That robots perform more functions every day is nothing new. But it is a novelty to see a robot acting as a soccer goalkeeper, and also doing it very well.
That is what they have developed at the University of California. A four-legged robot that has been equipped with vision and a calculation system to predict where a ball will be that tries to enter its goal, and so that the robot intercepts it before that happens.
This little robot has been turned into a great soccer goalkeeper, because as you can see in the following video, the robot stops most of the balls that go to its goal.
Video: https://youtu.be/iX6OgG67-ZQ
Although it may seem like a nice thing, behind this robot there is a lot of technology. Because, it is a robot that moves freely, and that has complex movement dynamics, to be able to intercept another object that also moves on its own.
Seeing the object coming, the robot must calculate its future trajectory to decide the point where it intercepts it, and then return to land properly on its four legs. That said, not easy to achieve.
This robot is much more complex than other robots that acted as goalkeepers a while ago, as was the case with Robokeeper, which remained fixed on its base and rotated on it to stop the balls that were sent to it.
And another characteristic that it has is that it is small in size. In very little space they have introduced the cameras and the calculation system to make it move quickly, and as technology advances, it is certain that they will be able to incorporate more complexity.
The curious thing about this robot that acts as a "soccer goalkeeper" is that it has a success rate of 87%, which is much higher than the best professional soccer goalkeepers.
Another field in which robots already surpass us humans !!!
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