HANNOVER MESSE to host the RoboCup German Open until 2011

The world’s leading showcase for industrial technology is staged annually at the Hannover Exhibition Center in Hannover, Germany. The next HANNOVER MESSE will be staged from 21 to 25 April 2008, with Japan as its official Partner Country. The lineup of flagship fairs taking place under the umbrella of Hannover Messe 2008 is as follows: Interkama+ • Factory Automation • Industrial Building Automation • Digital Factory • Subcontracting • Energy • Pipeline Technology • Power Plant Technology • MicroTechnology • Research & Technology In 2008, the spotlight will be on the fields of industrial automation, energy technology and subcontracting, as well as on cutting-edge technologies.

Deutsche Messe is to host the RoboCup German Open on behalf of the German RoboCup National Committee every year until 2011. The event is to be staged in the new “Mobile Robots and Autonomous Systems” special display in Hall 25 at HANNOVER MESSE. Dr. Thomas Christaller and Dr. Ansgar Bredenfeld of the Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems (IAIS), Sankt Augustin, and Sepp D. Heckmann and Wolfgang Pech of Deutsche Messe, Hannover, today signed a cooperation agreement to jointly organize the RoboCup German Open.

“The new ‘Mobile Robots & Autonomous Systems’ special display is an ideal platform for the RoboCup German Open,” commented Deutsche Messe Board Chairman Sepp. D. Heckmann at the signing of the contract in the Hannover Exhibition Center’s Panorama restaurant.

In 2008, HANNOVER MESSE will host the RoboCup German Open for the second time. The Cup, which in 2008 will be in its seventh season, is a real football game featuring a real ball. It’s where hi-tech robot football teams from around the globe meet to show off their autonomous kicking, running, reaction and communication skills.

What at first may appear to be a simple game involving various types of robots is in fact a complex, hi-tech research project of pioneering importance for autonomous vehicles and robotics applications. The RoboCupSenior league provides a standardized reference environment where new robotics processes and techniques can be developed, researched and evaluated in direct comparison with each other. Developed by teams of students and scientists, each robot footballer comprises the latest in hi-tech image processing technology, automatic motion control equipment and multi-agent systems. The aim of the RoboCup initiative is to develop a team of fully autonomous humanoid robots by 2050 that is capable of beating a human World Cup team.

Wolfgang Pech, Deutsche Messe’s Senior Vice President in charge of HANNOVER MESSE, explains the importance of the RoboCup German Open for synergies between youth and technology: “As well as being staged in the new Mobile Robots display area, the RoboCup German Open is directly integrated into the TectoYou activity and information program for young people. It will therefore reach a broad target audience of scientists, university students, technology and football fans, young people and school students.”

The RoboCupJunior league is open to school students up to the age of 19. The top teams will be going head-to-head in three categories: RoboDance, RoboRescue and RoboSoccer. “The RoboCupJunior competition is an excellent way of cultivating a lifelong passion for technology in young people at an early stage in their career paths,” explains Dr. Ansgar Bredenfeld, head of Technical Education at the IAIS and spokesman for the German RoboCup National Committee. “This fun approach to technology is our contribution towards helping to solve Germany’s critical shortage of young engineering and technical professionals.”

Dr. Hans-Dieter Burkhard, Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the Institute for Computer Science at Berlin’s Humboldt University and Chairman of the German RoboCup National Committee, is equally delighted with the cooperation agreement. “The RoboCup German Open is Europe’s leading robot football event. Robots capable of playing football with humans would also have enormous everyday applications. Hence the RoboCup is about more than must having fun; it is also of great importance for the innovative technologies of the future. HANNOVER MESSE is where the industrial sector meets with research institutes, universities and schools to discuss the latest findings in robotics, set goals for the future and see pioneering researchers in action.”

Thomas Rilke, Deutsche Messe’s Director in charge of the Industrial Automation show at HANNOVER MESSE:  “Robotics is a keynote theme area at HANNOVER MESSE. The kinds of mobile robots that feature in the RoboCup German Open have potential applications for a wide range of target groups in the industrial sector. The sophisticated hi-tech expertise on show could, for example, be used for industrial robotics, driverless transport systems, autonomous road sweeping machines or robotic lawn mowers.”

The 6th RoboCup German Open at HANNOVER MESSE 2007 attracted 46 RoboCupSenior teams and 105 RoboCupJunior teams, comprising a total of 775 participants from 13 countries. The registration closing date for the RoboCup German Open 2008 is 8 January 2008.

Brunel GmbH, the Harting Technology Group, Lenze AG, National Instruments and SEW Eurodrive have already signed up as ‘Excellent Sponsors’ of the RoboCup German Open 2008.