Gearing up for RoboCupJunior: Interview with Ana Patrícia Magalhães

Motion from RoboCupJunior Rescue at RoboCup 2024. Picture: RoboCup/Bart van Overbeeke.

The annual RoboCup occasion, the place groups collect from throughout the globe to participate in competitions throughout plenty of leagues, will this yr happen in Brazil, from 15-21 July. An vital a part of the week is RoboCupJunior, which is designed to introduce RoboCup to highschool youngsters, and sees lots of of youngsters participating in a wide range of challenges throughout completely different leagues. This yr, the lead organizer for RoboCupJunior is Ana Patrícia Magalhães. We caught up along with her to learn the way the preparations are going, what to anticipate at this yr’s competitors, and the way RoboCup evokes communities.

Might you inform us about RoboCupJunior and the plans you’ve gotten for the competitors this yr?

RoboCup will happen from 15-21 July, in Salvador, Brazil. We anticipate to obtain folks from greater than 40 nations, throughout the Junior and Main Leagues. We’re making ready every thing to accommodate all the scholars participating in RoboCupJunior, who will take part within the Junior Leagues of Soccer, Rescue and OnStage. They’re youngsters and youngsters, so we’ve organized shuttles to take them from the resorts to the conference middle. We’ve additionally ready a handbook with suggestions about safety, locations they’ll go to, locations to eat. The thought is to offer all the required assist for them, as a result of they’re so younger. We’re additionally organizing a welcome celebration for the Juniors in order that they’ll expertise a bit little bit of our tradition. It can hopefully be an excellent expertise for them.

The Juniors shall be situated on the primary stage of the mezzanine on the conference middle. They are going to be separate from the Main Leagues, who shall be on the bottom ground. After all, they’ll have the ability to go to the Main Leagues, and discuss to the scholars and different rivals there, however it is going to be good for them to have their very own area. There may also be some mother and father and lecturers with them, so we determined to make use of this particular, devoted area.

RoboCupJunior On Stage at RoboCup 2024. Picture: RoboCup/Bart van Overbeeke.

Do you’ve gotten any concept of roughly what number of groups shall be participating?

Sure, so we’ll have about 48 groups within the Soccer Leagues, 86 groups within the Rescue Leagues, and 27 in OnStage. That’s a number of groups. Every crew has about three or 4 college students, and lots of the mother and father, lecturers and professors journey with them too. In complete, we anticipate about 600 folks to be related to RoboCupJunior.

RoboCupJunior Soccer at RoboCup 2024. Picture: RoboCup/Bart van Overbeeke.

Have you ever acquired extra RoboCupJunior contributors from Brazil this yr as a result of location?

Sure, we’ve many groups from Brazil competing. I don’t know the precise quantity, however there are positively extra Brazilian groups this yr, as a result of it’s rather a lot cheaper and simpler for them to journey right here. When we’ve competitions in different nations, it’s costly for them. For instance, I’ve a crew right here in Salvador that certified for the tremendous regional occasion within the US and our crew couldn’t go. That they had certified, however they couldn’t go as a result of they didn’t have cash to pay for the ticket. Now, it is going to be doable for all of the Brazilian groups certified to take part as a result of it’s cheaper for them to return right here. So it’s an enormous alternative for improvement and to dwell the RoboCup expertise. It’s crucial for kids and youngsters to share their analysis, meet folks from different nations, and see what they’re doing, and what analysis path they’re following. They’re very grateful for the chance to have their work examined in opposition to others. In a contest, it’s doable to check your analysis with others. So it’s completely different from conferences the place you current a paper and present your work, nevertheless it’s not doable to check and consider the outcomes with different comparable work. In a contest you’ve gotten this chance. It’s a great way to get insights and enhance your analysis.

RoboCupJunior Rescue at RoboCup 2024. Picture: RoboCup/Bart van Overbeeke.

Your function at this RoboCup shall be organizing RoboCupJunior. Are you additionally concerned within the Main Leagues?

Sure, so my predominant function is organizing RoboCupJunior and I’m additionally one of many chairs of the RoboCup Symposium. Moreover, some groups from my laboratory are competing within the Main leagues. My crew participates within the @Dwelling league, however I haven’t had a lot time to assist them lately, with all of the preparations for RoboCup2025. Our laboratory additionally has groups from the 3d Simulation Soccer League, and the Flying Robots Demo. This would be the first time we’ll see a flying robotic demo league at a RoboCup.

We’ll even have two junior groups from the Rescue Simulation League. They’re very enthusiastic about participating.

RoboCupJunior Rescue at RoboCup 2024. Picture: RoboCup/Bart van Overbeeke.

RoboCup was final held in Brazil in 2014, and I perceive that there have been various new those that have been impressed to hitch a crew after that. Do you suppose the 2025 RoboCup may have the identical impact and can encourage extra folks in Brazil to participate?

Sure, I hope so. The final one impressed many, many college students. We may understand the distinction earlier than and after RoboCup at the moment, associated to initiatives in colleges. In 2014, RoboCup was held in João Pessoa, a metropolis within the north east that’s not as developed or populated as many different states in Brazil. It actually improved the analysis in that place and the curiosity in robotics particularly. After the 2014 RoboCup, we’ve had many initiatives submitted to the Brazilian RoboCup competitors from that state yearly. We imagine that it was due to RoboCup being held there.

We hope that RoboCup2025 subsequent month may have the identical impact. We expect it might need an excellent larger influence, as a result of there may be extra social media now and the information can unfold rather a lot additional. We predict many guests. We may have a kind the place colleges that wish to go to can enroll on a guided go to of RoboCup. This may go dwell on the web site subsequent week, however we’re already receiving many messages from colleges asking how they’ll take part with their group. They’re within the occasions, so we’ve excessive expectations.

We’ve got been engaged on organizing RoboCup2025 for over a yr, and there may be nonetheless a lot to do. We’re excited to obtain everyone right here, each for the competitors and to see town. We’ve got a ravishing metropolis on the coast, and a few lovely locations to go to, so I like to recommend that individuals come and keep for some days after the competitors to get to know our metropolis.

About Ana Patrícia

Ana Patrícia F. Magalhães Mascarenhas acquired her PhD in Pc Science from the Federal College of Bahia (2016) and Grasp in Mechatronics from the Federal College of Bahia (2007). She is at present an adjunct professor on the State College of Bahia (UNEB) on the Data Techniques course. She is a researcher and vice coordinator of the Heart for Analysis in Pc Structure, Clever Techniques and Robotics (ACSO). Her present analysis focuses on service robotics and software program engineering, particularly associated to using Synthetic Intelligence (AI) within the software program improvement course of and in Mannequin-Pushed Growth (DDM).