Gearing up for RoboCupJunior: Interview with Ana Patrícia Magalhães

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

The annual RoboCup occasion, the place groups collect from throughout the globe to participate in competitions throughout quite a lot of leagues, will this yr happen in Brazil, from 15-21 July. An essential a part of the week is RoboCupJunior, which is designed to introduce RoboCup to highschool kids, and sees a whole bunch of children collaborating in quite a lot of challenges throughout totally different leagues. This yr, the lead organizer for RoboCupJunior is Ana Patrícia Magalhães. We caught up along with her to learn how the preparations are going, what to anticipate at this yr’s competitors, and the way RoboCup evokes communities.

May you inform us about RoboCupJunior and the plans you have got 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 getting ready all the pieces to accommodate all the scholars collaborating in RoboCupJunior, who will take part within the Junior Leagues of Soccer, Rescue and OnStage. They’re kids and youngsters, so we have now organized shuttles to take them from the resorts 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 required assist for them, as a result of they’re so younger. We’re additionally organizing a welcome occasion for the Juniors in order that they will expertise a bit little bit of our tradition. It is going to hopefully be an excellent expertise for them.

The Juniors will likely be positioned on the primary stage of the mezzanine on the conference middle. They are going to be separate from the Main Leagues, who will likely be on the bottom flooring. In fact, they’ll have the ability to go to the Main Leagues, and speak to the scholars and different rivals there, however it will likely be good for them to have their very own area. There may 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. Photograph: RoboCup/Bart van Overbeeke.

Do you have got any thought of roughly what number of groups will likely 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 plenty of groups. Every crew has about three or 4 college students, and most of the mother and father, lecturers and professors journey with them too. In whole, we anticipate about 600 folks to be related to RoboCupJunior.

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

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

Sure, we have now 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 loads cheaper and simpler for them to journey right here. When we have now 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. They’d certified, however they couldn’t go as a result of they didn’t have cash to pay for the ticket. Now, it will likely 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 stay 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 towards others. In a contest, it’s doable to check your analysis with others. So it’s totally 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 comparable work. In a contest you have got this chance. It’s a great way to get insights and enhance your analysis.

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

Your position at this RoboCup will likely be organizing RoboCupJunior. Are you additionally concerned within the Main Leagues?

Sure, so my most important position is organizing RoboCupJunior and I’m additionally one of many chairs of the RoboCup Symposium. In addition to, some groups from my laboratory are competing within the Main leagues. My crew participates within the @Residence 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 collaborating.

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

RoboCup was final held in Brazil in 2014, and I perceive that there have been numerous new folks that have been impressed to affix 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 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 may need a good larger affect, as a result of there’s extra social media now and the information can unfold loads 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. It will 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 we have now 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 all people right here, each for the competitors and to see town. We now have an attractive metropolis on the coast, and a few lovely locations to go to, so I like to recommend that folks 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 Laptop Science from the Federal College of Bahia (2016) and Grasp in Mechatronics from the Federal College of Bahia (2007). She is presently an adjunct professor on the State College of Bahia (UNEB) on the Info Methods course. She is a researcher and vice coordinator of the Middle for Analysis in Laptop 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).