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 a variety 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 high school youngsters, and sees lots of of children collaborating in quite a lot of challenges throughout completely different leagues. This yr, the lead organizer for RoboCupJunior is Ana Patrícia Magalhães. We caught up together with her to learn how 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 may have for the competitors this yr?

RoboCup will happen from 15-21 July, in Salvador, Brazil. We count on to obtain individuals from greater than 40 international locations, throughout the Junior and Main Leagues. We’re getting ready the whole lot to accommodate all the scholars collaborating in RoboCupJunior, who will take part within the Junior Leagues of Soccer, Rescue and OnStage. They’re youngsters and youngsters, so now we have organized shuttles to take them from the accommodations to the conference middle. We’ve additionally ready a handbook with suggestions about safety, locations they will go to, locations to eat. The thought is to offer all the mandatory 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 will expertise a bit of little bit of our tradition. It should hopefully be expertise for them.

The Juniors will probably be positioned on the primary degree of the mezzanine on the conference middle. They are going to be separate from the Main Leagues, who will probably 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 opponents there, however it is going to be good for them to have their very own area. There will even 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 may have any concept of roughly what number of groups will probably be collaborating?

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 variety of groups. Every workforce has about three or 4 college students, and most of the mother and father, lecturers and professors journey with them too. In complete, we count on about 600 individuals to be related to RoboCupJunior.

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

Have you ever acquired extra RoboCupJunior individuals from Brazil this yr because of the location?

Sure, now we have many groups from Brazil competing. I don’t know the precise quantity, however there are undoubtedly extra Brazilian groups this yr, as a result of it’s so much cheaper and simpler for them to journey right here. When now we have competitions in different international locations, it’s costly for them. For instance, I’ve a workforce right here in Salvador that certified for the tremendous regional occasion within the US and our workforce couldn’t go. They’d 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 come back right here. So it’s an enormous alternative for improvement and to stay the RoboCup expertise. It’s essential for youngsters and youngsters to share their analysis, meet individuals from different international locations, 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, but it surely’s not doable to check and consider the outcomes with different related work. In a contest you may have 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 position at this RoboCup will probably be organizing RoboCupJunior. Are you additionally concerned within the Main Leagues?

Sure, so my important position is organizing RoboCupJunior and I’m additionally one of many chairs of the RoboCup Symposium. Apart from, some groups from my laboratory are competing within the Main leagues. My workforce participates within the @Dwelling league, however I haven’t had a lot time to assist them not too long ago, 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 collaborating.

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 numerous new folks that had been impressed to hitch a workforce after that. Do you suppose the 2025 RoboCup may have the identical impact and can encourage extra individuals in Brazil to participate?

Sure, I hope so. The final one impressed many, many college students. We might 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 isn’t 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 predict it might need an excellent larger impression, as a result of there’s extra social media now and the information can unfold so much additional. We expect many guests. We may have a type the place colleges that wish to go to can enroll on a guided go to of RoboCup. This can go stay on the web site subsequent week, however we’re already receiving many messages from colleges asking how they will take part with their group. They’re within the occasions, so now we have excessive expectations.

We now have been engaged on organizing RoboCup2025 for over a yr, and there’s nonetheless a lot to do. We’re excited to obtain everyone right here, each for the competitors and to see the town. We now have a stupendous metropolis on the coast, and a few stunning 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 obtained 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 the moment an adjunct professor on the State College of Bahia (UNEB) on the Data Methods course. She is a researcher and vice coordinator of the Heart for Analysis in Pc Structure, Clever Methods and Robotics (ACSO). Her present analysis focuses on service robotics and software program engineering, particularly associated to the usage of Synthetic Intelligence (AI) within the software program improvement course of and in Mannequin-Pushed Growth (DDM).