Robots to take over Sydney's International Convention Centre

RoboCup is the largest international robotics competition in the world. It’s designed to promote robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) research and development. At UNSW, we’re on a mission to encourage both university and school students to pursue an interest in fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

This year, RoboCup is open to the public from 4-7 July at the ICC Sydney. University students, school students and families are all welcome to attend. Already, we expect 260 teams and more than 2,000 participants to compete across a number of leagues, including robotic soccer, urban search and rescue missions, manufacturing and logistics, and home assistance challenges.

For primary and secondary school students, we’re also hosting a RoboCupJunior competition in soccer, rescue and onstage categories. No matter if you’re a RoboCup champion or if you’re new to this sport, there’s an activity for all.

UNSW’s very own rUNSWift team are Australia’s five-time champions of robot soccer. Last year, as the Socceroos took the field for the World Cup, our UNSW robot soccer team looked to regain the World Champion title in Montreal, Canada.

Professor Claude Sammut, from the Artificial Intelligence Research Group at the School of Computer Science and Engineering, is the long-time mentor to UNSW RoboCup teams. Professor Sammut has championed UNSW undergraduates and postgraduates throughout their robot soccer tournaments.

Professor Mark Hoffman, UNSW’s Dean of Engineering, is an advocate for the convergence of traditional sport and technology. “Our students’ supremacy in software development and innovation has resulted in incredible success for Australia in these robotic games in previous tournaments.”

Not sure exactly how a robot plays soccer? Watch the video from previous competitions below.