Gearing up for RoboCupJunior: Interview with Ana Patrícia Magalhães

Action from RoboCupJunior Rescue at RoboCup 2024. Photo: RoboCup/Bart van Overbeeke.

The annual RoboCup occasion, the place groups collect from throughout the globe to participate in competitions throughout various leagues, will this 12 months happen in Brazil, from 15-21 July. An essential a part of the week is RoboCupJunior, which is designed to introduce RoboCup to high school kids, and sees a whole bunch of children participating in quite a lot of challenges throughout completely different leagues. This 12 months, the lead organizer for RoboCupJunior is Ana Patrícia Magalhães. We caught up together with her to learn the way the preparations are going, what to anticipate at this 12 months’s competitors, and the way RoboCup evokes communities.

Could you inform us about RoboCupJunior and the plans you’ve for the competitors this 12 months?

RoboCup will happen from 15-21 July, in Salvador, Brazil. We anticipate to obtain folks from greater than 40 nations, throughout the Junior and Major Leagues. We are making ready the whole lot to accommodate all the scholars participating in RoboCupJunior, who will take part within the Junior Leagues of Soccer, Rescue and OnStage. They are kids and youngsters, so we have now organized shuttles to take them from the motels to the conference middle. We’ve additionally ready a handbook with suggestions about safety, locations they’ll go to, locations to eat. The concept 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’ll expertise slightly little bit of our tradition. It will hopefully be a superb expertise for them.

The Juniors might be situated on the primary stage of the mezzanine on the conference middle. They might be separate from the Major Leagues, who might be on the bottom flooring. Of course, they’ll have the ability to go to the Major 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 can even be some mother and father and academics with them, so we determined to make use of this particular, devoted area.

RoboCupJunior On Stage at RoboCup 2024. Photo: RoboCup/Bart van Overbeeke.

Do you’ve any concept of roughly what number of groups might be participating?

Yes, so we’ll have about 48 groups within the Soccer Leagues, 86 groups within the Rescue Leagues, and 27 in OnStage. That’s loads of groups. Each group has about three or 4 college students, and most of the mother and father, academics and professors journey with them too. In complete, we anticipate about 600 folks to be related to RoboCupJunior.

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

Have you bought extra RoboCupJunior contributors from Brazil this 12 months because of the location?

Yes, we have now many groups from Brazil competing. I don’t know the precise quantity, however there are undoubtedly extra Brazilian groups this 12 months, as a result of it’s quite a bit 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 group right here in Salvador that certified for the tremendous regional occasion within the US and our group couldn’t go. They had 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 potential 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 a giant alternative for improvement and to dwell the RoboCup expertise. It’s essential 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 are very grateful for the chance to have their work examined towards others. In a contest, it’s potential to match 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 potential to match and consider the outcomes with different comparable work. In a contest you’ve this chance. It’s a great way to get insights and enhance your analysis.

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

Your position at this RoboCup might be organizing RoboCupJunior. Are you additionally concerned within the Major Leagues?

Yes, so my predominant position is organizing RoboCupJunior and I’m additionally one of many chairs of the RoboCup Symposium. Besides, some groups from my laboratory are competing within the Major leagues. My group participates within the @Home league, however I haven’t had a lot time to assist them just 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 are very enthusiastic about participating.

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

RoboCup was final held in Brazil in 2014, and I perceive that there have been various new those who have been impressed to affix a group after that. Do you suppose the 2025 RoboCup could have the identical impact and can encourage extra folks in Brazil to participate?

Yes, 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 faculties. In 2014, RoboCup was held in João Pessoa, a metropolis within the north east that’s not 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 consider that it was due to RoboCup being held there.

We hope that RoboCup2025 subsequent month could have the identical impact. We suppose it may need an excellent larger affect, as a result of there’s extra social media now and the information can unfold quite a bit additional. We expect many guests. We could have a kind the place faculties that wish to go to can enroll on a guided go to of RoboCup. This will go dwell on the web site subsequent week, however we’re already receiving many messages from faculties asking how they’ll take part with their group. They have an interest within the occasions, so we have now excessive expectations.

We have been engaged on organizing RoboCup2025 for over a 12 months, and there’s nonetheless a lot to do. We are excited to obtain all people right here, each for the competitors and to see town. We have an exquisite 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 Computer Science from the Federal University of Bahia (2016) and Master in Mechatronics from the Federal University of Bahia (2007). She is presently an adjunct professor on the State University of Bahia (UNEB) on the Information Systems course. She is a researcher and vice coordinator of the Center for Research in Computer Architecture, Intelligent Systems and Robotics (ACSO). Her present analysis focuses on service robotics and software program engineering, particularly associated to using Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the software program improvement course of and in Model-Driven Development (DDM).