Nao Team Humboldt » GermanOpen Hannover 2008

Further Nao Performances

fh — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 20:00:46 +0000

Today we presented the fruits of our week’s labour during the half time breaks of both the small and large finals of the Aibo League. People were once again very excited and can hardly wait to see the first Nao football game. Our small robot was already able to wander unaidedly around the soccer pitch, and follow objects such as the ball. The Nao even made friends with our Aibos. All in all we are now very excited about the RoboCup World Cup, which will take place in a number of weeks in Suzhou, China.

Our first Nao Performance

fh — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:00:13 +0000

Through intensive work on the robot we can now improve our robot movements. We hope to possibly achieve the first self-programmed walking by this evening. Between the semi-finals we have already presented some things with the Nao, for example how a robot can recognise and follow the ball, and were able to impress many onlookers. In the picture you can see an obstacle course, which may also soon be laid out for the Naos, where a robot must dribble a ball past different obstacles.

First Nao Demonstration

fh — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:00:04 +0000

Today the BreDo-Brothers held the first demonstration of the real Nao. The NaoTeam decided not to participate at this demo in order to review a new development kit which was released on yesterday. From tomorrow we will present the new Nao in the half-time breaks of the Aibo League, as the new standard robot platform. In the right of the picture you can see our friends from the simulation team, who were also very successful and reached the semi-final.

Meeting with Aldebaran

fh — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 20:00:17 +0000

Today we had the opportunity to speak with Bruno, the chief executive of Aldebaran, which was very productive. The French want to think about and implement many of our wishes. According to their own statements they are very thankful for our feedback. In the afternoon there was a further presentation of the Nao held by Aldebaran, which was very well received. Work on the framework and the first movements continue.

First tests

fh — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:00:52 +0000

The work on our demonstrations has gathered momentum. We can now access pictures from the Nao’s camera, and are working on a tool called the MotionEditor with the help of which it will be possible to produce more complex motions. Tomorrow the chief executive of Aldebaran will pay us a visit, which will give us the chance to directly articulate some of our particular wishes. Some further bugs were found and several ambiguities within the new architecture were eliminated. Today the NaoTeam again worked long into the night.

Arrival in Hannover

fh — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 20:00:56 +0000

Today the NaoTeamHumboldt travelled to Hannover, together with the AiboTeam. In order to stick to a precise timetable we left Adlershof using one of the university minibuses at 10am. We arrived on time in Hannover at 1.30pm and collected the Aibo robots from the main train station, as they had taken part in a demonstration the previous evening in Frankfurt. After this we checked in at a secluded Hotel in Lehrte as most of the rooms in Hannover were already booked due to the exhibition. After helping to sort out a case of theft the NaoTeam arrived at the exhibition centre at 5pm and immediately began with preparations. Given that there will be no competitions in the Nao League, the main focus of the team’s work is to prepare for a presentation. Sadly our Nao robot damaged its left shoulder joint on Friday, meaning that its ability to move was somewhat impeded. But such problems are to be expected with a very new model of robot. In any case we are looking forward to what the next few days will bring.