Robot soccer: integrated framework for Multidisciplinary hi-tech education

Abstract

Robot Soccer has become increasingly popular over the last decade as a platform for education and entertainment. It is a powerful vehicle for dissemination of scientific knowledge in a fun and exciting manner. It encompasses several technologies – embedded micro-controller based hardware, wireless radio-frequency data transmission, dynamics and kinematics of motion, motion control algorithms, real-time image capture and processing, multiagent collaboration, programming and mechatronics in general. With very user-friendly Graphical Interfaces (GUI), different elements of scientific principles can be explored and experimented with by interacting with the system. The results of experiments are presented instantaneously. Since the systems from two teams perform in a competitive environment, there is tremendous excitement too. This itself is a great attraction for students, from primary schools to tertiary education level. The key features of the Robot Soccer Games and how it is used in learning mathematical, scientific and engineering concepts are presented in this paper.