Participating Teams 2009 – RoboCup Standard Platform League

Austrian-Kangaroos	Austria Team Contact: Markus Bader, Alexander Hofmann, Dietmar Schreiner Institutes: Automation and Control Institute (ACIN), Vienna University of Technology University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien Institute of Computer Languages Compilers and Languages Group (COMPLANG), Vienna University of Technology
Team Profile:	Team consists of graduate and undergraduate students from the Vienna University of Technology and University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien
Research Topics:	vision for robotics, linear and complex dynamical systems, artificial intelligence
Team Report:	tdp2009_austrian-kangaroos.pdf

B-Human	Germany Team Contact: Thomas Roefer Institutes: DFKI Bremen University of Bremen
Team Profile:	Our team consists of students in the advanced study period and of scientific employees from the University of Bremen and the DFKI Bremen. B-Human participated in the Humanoid Kid Size League at RoboCup 2007 and 2008. We also participated as BreDoBrothers, a cooperation with the TU Dortmund, in the Standard Platform League in 2008 as well as in the Humanoid Kid Size League 2006.
Research Topics:	Probabilistic state estimation, real-time computer vision, robot simulation, and gait optimization
Team Report:	bhuman09_coderelease.pdf

BURST	Israel Team Contact: Gal Kaminka, Eli Kolberg, Eran Polosetski, Vladimir Sadov Institutes: Maverick lab, Department of Computer Science, Bar-Ilan University School of Engineering, Bar-Ilan University
Team Profile:	Team consists of graduate and undergraduate students of Bar-Ilan University.
Research Topics:	Learning bi-pedal walking, Multi-robot formations, Multi-robot area patrol, Visual SLAM
Team Report:	Burst_2009_team_report.pdf

Cerberus	Turkey Team Contact: H.Levent Akın Institutes: Department of Computer Engineering, Bogazici University
Team Profile:	Team consists of graduate and undergraduate students of BU AILAB. Cerberus participated in RoboCup 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. Cerberus was ranked 1st in the Technical Challenges in 2005 and made it to the quarterfinals in 2006 and 2008. Cerberus took the fourth place in RoboCup German Open 2007.
Research Topics:	Self localization, multi-agent task allocation, path planning and obstacle avoidance, reinforcement learning, POMDPs
Team Report:	Cerberus10TDP.pdf

CMWrEagle	China USA Team Contact: Somchaya Liemhetcharat, Jinsu Liu Institutes: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University Department of Computer Science, University of Science and Technology of China
Team Profile:	CMWrEagle is a joint team between the CORAL group of CMU and the MAS Lab of USTC. CM-* is a RoboCup team developed in the CORAL group of CMU, and we have been participating in RoboCup since 1997. WrightEagle is a RoboCup team developed by MAS Lab of USTC. Now, it consists of four groups, Simulation, SPL, MSRS, and @Home. WrightEagle is an active team from 2000, for these years, the team has won three champions and six runner-ups in RoboCup competitions.
Research Topics:	Artificial intelligence, Multi-robot Coordination, Legged robot motion planning, Path planning, Computer vision, Localization, POMDPs
Team Report:	CMurfs_2010_TDP.pdf

Eagle Knights	Mexico Team Contact: Alfredo Weitzenfeld, Marco Morales, Gibran Rios Institutes: Laboratorio de Robotica, Division de Ingenieria, ITAM
Team Profile:	The team consists of undergraduate students from the computer science and telematics engineering departments at ITAM. Eagle Knights participated in Robocup 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008.
Research Topics:	Bio-Robotics, Social Cognition, Ad-Hoc Networking, Motion Planing and Control Algorithms, Sensor Networks.
Team Report:	http://robotica.itam.mx/beta/files/SPL2008-2009.pdf

Nao Team HTWK	Germany Team Contact: Rico Tilgner Institutes: Leipzig University of Applied Sciences
Team Profile:	–
Research Topics:	–
Team Report:	techReportHTWK.pdf

Kouretes	Greece Team Contact: Michail G. Lagoudakis, Nikos Vlassis Institutes: Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Technical University of Crete Department of Production Engineering and Management, Technical University of Crete
Team Profile:	Kouretes is the RoboCup team of the Technical University of Crete, Chania, Greece. The team is a collaboration of the Intelligent Systems Laboratory at the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering and the Intelligent Systems and Robotics Laboratory at the Department of Production Engineering and Management and consists mainly of undergraduate students working on their diploma thesis on selected robocup-related topics. The team participated in the technical challenges of the Four-Legged League at RoboCup 2006 and played full games for the first time in the Four-Legged League at RoboCup German Open 2007. Kouretes won the 2nd place in the MSRS Simulation Contest at RoboCup 2007. Kouretes participated at RoboCup 2008 in the newly established Standard Platform League (SPL) with the humanoid Aldebaran Nao robots and ranked 1st in SPL-MSRS, 3rd in SPL-Nao, and among the top 8 teams in SPL-Webots.
Research Topics:	Reinforcement Learning, Team Coordination, Robust Object Recognition, Special Action Synthesis, Adaptive Color Segmentation, CPG-Based Walk
Team Report:	Kouretes 2008 Nao Team Report

Les 3 Mousquetaires	France Team Contact: Vincent HUGEL Institutes: Laboratory of System Engineering, Versailles University
Team Profile:	The French team will be composed of students and professors from Versailles University, Paris VIII University and EFREI Engineering School. The original team participated in the AIBO league from 1998 to 2005, and in the rescue league from 2003 to 2005. Best results include 1st rank in 1999, 2nd in 2001, and fourth in 2002.
Research Topics:	Mobile robotics, motion planning, legged locomotion – gaits and transitions, embedded vision, integrated systems
Team Report:	none

Robo Eireann	Ireland Team Contact: Rick Middleton Institutes: The Hamilton Institute, The National University of Ireland Maynooth
Team Profile:	The team consists of undergraduates, graduates and academics from The Hamilton Institute, Computer Science and Electronic Engineering at NUI Maynooth. The team was formed late in 2007, and joined the University of Newcastle, Australia to compete as a joint team (NUManoids) who won the 2008 Nao competition. In 2009 NUI Maynooth and Newcastle will compete as individual teams.
Research Topics:	Localisation and world modelling using Gaussian Mixture models, Use of graphics chips for vision processing, active control & dynamic walks.
Team Report:	none

MRL	Iran Team Contact: Ehsan Hashemi Institutes: Mechatronics Research Laboratory, Department of Electrical, Computer and IT Engineering, Qazvin Azad university
Team Profile:	MRL is a research laboratory that is an active participant of RoboCup from 2003 in different league such as Rescue Robot, Middle size, Small size, Simulations league and so on. MRL SPL Team is just form this year and consists of graduate and undergraduate students of Qazvin Azad University
Research Topics:	Machine Vision,Multi-agent coordination,Self localization, multi-agent task allocation, path planning and obstacle avoidance, reinforcement learning, Fuzzy Decision Making
Team Report:	none

Nao Devils Dortmund	Germany Team Contact: Stefan Czarnetzki Institutes: Robotics Research Institute, TU Dortmund
Team Profile:	The team consists of researchers and students of TU Dortmund University. We participate in RoboCup competitions since 2002 with several different teams: Microsoft Hellhounds and as part of the German Team (4-Legged-League), DoHBots (Humanoid League), and BreDoBrothers (together with University Bremen) and now as Nao Devils Dortmund in the Standard Platform League.
Research Topics:	biped walking, machine vision, stochastic filtering
Team Report:	BreDoBrothers08.pdf

Nao Team Humoldt	Germany Team Contact: Heinrich Mellmann Institutes: Department of Artificial Intelligence, Humboldt Universitat zu Berlin
Team Profile:	The Nao Team Humboldt was founded at the end of 2007 as the successor of the Aibo Team Humboldt. It consists of students and researchers from the Humboldt-Universit�t zu Berlin. The Aibo Team Humboldt was participating in RoboCup from 1999 to 2008. They won several times the German Open Championship. As part of the German Team they also won three times the World Championship in the Four-Legged League and twice the technical challenge. In 2008 the newly formed Nao Team Humboldt reached the semi-finals in the Nao Standard Platform League.
Research Topics:	Self localization, biped walk, behavior control, computer vision
Team Report:	NaoTH09Report.pdf

Northern Bites	U.S.A Team Contact: Eric Chown Institutes: Bowdoin College
Team Profile:	Bowdoin College’s Northern Bites began in Spring 2005. Though we are mostly undergrads balancing full class loads, we enjoy RoboCup as an escape from the standard academic methods of problem sets, examinations, and essays. Team member quotes as to why they joined the nBites: “I was interested in the application of advanced mathematics in a computerized environment.” – Mark McGranaghan ;”I hoped to finally succeed in competition after losing at years of sports in school” – Joho Strom;”Nothing shows the inanity of our human existence more then robot dogs running on carpet.” – George Slavov. You can read all about our glories and downfalls at our blog: http://robocup.bowdoin.edu
Research Topics:	cognitive architecture, machine learning, python, RoboCup for education
Team Report:	http://robocup.bowdoin.edu/media/2008/NorthernBites-TeamReport-2008.pdf

NTU Robot PAL	Taiwan Team Contact: Chieh-Chih Wang Institutes: Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, National Taiwan University
Team Profile:	Team consists of graduate students from the Robot Perception and Learning Lab, NTU. The team is a first-time entrant in RoboCup 2009.
Research Topics:	multiple-robot localization and tracking, motion planning, activity recognition
Team Report:	none

NUbots	Australia Team Contact: Naomi Henderson Institutes: Newcastle Robotics Laboratory , The University of Newcastle Australia
Team Profile:	This year the NUbots will be a student only team comprised of four experienced PhD students. The NUbots from the University of Newcastle competed in the RoboCup Four-Legged League 2002-2007 using Sony AIBO robots. They were placed second in 2007 and 2005, and had achieved a third place in the years 2004, 2003, and 2002. The NUbots won the World Championship at RoboCup 2006 in Bremen, Germany. In 2008, The NUbots cooperated with NUI Maynooth to form a joint team called NUManoids which won the first world title in the Nao Standard Platform League.
Research Topics:	Biped walk, human-robot interaction, line detection, localization, locomotion, machine learning on robots, robotic bear, sound analysis, statistics and vision.
Team Report:	Coming soon

rUNSWift	Australia Team Contact: Maurice Pagnucco Institutes: School of Computer Science and Engineering, The University of New South Wales
Team Profile:	Team consists of CSE undergraduate students. UNSW had amazing success in the 4-Legged League of RoboCup when they participated from 1999 to 2006 – from eight attempts they made the final six times, winning the league three times and coming second another three times. This was even more impressive considering that the entire team of students were new each year, and that they were all undergraduates. In 2008 they moved up to the 2-Legged Nao League in the newly renamed Standard Platform League, where they were quarter finalists.
Research Topics:	Machine learning, multi-robot coordination, human-robot interaction, reinforcement learning, AI planning.
Team Report:	http://cgi.cse.unsw.edu.au/~robocup/2009site/

SPQR	Italy Team Contact: Luca Iocchi Institutes: Department of Computer and Systems Science, Sapienza Universita’ di Roma
Team Profile:	The team consists of graduate and undergraduate students of Ro.Co.Co. (Cognitive Robot Teams) Laboratory. SPQR has been involved in RoboCup competitions since 1998 in different leagues: Middle-size, Four-legged, Real-Rescue robots, Virtual-Rescue robots, Standard Platform League.
Research Topics:	Adaptive Colour Segmentation,Self Localization with Particle Filters, Petri-Net based Plan Representation and Execution, Machine Learning, Dynamic Task Allocation for Multi-Robot Coordination, Development of a 3D Simulator for Multiple Legged Robots based on USARSim (for the former four-legged league), Humanoid Locomotion and Control, Learning Techniques for Biped Locomotion
Team Report:	SPQRL-TDP08.pdf

TeamChaos	Spain Team Contact: Humberto Martinez-Barbera Institutes: University of Murcia Carlos III University Rey Juan Carlos University University of Leon Rovira i Virgili University
Team Profile:	TeamChaos is a team in which different Spanish universities collaborate. The team has participated in RoboCup 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, and it was a followup of previous TeamSweden (1999-2003).
Research Topics:	Self localization, embedded vision, intelligent techniques, uncertainty management
Team Report:	TeamChaos-Report-2008.pdf

TJArk	China Team Contact: CHEN Qijun Institutes: School of Electronics and Information, Tongji University
Team Profile:	TJArk was established in 2004 as a part of the Lab of Robot and Intelligent Control of Tongji University in China,and participated in RoboCup for the first time in 2006. We entered the quarter finals in RoboCup 2007 and RoboCup 2008.
Research Topics:	Machine Vision, Motion Control of Quadruped Robot, Machine Learning, Self Localization,Multi-agent System .etc.

TT-UT Austin Villa	USA Team Contact: Todd Hester Institutes: Department of Computer Science, The University of Texas at Austin Department of Computer Science, Texas Tech University
Team Profile:	Our team started as a class project in January of 2003. At RoboCup 2003 in Padua, our goal was just to participate. We lost all of our official games, though were able to win some exhibitions and achieved the fourth highest result in the challenge competition, including the second highest score in the obstacle avoidance challenge. We reached the quarterfinals of RoboCup 2004,2005,2007 and 2008 (in both Nao and Aibo). Also see our team reports (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006) for details. We won the 2009 SPL US Open.
Research Topics:	Self localization, multi-agent task allocation, path planning and obstacle avoidance, reinforcement learning, POMDPs
Team Report:	pdf

UChile Kiltros	Chile Team Contact: Javier Ruiz-del-Solar Institutes: Department of Electrical Engineering, Universidad de Chile
Team Profile:	Our team consists of undergraduate, graduate and PhD students of Electrical Engineering. We have participated in RoboCup since year 2003 to 2008. Until the RoboCup 2007, we participated with the Aibo robot. In the RoboCup 2008, we were one of the sixteen teams that participated with the NAO platform.
Research Topics:	Robot vision, probabilistic decision making, machine learning, self-localization and humanoid robotics. Relevant publications in http://www.robocup.cl/four/publications.htm
Team Report:	http://www.robocup.cl/four/UChileKiltrosTDP.pdf

UPennalizers	USA Team Contact: Daniel Lee Institutes: GRASP Lab, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pensylvania
Team Profile:	The team consists of graduate and undergraduate students of the University of Pennsylvania lead by Dr Daniel Lee of the GRASP Lab. The UPennalizers participated in the RoboCup SPL competition in 2003, 2004, and 2005, with a quarter-final finish in Osaka in 2005.
Research Topics:	Self localization, path planning and obstacle avoidance, feedback based walk/motion engine, communication and collaboration
Team Report:	none

Zadeat	Germany Austria South Africa Team Contact: Alexander Ferrein, Gerald Steinbauer, Anet Potgieter Institutes: Knowledge-Based Sustems Group, RWTH Aachen University Institute for Software Technology, Graz University of Technology Agents and Robotics Research Lab, University of Cape Town
Team Profile:	Zadeat is a multi-national project between the RWTH Aachen University, Graz University of Technology, and the University of Cape Town, and was founded in 2008 for participating in the new SPL. Robocup experience exists within the project from the previous teams AllemaniACs and Mostly Harmless in the Simluation League, the Middle-size League, and Robocup@Home.
Research Topics:	(logic-based) high-level control, model-based diagnosis, computational intelligence, hybrid conntrol
Team Report:	Zadeat09TeamReport.pdf