RoboCup soccer for 2010?

February 2008 News

Interest has been shown in forming a local organising committee (LOC) with the mandate to prepare a bid to bring the RoboCup event to South Africa in 2010 to bootstrap on the FIFA World Cup to be held here in that same year.

RoboCup has been running for 11 years and is considered by many to be the most important robotics competition in the world. The objectives of RoboCup are to promote education and research in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and related fields by providing a standard problem where a wide range of technologies can be integrated and examined.

RoboCup and includes three major themes:

* RoboCup Soccer: The goal of this project is to develop a team of fully autonomous humanoid robots that can compete against the human world champion team in soccer by the year 2050.

* RoboCup Rescue: This promotes research in socially significant issues and includes real robot and simulation leagues.

* RoboCup Junior: This robotics event is for elementary and high school students and includes three challenges: soccer, rescue, and dance.

The scale of RoboCup is huge. At the 2007 event in Atlanta, USA some 2000 students and scientists from more than 30 countries participated. The event also attracts many thousands of visitors.

To move the South African 2010 hosting project forward a core LOC needs to be formed with a mandate to prepare the bid documentation, gather sponsorship interest and negotiate with the international body, RoboCup Federation.

For more information contact Mike Barker, +27 (0) 83 6277673, [email protected] or visit www.robocup.org

Further reading:

Reinstatement opportunity for ECSA registration
News
In 2023 the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) announced a special opportunity for engineers in South Africa to reinstate their registration status if it had been cancelled. This exclusive offer is available until the end of August 2024.

Read more...

---

Hytec opens fifteenth Mandela Day library
Bosch Rexroth Africa News
Over 200 learners at Monene Primary School in rural Limpopo have received their own containerised library. This is the fifteenth library since 2011, provided by Hytec South Africa and the Nelson Mandela School Library Project to schools across the country.

Read more...

---

CSIR survey on the state of cybersecurity in South Africa
News
The CSIR Information and Cybersecurity Centre has released four comprehensive national cybersecurity surveys. These delve into critical areas such as cybersecurity preparedness and resilience in the public sector, cybersecurity skills gaps, cybersecurity incidents, and the digital identity landscape in South Africa.

Read more...

---

Referro Systems partners with Festo in Northern Cape
News
Referro Systems has been recognised as an Authorised Official Partner Candidate for Festo in the Northern Cape, marking a significant milestone in its commitment to delivering best-in-class automation solutions to customers.

Read more...

---

Heavy-duty tablet achieves global certification
Vepac Electronics News
In a significant advancement for the company’s rugged tablets, the Teguar TRT-5380-10 heavy-duty tablet from Vepac has successfully acquired 11 international certifications, setting a new standard in quality, safety, and security across global markets.

Read more...

---

Bühler Johannesburg transforms Little Star Daycare Centre
News
Little Star Daycare in Vanderbijlpark has undergone a remarkable transformation, thanks to the generous support of Bühler Johannesburg.

Read more...

---

Schneider Electric and Harmony accelerate skills development
Schneider Electric South Africa News
Schneider Electric has formed a strategic partnership with Harmony Gold Mining to upgrade the instrumentation workshop into a state-of-the-art facility.

Read more...

---

RS South Africa showcases mining products and solutions
RS South Africa News
RS South Africa recently exhibited at MTE Steelport in Limpopo, and MTE Sibanye-Stillwater in Gauteng.

Read more...

---

RS PRO expands automation range
RS South Africa News
As automation continues to revolutionise production facilities, RS PRO, the trusted own brand of RS, is expanding its product range to meet the growing demand for smarter, more efficient processes.

Read more...

---

From the editor's desk: Killer science
Technews Publishing (SA Instrumentation & Control) News
I couldn’t resist watching The World Industrial Reporter’s video on Ten Scientists Killed By Their Own Experiments. Some of them would have deserved the Darwin Award for taking themselves out of the ...

Read more...

---