Students from Laval University in Quebec, Canada participated in RoboCup, a unique robotics competition aimed at promoting artificial intelligence. The team built a robot for the Small Robot League of RoboCupSoccer, where entries cannot exceed 22 centimeters in height or 18 centimeters in diameter.

The team used iglide® J bearings from igus® Inc. – donated free of charge – to effectively decrease the amount of friction between the robot’s structure and the wheels’ stainless steel shaft, which in turn, eliminated any loss of power to the transmission.

At the North American RoboCup US Open 2005, the team’s robot had to, without any human intervention, follow the orders of a ground-located computer to move and strike a small ball. To accomplish this goal, the robot was equipped with artificial vision that enabled it to determine the location of the “players”, the ball and the goal.

The team was classed in third position at the event. To learn more about the Laval University RoboCupSoccer team, visit www.etudiants.phy.ulaval.ca/~robocuplaval/accueil_en.htm.