RoboTeam Twente is a student team of UT and Saxion. Annually, they compete at the RoboCup with a team of eleven small robots, Petrea explains. ‘We are just a bunch of nerds with different academic backgrounds, but we all have a common passion for robots and artificial intelligence.’ The team competes in the so-called ‘Small Size League’ and is building a squad of fifteen small robots to compete. Throughout the matches, human intervention is kept to a minimum; both teams of robot football players are entirely managed by artificial intelligence.
Last year’s results
During the RoboCup 2023 in Bordeaux, the team lost four out of four matches. ‘Last year, we had a very small team that took on more than they could handle, leading to immense pressure. Furthermore, the team was recruited to optimize the software, but hardware issues lead to only five robots being fully operational.’
Petrea, a bachelor’s student Mechanical Engineering, is convinced that a similar situation will not occur again this year. ‘Last year’s team did an incredible job in recruiting, which is why we can aim to build the best robots possible, and we genuinely believe we can achieve a great result. The team has done a great job so far, and since we are expecting to have more robots operational this year, our performance is likely to be better.’
Innovations
The current RoboTeam Twente primarily focused on redesigning the hardware and adapting the software accordingly. They implemented several modifications to the robots, including updates to the motors and wheels. ‘The motors we were using were quite outdated, so we upgraded to smaller and more powerful ones. This led to an entire reconfiguration of the robot.’
Additionally, adjustments were made to the wheels, which were originally designed by the first generation. The current RoboTeam is the first team to make changes to the wheels, by going from a gear ratio to direct drive system. Moreover, changes were made to the so-called ‘solenoids’. The device, which is described by the technical manager as a ‘bunch of wire around a plastic core which can create a magnetic field by passing a current trough it’ is likely to be smaller, more powerful and reliable.
Ambitions
Petrea is confident that results at the RoboCup will improve this year. ‘There are good years and bad years, and a low score is hard to prevent. We are giving everything we can to build the best robots as possible, and I truly believe we can do that.’
This year, the ambitions are sky high for the RoboCup 2024, which takes place from 15 to 22 July in Eindhoven. ‘The ultimate goal is to win the RoboCup, and I believe it's within our reach. Our team has the best hardware and exceptional software. It would be sad if we found ourselves at the bottom of the competition, but everyone at RoboTeam Twente is giving 110 percent, which leaves me content even in case of a mediocre result.’
