- RoboCup-nao - lists.robocup.org

RC Soccer SPL Call for TC/OC Nominations
by Timothy Wiley 16 Jul '25

16 Jul '25

Dear SPL Teams, TL;DR This is a call for nominations to the SPL organising committee (OC) and technical committee (TC). Without the work that these committees do, RoboCup SPL would not be possible. Both committees generally require 4-5 members each. We ask that all teams nominate candidates for the committees. This year, we are particularly focused on strong representation from as many active teams as possible to help drive the new direction of our league. Please email your nominations to the Execs by Thursday 17 July, 5.00pm (Brazil - Brasilia Standard Time) as indicated below. What does being a committee member entail? The two committees (OC and TC) each have a different focus, although they work closely at times. The TC is responsible for writing the rules and technical challenges of the SPL and implementing the league's longer-term roadmap year by year. The TC also manages the call for participation and qualification decisions. The time commitment varies depending on the time of year, but the TC usually meets at least once a month and the responsibilities are divided between the committee members. This year will require flexibility and major rule changes as we move to a new platform. The OC helps implement directives from the TC and is responsible for organizational aspects of the league and the RoboCup event. The OC interacts with the Local Organising Committee for the RoboCup event itself to ensure that the physical environment, network, etc. matches the league's needs. The OC also helps organise the running of the SPL at the event, including the game schedule, referee allocation, the collation of results, etc. Like the TC, the time commitment varies, but OC usually meets at least once a month after the call for participation has gone out. The OC is an ideal committee for newer members of our league, who will be participating last year. Nominees to both committees are voted for by the teams but must be approved by the trustees. (The trustees can also appoint members.) The trustees have specifically asked for diversified representation from different geographical regions and teams at different levels of the competition, in addition to other kinds of diversity. You don't have to be an experienced RoboCupper or from an experienced team to join the committees. All we ask is that you have a reasonable expectation of attending the next RoboCup event and will commit to the role for at least the year leading up to that event. (If you might be able to participate for a couple of years, that is even better). By participating you get a chance to reshape the future of our league, develop long-lasting relationships, to help the league operate and improve, to add to your resume, and to genuinely make a difference. Nomination and election process Any member of any team may be nominated. You can nominate yourself, or another person (but ask them first to make sure they are interested in being nominated). To make a nomination, simply email all the execs ( jphanna(a)cs.wisc.edu<mailto:jphanna@cs.wisc.edu>, robocup(a)stefan.seeri.ng<mailto:robocup@stefan.seeri.ng>, and timothy.wiley(a)rmit.edu.au<mailto:timothy.wiley@rmit.edu.au> ) with the following information by Thursday 17 July, 5.00pm (Brazil - Brasilia Standard Time) : Committee (TC or OC)? Nominee’s name: Nominee’s team: Nominee’s email: After nominations have been finalized, the list will be circulated and each team may vote for three preferred nominees for each committee. More instructions will be given when the election opens. We look forward to receiving your nominations. Best regards, Josiah, Stefan, and Timothy (SPL execs)

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Nao Clinic Updates
by Timothy Wiley 11 Jul '25

11 Jul '25

Hello teams, This is an update on our Nao Clinic for this year, based on the most recent information that we have: * This year we will have a small team of volunteers who will be available to repair Nao’s. This means the number of Nao’s that can be repaired will be reduced, and we kindly ask teams not to expect extensive repairs or quick turn-arounds. * Repairs will be largely be for hardware (gears and motors). Replacement circuit boards, sensors are limited. Replacement cameras are not available. * We are expecting to be able to run re-calibration software for replacement joints/motors, but teams may need to assist the clinic team in conducting re-calibration. * If able, we encourage teams to bring older robots as 'donors' that are otherwise not working as a source for additional parts (especially for the more limited replacement parts, i.e., sensors, cameras, etc). * Repairs are free (including out-of-warranty). However, we request that teams bring robots primarily for competition use, and not a general repair backlog, as parts are limited. Regards, Timothy Dr. Timothy Wiley | Lecturer, School of Computing Technologies | RMIT University Building 14, Level 11 (City Campus) | Homepage<https://timothy-wiley.github.io> | RAIsE Hub | AI Innovation Lab<http://rmit.edu.au/ailab> Executive Committee | RoboCup Soccer Standard Platform League (SPL) SPL Website<https://spl.robocup.org> | RoboCup Federation<https://www.robocup.org>

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SPL GameController for RoboCup 2025
by Arne Hasselbring 09 Jul '25

09 Jul '25

Hi, I’m sure many of you have already regularly used the development versions of the GameController from the Git repository, but there is now a (likely) final version available at: https://github.com/RoboCup-SPL/GameController3/releases/tag/v5.0.0-rc.3 I recommend reading the release notes, and especially testing the most passes leaderboard mode if you’re participating in that. It handles counting the points (1 click = 1 point, i.e. a „successful pass“ requires two clicks) and calculates the score including the time bonus at the end. For those of you stuck with Ubuntu 20.04 and similarly ancient Linux systems, there is the tauri1 branch which is functionally equivalent but doesn’t require libwebkit2gtk-4.1. I couldn't test it though, good luck! A binary release of the TCM/GameStateVisualizer and other associated tools is also available at: https://github.com/RoboCup-SPL/GameController/releases/tag/RoboCup2025 This is also a good time for a final check that the colors in https://github.com/RoboCup-SPL/GameController3/blob/master/config/teams.yaml are correct for your team. Bug reports, fixes, questions as usual either as GitHub issues or by email to arha(a)uni-bremen.de I wish everyone a safe trip to Salvador an exciting and successful RoboCup! - Arne

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HULKs Code Usage Announcement
by Alexander Schmidt 06 Jul '25

06 Jul '25

Hello all, We are writing to announce the code usage of Team HULKs for this years RoboCup. We are using bhuman/CompiledNN <https://github.com/bhuman/CompiledNN> for the inference of our ball detection networks. Furthermore, the core concept of our walking engine is inspired by rUNSWift's walking engine. Additionally, we might use the joint angle prediction network from B-Human's 2024 Code Release <https://github.com/bhuman/BHumanCodeRelease>. We would like to thank Team BHuman and Team rUNSWift for their continued contributions to the league. Our codebase, development activity, and discussions are, as usual, fully open source and available under hulks/hulk <https://github.com/HULKs/hulk>. Team HULKs

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🤖 RoboCup SPL 2025 – Newsletter #5
by Caron, Benjamin 30 Jun '25

30 Jun '25

Dear SPL Teams, The RoboCup is just a few days away. In this newsletter, we present the last information you need before the competition. ________________________________ 📘 Final Competition Rules Released The final version of the RoboCup SPL 2025 Rules has now been published. All participating teams are expected to comply with these rules throughout the competition. Please review them carefully and ensure your code and robots are aligned with the latest updates. 📄 <https://spl.robocup.org/downloads/#2025> Rules are available here<https://spl.robocup.org/downloads/#2025> Here is the list of changes that got updated after the prior newsletter: * There are no changes to the main competition. However, in this newsletter, you will find a section that overwrites the rules to accommodate a limited Nao Clinic and to integrate both Challenge Shield and Champion Cup into the same tournament. * Both the KICKin-Rollin Challenge and Leaderboard Challenge received minor updates. These are mostly clarifications, but if you expect to participate, please review them. * Finally, a section has been added to define an overall ranking between the KICKin-Rollin Challenge and Open Research Challenge. ________________________________ 🛠️ Limited Nao Clinic – Temporary Adjustments As announced in the previous newsletter, there will not be a full Nao Clinic as known in past years. However, we can now confirm the presence of a limited Nao Clinic. Repairs will be limited in manpower, spare parts, and diagnostic software. While every effort will be made to support teams, the following measures are in place to minimize robot damage: * All matches until the knockout round will be played with 5 vs. 5 robots. Champions Cup rules still apply for Champions Cup matches. If both teams agree, they can play 7 vs. 7. We expect the knockout round, or at least the final bracket, to be played in 7 vs. 7 for Champions Cup teams. * The pickup rule is loosened. A team may now request a pickup at any time to prevent damage. The head referee can still decline the request if it interferes with play and does not qualify under the regular rule. This flexibility aims to reduce damage, but the rule may be revised if abused. * Assistant referees may catch robots if this does not distract from their primary duties. * Although pushing rules have not changed, everyone, especially head referees, are encouraged to refresh their understanding, as many falls are caused by contact. ________________________________ 🎮 Match Format: Challenge Shield vs. Champions Cup RoboCup 2025 will follow a hybrid match format. When at least one Challenge Shield team is present, Challenge Shield rules apply. Otherwise, Champions Cup rules apply. Key differences for Challenge Shield include: * Team executing a Set Play is sent via the GameController. * The referee must wear red gloves. * All matches are played 5 vs. 5. ________________________________ 🧪 Open Research Challenge – Reminder Teams must submit a brief description of their planned contribution by July 1, 2025 to the Technical Committee (rc-spl-tc(a)lists.robocup.org). Multiple contributions per team are allowed. Each submission should include: * Objective: What the innovation is and why it's relevant. * Expected Impact: How it benefits SPL or improves existing systems. * Implementation Feasibility: Required resources and timeline. After the deadline, participation may still be allowed if the schedule permits. Slots will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. You should still submit your interest even after the deadline. ________________________________ 📊 Leaderboard Challenge – Reminder Teams should also send their intention to participate in one or more Leaderboard Challenges by July 1, 2025 to the Technical Committee (rc-spl-tc(a)lists.robocup.org). Please include the specific challenges you're targeting. As with the Open Research Challenge, late participation may be accepted if scheduling allows. ________________________________ 🏁 KICKin-Rollin Challenge – Optional Pre-Registration This challenge does not require advance registration, but if you express interest before the competition, it will help us plan appropriately. A registration deadline will be announced during the event. ________________________________ 📜 Pre-Qualification Rules for RoboCup 2026 The following pre-qualification criteria will apply for RoboCup 2026: * Top three teams from the main competition (or four, if the top three include a Challenge Shield team) * Highest-ranked Challenge Shield team if not already qualified * Highest-ranked team not already qualified based on combined results from the Open Research and KICKin-Rollin Challenges ________________________________ ⚽ Extra Balls – Request from LOC The local organizing committee (LOC) was unable to acquire official SPL balls in time. Therefore, we kindly ask teams to bring extra balls from their inventory to serve as official game balls. Please inform the OC if you can contribute at rc-spl-oc(a)lists.robocup.org ________________________________ If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re looking forward to seeing your robots on the field in Salvador! The RoboCup SPL Technical Committee & Organizing Committee

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BHumanCode Usage WisTex United
by Adam Labiosa 19 Jun '25

19 Jun '25

Hello all, I’m writing to announce the use of the BHumanCodeRelease (2023) version for the WisTex United team. We consider our codebase to be derived software as we use the BHuman motion control, localization, perception and communication modules. The specific contribution of our work (taken from our SPL 2025 application) is as follows: Our team codebase for the 2025 competition is based upon the \href{https://github.com/bhuman/BHumanCodeRelease/releases/tag/coderelease2023}{BHuman 2023 code release }. As described below, our primary contribution has been to replace the high level behaviors written by BHuman with new, learned behaviors trained with deep reinforcement learning. As discussed below, we believe these changes to be transformative in nature. Thus, as of now, our robots use the perception, state-estimation, low-level motion control and communication modules provided by BHuman. We thank BHuman for making their full software stack available. Additionally, we used the open source library \textbf{\href{https://github.com/DLR-RM/stable-baselines3}{stable-baselines3}} to train our policies, using proximal policy optimization\cite{https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.1707.06347}\cite{stable-ba…. We also note our additions this year are improvements in learned cooperation which substantially changes our code but generally leave the BHuman modules unchanged from their 2023 version. We also will once again release our updated code before the end of the year. Adam

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RedbackBots code announcement
by Timothy Wiley 13 Jun '25

13 Jun '25

Hello SPL Teams, RedbackBots would like to announce the integration of the following contributions from SPL teams as part of our codebase for 2025: * NAO Devils' whistle detection (2024) * Updated to B-Human's vision components (2024) excluding ball detection We thank these teams for their continued and extensive contributions to the Soccer SPL community and look forward to catching up with everyone at competition. Timothy Wiley, on behalf of the RedbackBots team. Dr. Timothy Wiley | Lecturer, School of Computing Technologies | RMIT University Building 14, Level 11 (City Campus) | Homepage<https://timothy-wiley.github.io> | RAIsE Hub | AI Innovation Lab<http://rmit.edu.au/ailab> Executive Committee | RoboCup Soccer Standard Platform League (SPL) SPL Website<https://spl.robocup.org> | RoboCup Federation<https://www.robocup.org>

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🏆 SPL RoboCup 2025 – Updates & Meeting Announcements
by Caron, Benjamin 06 Jun '25

06 Jun '25

Dear SPL Teams, RoboCup 2025 is approaching quickly, and the SPL Technical Committee would like to share a few important updates and reminders: 🤖 SPL-Humanoid Challenge Postponed Due to limited participation from Humanoid League teams, the SPL-Humanoid Challenge “Pass Masters: Bridging the Leagues” has been postponed to 2026. We plan to revisit this initiative at RoboCup and explore ways to increase engagement across leagues. 🛠️ Final Ramp Design Announced The final version of the ramp will follow the RedbackBots design. Teams should expect one extension to be used by default. A second extension may be added at the Technical Committee’s discretion during the competition to compensate for exceptional circumstances, such as unexpectedly high field friction. 🔗 More details and documentation are available here: https://github.com/rmit-computing-technologies/redbackbots-spl-ballramp 🎮 GameController Compatibility Teams are expected to ensure their robots function properly with the latest version of the GameController. 🔗 Download the GameController here: https://github.com/RoboCup-SPL/GameController3 🔧 On-Site Robot Repairs Unfortunately, Aldebaran has confirmed they will not provide a NAO clinic at RoboCup 2025. The competition will proceed as planned, but this may lead to rule adjustments to reduce the risk of robot damage. We are still in discussions with Aldebaran to determine whether limited on-site repairs may be possible. In parallel, the trustees are exploring alternatives such as providing a small pool of spare robots and basic parts to enable self-repairs if needed. The Team Leader Meeting on June 14 (11:00 UTC) will include time to discuss this situation. 🧠 Team Leader Meeting 📅 14 June 2025 – 11:00 UTC 📍 SPL Discord – #referee-meeting channel Agenda: * The current situation with Aldebaran and its impact on the league * Discussion on the next robot platform * Open discussion & updates ⚖️ Referee Meeting 📅 21 June 2025 – 11:00 UTC 📍 SPL Discord – #referee-meeting channel Agenda: * Quick overview of the 2025 rules and key changes from last year * Highlighting the “unpenalize” testing mode * Referee needs and delegation opportunities 🔍 The final version of the rules will be published shortly after this meeting. ________________________________ Thank you, SPL Technical Committee

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Save the Date: RoHOW 2025 - November 28–30
by HULKs TUHH 23 Apr '25

23 Apr '25

*Dear RoboCup Teams and Robotics Enthusiasts,* We’re excited to announce that the *12th Robotic Hamburg Open Workshop (RoHOW)* will take place *from November 28 to November 30, 2025* at the *Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH)*! Hosted by the *HULKs*, TUHH’s humanoid robot soccer team, RoHOW is a unique networking and educational event tailored for RoboCup teams and researchers in the field of humanoid robotics. The workshop offers an open platform to exchange insights, share advancements, and dive into in-depth discussions—especially in the context of robot soccer. Our agile and participant-driven program will once again follow the *Open Space Conference* format, allowing for maximum flexibility to match your interests. Expect engaging talks and workshops on topics such as computer vision, locomotion, deep learning, league development, and more. Industry partners and sponsors will also be present to showcase their latest innovations in robotics. 📍 *Save the Date:* 🗓️ *November 28–30, 2025* 📍 *TUHH, Hamburg* 📝 To help us make this year’s event even better, we’d love your feedback on last year’s RoHOW — you can share your thoughts here: https://forms.gle/uLT9UhoV8AhXVvnx9 💸 A *participation fee* will likely apply again this year. The exact amount is yet to be determined. 📬 A separate email with the *registration deadline* and further details will follow soon! We’re looking forward to seeing many of you again and welcoming new faces to RoHOW 2025. Mark your calendars and stay tuned! Best regards, *The HULKs Team* Hamburg University of Technology

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🌍🤖 SPL x Humanoid – Common Challenge Discussion 🤖🌍 - May 3rd - 11:00 UTC
by Caron, Benjamin 22 Apr '25

22 Apr '25

Dear Teams, You're invited to a global community meeting on May 3rd at 11:00 UTC, bringing together teams from the Standard Platform League (SPL) and the Humanoid League (HL) to discuss and establish a common foundation for the joint challenge at RoboCup 2025. 📍 Location: Global RoboCup Discord in "General" voice channel 💬 Join here: https://discord.gg/dcFgqFTeCy 🕒 Time zone help: Time zone converter<https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/?qm=1&lid=100,6077243,2950159,3169070,215817…> ________________________________ 🗓️ Discussion Topics * Sharing of image datasets * Cross-league robot coordination for passing * Use of visual gestures for communication * Any other suggestions from participants ________________________________ This meeting is intended to be community-driven, with minimal involvement from the committees. Any outcomes from the discussion will be considered optional agreements, not official rule changes, and it's up to each team to adopt them voluntarily. 📝 Meeting notes will be made publicly available at: https://spl.robocup.org/downloads/ Looking forward to your participation and collaboration! Best regards, The SPL and HL Committees

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