Korean-American roboticists have triumphed in a global robot soccer competition.
The RoMeLa team, led by UCLA mechanical engineering professor Dennis Hong, won the Humanoid Adult Size category at the RoboCup 2024, held at the Eindhoven Tech dome in the Netherlands from July 15 to 21.
The RoboCup is a prestigious global competition where humanoid robots detect, kick, and play soccer with a ball. This year, the event attracted 300 teams from 45 countries. Team RoMeLa emerged victorious by winning all six matches of the competition, ultimately taking home the trophy.
In the final match on July 21, Hong’s team RoMeLa, with their humanoid robot ARTEMIS, defeated the defending champions, team NimbRo from the University of Bonn in Germany.
Developed by Hong’s research team, ARTEMIS stands for “Advanced Robotic Technology for Enhanced Mobility and Improved Stability.” At 4 feet 8 inches tall and weighing 85 pounds, ARTEMIS can balance, drive movement, and kick a ball while withstanding external forces such as kicks and pushes.
In February, ARTEMIS secured first place in the free walking category at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE) humanoid bipedal competition in Austin, Texas. According to the UCLA research lab, ARTEMIS was recorded as the fastest humanoid, walking 2.1 meters per second in the lab.
The RoboCup, an annual international robotics competition, was initiated by university professors in 1996, with the first competition held in Nagoya, Japan, in 1997. Since then, it has been held annually around the world. The humanoid league, introduced in 2002, has garnered worldwide popularity, making the RoboCup a significant international robotics event.
BY SUAH JANG, HOONSIK WOO [jang.suah@koreadaily.com]
