ITS Ichiro Team with German Bitbots Team at RoboCup 2024 in Eindhoven, Netherlands

ITS Campus, ITS News — The Ichiro robot team from the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) has once again asserted its dominance on the international stage. This time, the pride of ITS, their humanoid soccer-playing robot team, wins first place in the Technical Challenge at RoboCup 2024 held in Eindhoven, Netherlands, which concluded on July 21.

Muhtadin ST MT, the advisor of the Ichiro ITS team, explained that RoboCup 2024 is an annual international robot competition organized by the RoboCup Federation, a global robotics expert federation. This competition brought together 300 of the best robot teams from 40 countries worldwide. Ichiro ITS competed in the Humanoid-Kid Size class, vying for the titles of Robot Soccer and Technical Challenge among 18 categories contested this year.

Humanoid robot from ITS Ichiro team competing in RoboCup 2024 in Eindhoven, Netherlands

In this category, participating robots faced five different challenges. These included parkour, obstacle avoidance without touching, high-kick where robots aim to score goals with high kicks, collaborative localization, and scoring from a moving ball from the corner of the field. “All these challenges were performed autonomously,” added the ITS Computer Engineering Department lecturer.

Despite facing hurdles, Muhtadin revealed that the Ichiro ITS team encountered several issues during the competition. Some robots experienced electrical problems due to short circuits during maintenance. However, the team managed to resolve these issues, ultimately leading Ichiro to win the Technical Challenge category. “This excellent execution also enabled Ichiro to defeat 17 teams from 13 other countries,” Muhtadin proudly stated.

ITS Ichiro Robot (left) competing in the RoboCup 2024 event in Eindhoven, Netherlands

In line with their achievement, Muhtadin believes this success is attributed to the innovative improvisations brought by the Ichiro ITS team. One such innovation is the use of carbon fiber material for almost the entire body of the robot. According to Muhtadin, this material makes the Ichiro robot lighter, stronger, and more resistant to impacts from falls. Additionally, the leg design has been continuously improved to be faster, making the kicks stronger, farther, and more accurate.

ITS Ichiro robot competing to avoid obstacles in one of the challenges at RoboCup 2024 in the Netherlands

Reflecting on Ichiro’s outstanding performance in this annual competition, Muhtadin mentioned that the team had given their utmost effort. Despite the tight preparation time following their participation in the 2024 Indonesian Robot Contest (KRI), the Ichiro team still managed to secure their place at the top of the international championship standings. “This achievement is undoubtedly due to the team’s collaboration and unwavering spirit,” he gratefully expressed.

ITS Ichiro Team after winning the Technical Challenge Humanoid-Kid Size class at the RoboCup 2024 event in the Netherlands

Reporter: Shafa Annisa Ramadhani