation leagues by adding an extra dimension and more complex physics. At its beginning, the only available robot model was a spherical agent. In 2006, a simple model of the Fujitsu HOAP-2 robot was made available, being the first time that humanoid models were used in the simulation league. This shifted the aim of the 3D simulation competition from the design of strategic behaviors of in playing soccer towards the low level control of humanoid robots and the creation of basic behaviors like walking, kicking, turning and standing up, among others.
In 2008, the introduction of a Nao robot model to the simulation gave another perspective to the league. The real Nao robot from Aldebaran robotics has been the official robot for the Standard Platform League since 2008, and using the same model for the simulation competitions represents a great opportunity for researchers wanting to test their algorithms and ideas before trying them into the real robots. The interest in the 3D simulation competition is growing fast and research is slowly getting back to the design and implementation of multi-agent higher-level behaviors based on solid low level behavior architectures for realistic humanoid robot teams. Further information and the SimSpark server software can be accessed via http://simspark.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page.
Organization
The Soccer Simulation League includes five committees: (1) Maintenance Committee (MC), (2) Technical Committee (TC), (3) Organizing Committee (OC), (4) Executive Committee (Exec), and (5) Trustees.
- Maintenance Committee (MC)
Soccer Simulation (as like as all other leagues in RoboCup) is not just a competition. The aim is to in one hand prepare a testbed for researchers to implement their ideas and test their methods in a simulated multi agent environment and on the other hand keep moving forward to have more realistic environment and join to other leagues to achieve the common goal of the RoboCup. So, every year we have developments in the league (by MC and help of teams). These developments shows if the league can be continued in RoboCup anymore or not (this will be decided by Federation). MC is the heart of the league. The MC maintains and extends the simulator(s) used in our league based on decisions of the Technical Committee (TC), but it also takes the initiative on implementing useful features that do not directly affect the soccer simulation itself. The work is entirely done by volunteers.
- Organizing Committee (OC)
OC is responsible for organizing of the league, this includes setting schedule, updating website of the league, performing qualification process, deciding about hardwares (with local organizers) and running games during competitions (organizing the league in RC'09). OC has a close collaboration with TC. OC members are selected by the Exec of the league and trustees.
- Technical Committee (TC)
TC is responsible for planning for the technical aspects of the league in short term to keep in the roadmap of the whole RoboCup in long temr. TC has close collaboration with both MC and OC, also it gets feedbacks from teams in the mailing lists. TC sets deadlines for the releasing the simulators in contact with MC and propose the MC the features and technical expects from the simulator for the next years. TC helps OC in setting rules and is responsible for evaluating 3D Development teams. TC members are selected based in an election by votes of team leaders. Usually there is one appointed member who is chosen by trustees and execs to be in TC.
- Executive Committee (EC)
Executive committee presents the league and its achievements to the Federation every year and get the feedbacks to organize the league. Exec members discuss about the long term and short term goals of the league and have contact with other leagues and federation to have better plan for the future of the league. Exec. members are members of TC as well. Exec members are elected by the trustee board of the federation and they serve 3-year terms.
- Trustees
The RoboCup board of trustees is responsible for the legal and high-level organizational aspects of the RoboCup federation. For example, the trustees enter into sponsorship agreements, deal with trademarks, decide on locations of RoboCup and enter into contracts with the local organizers, authorize use of the RoboCup name and logos, and authorize national committees and local events. The trustees also decide when to add or remove leagues and subleagues, appoint members of other committees, and manage the by-laws of the Federation. Most importantly, the trustees work hard to further the overall image and scientific goals of RoboCup and to keep the organization exciting and useful for all of the participants. The trustees serve 3-year terms. They are allowed to serve 2 consecutive terms after which they must spend at least one year off of the board. New trustees are elected by the national committees and by the current trustees. Current and past executive committee members are eligible.
- Consultants
Beside these committees, there are also consultants who are former member of the Exec and have great experiences from technical and organizing aspests of the whole league. The current Exec members turn to consultans for advice as needed. Consultants are entitles by trustees.
Organization Committee (RoboCup 2013)
- Local Chair
- Sander van Dijk, University of Heartfortshire, England (Local Chair)
- Committee
- 2D Simulation League
- Aijun Bai, University of Science and Technology of China, China (2D Chair)
- Joao Alberto Fabro, Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná, Brazil
- 3D Simulation League
- Sander van Dijk, University of Heartfortshire, England (3D Chair)
- Sajjad Haider, Institute of Business Administration Karachi, Pakistan
- 2D Simulation League
Technical Committee (RoboCup 2013)
- 2D Simulation League
- Luis Paulo Reis, University of Minho, Portugal
- João Alberto Fabro, Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná, Brazil
- 3D Simulation League
- Hedayat Vatankhah, Amirkabir University of Technology, Iran
- Nuno Lau, Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
- Patrick MacAlpine, University of Texas, USA
Executive Committee (RoboCup 2013)
- Hidehisa Akiyama, Fukuoka University, Japan
- Klaus Dorer, Hochschule Offenburg, Germany
- Nuno Lau, Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
Rules
2D Competititon Rules (2011) [1]
3D Competititon Rules (2013) [2]
Teams
2D Simulation League (2013)
| No. | Team Name | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | AUA2D | China |
| 2 | AUT Masterminds | Iran |
| 3 | Axiom | Iran |
| 4 | CSU_Yunlu | China |
| 5 | Cyrus | Iran |
| 6 | Damash | Iran |
| 7 | Daredevils | Egypt |
| 8 | FC Portugal 2D | Portugal |
| 9 | FC-Perspolis | Iran |
| 10 | GDUT_TiJi2013 | China |
| 11 | Gliders2013 | Australia |
| 12 | GPR2D | Brazil |
| 13 | HELIOS2013 | Japan |
| 14 | HfutEngine2013 | China |
| 15 | ITAndroids | Brazil |
| 16 | LegenDary | Iran |
| 17 | Nexus2D | Iran |
| 18 | Oxsy | Romania |
| 19 | Ri-one | Japan |
| 20 | UBC Thunderbots | Canada |
| 21 | UT Austin Villa | USA |
| 22 | Warthog Robotics | Brazil |
| 23 | WrightEagle | China |
| 24 | YuShan2013 | China |
3D Simulation League (2013)
| No. | Team Name | Country | Team Leader | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apollo3D | China | Juan Liu | Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications |
| 2 | AUA3D | China | Runmei Zhang | Anhui University of Architecture |
| 3 | Bahia3D | Brazil | Marco Simões | UNEB |
| 4 | Bold Hearts | United Kingdom | Sander van Dijk | University of Hertfordshire |
| 5 | cit3d | China | lichunguang | Changzhou Institute of Technology |
| 6 | FC Portugal 3D | Portugal | Nuno Lau | University of Aveiro/University of Minho/University of Porto |
| 7 | FUT-K_3D | Japan | Masato ISHITAKA | Fukui University of Technology |
| 8 | HfutEngine3D | China | Pengfei Zhang | HFUT |
| 9 | ITAndroids | Brazil | Fabio Luis de Mello | Instituto Tecnologico de Aeronautica |
| 10 | IUIM3D | Iran | Hojjat Nikan | Iran University of Industries & Mines (Tehran Center Branch) |
| 11 | Karachi Koalas | Australia and Pakistan | Mary-Anne Williams and Sajjad Haider | University of Technology, Sydney and Institute of Business Administration, Karachi |
| 12 | KylinSky3D | China | Hong JIANG | Hohai University Wentian College / Hohai University |
| 13 | L3M-SIM | France | Nicolas JOUANDEAU | Paris8 University |
| 14 | magmaOffenburg | Germany | Klaus Dorer | Hochschule Offenburg |
| 15 | Miracle3D | China | Wang Lei | Hefei Normal University |
| 16 | Mithras3D | Iran | Nazanin Dastserri | Farzanegan 1 Tehran |
| 17 | Nexus3D | Iran | Mahdi Alehdaghi | Ferdowsi University of Mashhad |
| 18 | ODENS | Japan | MASUTANI Yasuhiro | Osaka Electro-Communication University |
| 19 | Paydar3D | Iran | Mohammad Razeghi | Sharif University Of Technology |
| 20 | Rightel | Iran | Sajjad Torabian | University of Tehran |
| 21 | RoboCanes | USA | Ubbo Visser | University of Miami |
| 22 | S4M | Iran | Alireza Mirzargar | ? |
| 23 | Scorpius | Iran | Sadegh Mokari | AmirKabir University of Technology (AUT) |
| 24 | SEU-Jolly | China | Yao Liu | Southeast University |
| 25 | UT Austin Villa | USA | Patrick MacAlpine | University of Texas at Austin |
RoboCup Information
RoboCup Scores
RoboCup Champions
2D Simulation League
| Year | 1st Place Team | 2nd Place Team | 3rd Place Team | Media |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | HELIOS2012, Japan | WrightEagle, China | MarIiK, Iran | Final |
| 2011 | WrightEagle, China | HELIOS2011, Japan | MarliK, Iran | Final |
| 2010 | HELIOS, Japan | WrightEagle, China | Oxsy, Romania | Final |
| 2009 | WrightEagle, China | HELIOS, Japan | Oxsy, Romania | Final |
| 2008 | Brainstormers, Germany | WrightEagle, China | HELIOS, Japan | Final1 Final2 |
| 2007 | Brainstormers, Germany | WrightEagle, China | HELIOS, Japan | Final |
| 2006 | WrightEagle, China | Brainstormers, Germany | Ri-one, Japan | Final |
| 2005 | Brainstormers, Germany | WrightEagle, China | TokyoTechSFC, Japan | Final |
| 2004 | STEP, Russia | Brainstormers, Germany | Mersad, Iran | Final |
| 2003 | UvA Trilearn, The Netherlands | TsinghuAeolus, China | Brainstormers, Germany | Final |
| 2002 | TsinghuAeolus, China | Everest, China | Brainstormers, Germany | Final |
| 2001 | TsinghuAeolus, China | Brainstormers, Germany | FC Portugal, Portugal | Final1 Final2 |
| 2000 | FC Portugal, Portugal | Brainstormers, Germany | ATTCMUnited, USA | Final |
| 1999 | CMUnited, USA | magmaFreiburg, Germany | Essex Wizards, UK | Final |
| 1998 | CMUnited, USA | AT Humboldt, Germany | WindmillWanderer, The Netherlands | Final |
| 1997 | AT Humboldt, Germany | Andhill, Japan | ISIS, USA | Final |
3D Simulation League
| Year | 1st Place Team | 2nd Place Team | 3rd Place Team | Media |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | UT Austin Villa, USA | RoboCanes, USA | BoldHearts, GB | Final Highlights |
| 2011 | UT Austin Villa, USA | CIT3D, China | Apollo3D, China | Final 1 Final 2 |
| 2010 | Apollo3D, China | Nao Team Humboldt, Germany | HfutEngine, China | Final 1 Final 2 |
| 2009 | SEU-RedSun, China | Boldhearts, UK | LsuAmoyNQ, USA China | Final 1 Final 2 |
| 2007 | WrightEagle, China | Little Green BATS, Netherlands | SEU-3D, China | Final |
| 2006 | FC Portugal, Portugal | WrightEagle, China | ZJUBase, China | |
| 2005 | Aria2005Kavir, Iran | Brainstormers3D, Germany | Caspian, Iran & ZJUBase, China | |
| 2004 | Aria, Iran | AT-Humbold, Germany | UTUtd2004, Iran |
Research State of the Art
Publications Related to the RoboCup Soccer Simulation League