Household robot of the team Nimbro at the University of Bonn wins at Robocup German Open Championships in Kassel

Von Sophie Müller

At the Robocup German Open Championships in Kassel, the team Nimbro at the University of Bonn was able to win first place with their budget robot in the @home league. Due to the excellent performance in the tests and in the final, they convinced the jury and received the highest score. The assistant robots developed in the working group Autonomous Intitudes of Computer Science in the working group, are characterized by their ability to navigate independently, object grinding and interaction with people using a language dialogue system.

The Robocup German Open are the largest European competition for autonomous service robots in the @home league. The aim is to develop assistance robots for everyday life, in particular to support people in need of assistant. The robots are tested in a realistic home environment, whereby special emphasis is placed on interaction with people, safe navigation and object handling.

The team from Bonn presented a mobile robot with a flexible chassis construction and two arms to master the diverse tasks. The robot uses cameras, laser scanners and microphones for environmental perception and controls its drives and sensors using artificial intelligence to carry out the assistance tasks independently. The Bonn team was able to take the lead in the first test and kept it until the final.

In the final, the robot convinced with the smooth running of a self -defined task, for example by recognizing ingredients and gestures, supporting the user in preparation and offering recipe ideas. Prof. Dr. Sven Behnke, head of the Autonomous Intelligent Systems and Director of the Institute of Computer Science VI at the University of Bonn, emphasized the importance of the development of assistance robots for a self -determined life in need of help. The competition in Kassel provided important findings for the further research work of the team.