RoboCup Simulation League
{{Short description|Robotics competition league}}
{{primary sources|date=July 2011}}
The RoboCup Simulation League is one of five soccer leagues within the RoboCup initiative.{{cite web |url=http://www.robocup.org/robocup-soccer/ |title=RoboCup Soccer « RoboCup |website=www.robocup.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100307041932/http://www.robocup.org/robocup-soccer/ |archive-date=2010-03-07}}
It is characterised by independently moving software players (agents) that play soccer on a virtual field inside a computer simulation.
It is divided into four subleagues:{{cite web |url=http://www.robocup.org/robocup-soccer/simulation/ |title=Simulation « RoboCup |website=www.robocup.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100307050303/http://www.robocup.org/robocup-soccer/simulation/ |archive-date=2010-03-07}}
- 2D Soccer Simulation
- 3D Soccer Simulation
- 3D Development
- Mixed Reality Soccer Simulation (formerly called Visualisation)
File:RoboCup-2D-Soccer-Simulation-Field.jpg|2D Simulation
File:RoboCup-3D-Soccer-Field.jpg|3D Simulation
File:RoboCup-Mixed-Reality-Simulation-Robot.jpg|Mixed Reality Simulation
Differences between 2D and 3D simulations
The 2D simulation sub-league had its first release in early 1995A makefile in sserver-0.1.tar.gz shows the date 1995/01/21 with version 0.1. It has been actively maintained since then with updates every few months.{{Cite web | url=https://sourceforge.net/projects/sserver/files/rcssserver/ |title = The RoboCup Soccer Simulator - Browse /Rcssserver at SourceForge.net}} The ball and all players are represented as circles on the plane of the field. Their position is restricted to the two dimensions of the plane.
SimSpark, the platform on top of which the 3D simulation sub-league is built, was registered with SourceForge in 2004.{{Cite web | url=http://sourceforge.net/projects/simspark/ |title = Spark - A generic physical simulator| date=2 November 2017 }} The platform itself is now well established [https://www.ohloh.net/p/simspark/factoids/3252289 Unknown]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} with ongoing development.[https://www.ohloh.net/p/simspark/factoids/3252288 Unknown]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The ball and all players are represented as articulated rigid bodies within a system that enforces the simulation of physical properties such as mass, inertia and friction.
As of 2010, a direct comparison of the gameplay of the 2D and 3D leagues shows a marked difference.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ustream.tv/discovery/recorded/all?q=robocup+simulation |title=Videos from Japan Open 2010 |access-date=2010-06-14 |archive-date=2012-10-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015192057/http://www.ustream.tv/discovery/recorded/all?q=robocup+simulation |url-status=dead }} 2D league teams are generally exhibiting advanced strategies and teamwork, whereas 3D teams appear to struggle with the basics of stability and ambulation. This is partly due to the difference in age of the two leagues, and partly to the difference in complexity involved in building agents for the two leagues. Replaying log files of finals over the recent years shows progress is being made by many teams.
In the 2D system, movement around the plane is achieved via commands from the agents such as move, dash, turn and kick.{{Cite web|url=https://sourceforge.net/projects/sserver/|title=The RoboCup Soccer Simulator|date=July 18, 2017|website=SourceForge}} The 3D system has fewer command choices for agents to send, but the mechanics of motion about the field are much more involved as the positions of 22 hinges throughout the articulated body must be simultaneously controlled.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{RoboCup Leagues}}
{{Robot Soccer Competitions}}