Building and integrating a goalkeeper robot for the small-size RoboCup competition

摘要

This paper details the design and development of a highly specialised goalkeeping robot for use in the RoboCup small-size league, and its integration into the Cambridge University Robot Football Team (RFT). The goalkeeper described is novel in its shape, in its use of CO 2 as a power source, and in its ability to actually catch the ball and subsequently `kick' it out at high speed. The last of these attributes also means that the goalkeeper has to coordinate with the rest of the team much more than it would otherwise have to. The Cambridge RFT came top of their group and subsequently fourth overall in the Paris 1998 RoboCup small-size league. In the later stages of the competition the goalkeeper proved highly valuable, and enabled extended periods of play. Although it is difficult to provide empirical data to show the skill of a given team, or the effectiveness of its individual players, descriptions of the goalkeeper in use in a penalty shoot-out, and whilst in play against the CMU '9...