28.4.2013
Our team NimbRo@Home won RoboCup German Open 2013.
In the In the final, our robots Dynamaid and Cosero
cooperated.
Dynamaid took an order, transmitted it over WiFi to Cosero who
delivered a drink.
Cosero also pushed away a chair and Dynamaids delivered drinks and
snacks to the jury.
Our performance received the highest score from bot the execs and
the external experts. Together with our lead from Stages 1 and 2, we
reached the maximal normalized score of 1, followed by SmartBots@Ulm
(score .67) and team Homer (Univ. of Koblenz, score .61).
27.4.2013
In the Demo Challenge, Cosero was teleoperated by an
immobile user who could command the robot
navigation and manipulation on three levels of autonomy using a tablet.
Cosero fetched items and handed them over to the user.
In the
Extended General Purpose Service Robot test, Cosero had to understand
several complex speech commands and to solve the requested tasks.
In
the Restaurant test, Cosero followed a human guide and build a map of
an unknown environment with marked object positions to which it
navigated on spoken request.
After Stage 2, our team NimbRo is leading with 6297 points, followed by
SmartBots@Ulm (3242 points) and ToBi (3198 points).
26.4.2013
In the Clean-up test, our robot Cosero showed that
it can recognize object which were distributed in the arena. It grasped
a drink and medicine from the fridge and delivered it to their
respective locations. While placing the beer on the couch table, it
spilled it, however. Afterwards, it found two more drinkson the dinner
table and attempted to store them when the test timed out.
In
the Emergency Situation test, Cosero guided a person to the exit. Our
robot served as a butler in the Open Challenge, delivering drinks to
waving persons. After Stage 1, NimbRo is leading with 4247 points,
followed by SmartBots@Ulm (2792 points) and TOBI (2748 points).
25.4.2013
Our team NimbRo participates at the @Home League competiton of
RoboCup German
Open 2013 in Magdeburg.
On
the first competition day, our robots Dynamaid and Cosero registered
for the competiton by handing over the registration form.This RIPS test
was evaluated by the team leaders and the Technical Commitee. Our
robotsreceived the top score of 925 points.
A mechanical problem in Cosero's torso prevented to participate in the
Follow Me test.
The Cocktail Party test went very well. Cosero took orders, fetched and
delivered drinks.
After
the three tests, our team is leading (1775 points) followed by
SmartBots@Ulm (1561 points) and TOBI (Univ. of Bielefeld, 1471 points).
23.6.2012
Our team won the @Home League competition.
In the final, our robot Cosero demonstrated the approaching, bi-manual grasping and moving of a chair to a target pose. It also approached and grasped a watering can with both hands and watered a plant. After this demonstration, our robot Dynamaid fetched a drink and delivered it to the jury. In the meanwhile, Cosero approached a transport box, from which it grasped an object using grasp planning. This demonstration convinced the high-profile jury, which awarded the highest number of points in both categories (league-internal jury: scientific contribution, relevance, presentation and performance; external jury: originality, usability, difficulty and success). Together with the lead after Stage 2, our team received 100 normalized points, followed by eR@sers (Japan, 74 points) and ToBi (Univ. of Bielefeld, 64 points).
22.6.2012
In the General Purpose Service Robot test, our robot Cosero
had to recognize complex speech commands. It correctly recognized two
commands, which gave the most points in this test.
In the Demo Challenge, an immobile person used a handheld PC to
teleoperate the robot. The person sent the robot to fetch a drink. The
robot recognized that the requested drink was not available and the
user could select another drink in the transmitted camera image. After
the robot delivered the drink, it recognized a pointing gesture and
navigated to the referenced object in order to pick it up from the
ground.
In the Restaurant test, our robot Cosero way guided through a
previously unknown bar. The guide showed the robots where the shelves
with drinks and the individual tables where. Our robot built a map of
this environment and took an order. Afterwards, it navigated to the
food shelf to search for requested snacks.
After Stage 2, NimbRo is leading with 6938 points, followed by
WrightEagle (4677 points) and eR@sers (Japan, 3547 points).
21.6.2012
In the Clean Up test, our robot Cosero had to find
objects that were distributed in the apartment, recognize
them, and bring them to their place. Our robot detected three objects,
from which two were correctly recognized as unknown objects. It grasped
all three objects and deposited them in the trash bin.
In
the Open Challenge, Cosero demonstrated that it could recognize a
waving person. It took over an empty cup from this person and threw it
into the trash bin. Afterwards, it approached a watering can and
watered a plant. After finishing all test of Stage 1, NimbRo
is
leading (5071 points), followed by WrightEagle (3398 points) and ToBi
(2627 points).
20.6.2012
Our robot Cosero performed the new Follow-Me test. It learned
the face of a previously unknown person,
followed it although its line-of-sight to the person was blocked
temporarily, and
went with the person into a small elevator. At another floor, the
robot went out of the elevator again.
In
the Who is Who test, Cosero performed very well. He learned the faces
of three persons, took an order, fetched three drinks, and delivered
two of them, before the time run out. After the third test, NimbRo
is leading with 2399 points, followed by WrightEagle (China, 2098
points) and ToBi (Bielefeld, 1283 points).
19.6.2012
Our team participates at RoboCup 2012 in Mexico City. On the second setup-day, the robots had to register for the competition while Jörg presented our team poster to the other team leaders.
1.4.2012
Our team won the RoboCup German Open @Home competition.
In
the final, our robot Cosero showed the pushing of a chair and the
watering of a plant. For both tasks, it used real-time registration of
3D models with the current RGB-D camera images. Our robot Dynamaid
delivered some snacks to the jury. Jury members could raise their hands
to get a snack. This performance was awarded the highest number of
points by both parts (exec and external) of the jury.
The
team b-it-bots (Hochschule Rhein-Sieg,Sankt Augustin) reached the
second place in the @Home competition. Team Golem from Mexico
came
in third.
31.3.2012
In the Demo Challenge, our robot Cosero recognized
colored and white laundry shown to it, recognized pointing gestures,
and picked up laundry from the floor. It also put away two
kitchen items into the sink.
Cosero performed the Enhanced Who
Is Who test almost perfectly. It learned names and faces of three
persons, understood a drink order, fetched three drinks and delivered
two of them to the correct person.
The Shopping Mall test also went
very well. Here, Cosero learned the map of an unknown environment by
following a guide, took a shopping order and collected two of the three
requested objects.
Consequently, after Stages 1 and 2, our team is
leading with 8550 points, followed by b-it-bots (4781 points) and
SmartBots (4291 points).
30.3.2012
In the Who Is Who test, our root Cosero found four persons and
recognized three of them.
In the General Purpose Service Robot test, Cosero understood three
complex speech commands and found the requested objects.
The
last test today was the Open Challenge. Here, Cosero was guided by a
human by taking its hand, carried a table together with the guide, and
pushed a chair to the table. After the second day, we were leading the
competition with 5300 points, followed by SmartBots (Ulm, 3491 points)
and b-it-bots (Sankt Augustin, 3431 points).

29.3.2012
Our team
participates at the RoboCup
German Open 2012 competition in Magdeburg.
On the first day, our robots had to register themselves and to perform
the Follow Me and Go Get It tests.
In Follow Me, our robot Cosero learned the face of
a previously unknown person and followed him trough a parcour.
The robot was not disturbed by another person walking in between the
two, recognized its leader again after he disappeared, and recognized a
stopping gesture.
In
Go Get It, Cosero found the requested object in the kitchen, but could
not reach it, because it was outside the workspace of its arms.
After
the first day, our team is leading with 2340 points, followed by
SmartBots (Ulm, 2004 points) and Golem (Mexico, 1604 points).
11.7.2011
At the 15th RoboCup International Symposium, the paper Jörg Stückler and Sven Behnke: "Compliant Task-Space Control with Back-Drivable Servo Actuators" received the Best Paper Award.
10.7.2011
We won the @Home competition.
In the final, we used both robots. Cosero carried a table, together with a person who guided the robot by pulling and pushing the table. Cosero also turned on the cooking plate, fetched some egg dow and poured it into a pan to make an omelet. In the meanwhile, Dynamaid got a bottle of orange juice from the fridge. This performance was awarded the highest score from all three parts of the jury. Together with the top score from Stage II, this resulted in an optimal 300 points.
9.7.2011
The General Purpose Service Robot test went very
well. Our robot Cosero understood complex speech commands, fetched the
requested object, and was not confused by a command to fetch an object
that was not at the specified location. In the Demo Challenge, Cosero
cleaned the appartment. A human could show the robot where white and
colored loundry was to be put and the robot collected some clothes. It
also cleaned up other objects and put them at their place. This was
awarded with the highest number of points of all remaining 12 teams.
After Stage II, our team is leading with some distance, followed by
WrightEagle from China.
8.7.2011
In
the General Purpose Service Robot test, Cosero partially understood a
complex command and went to the correct place. The Go-Get-It test went
well. Cosero found a known object and delivered it. In the Shopping
Mall test, Cosero had severe difficulties with speech recognition.
Hence, it could not take the order which items should be shopped and
received only partial points.
7.7.2011
Cosero demonstrated in the Follow-Me test that he can
follow a previously unknown person, recognize gestures and distinguish
this person from another person. Due to the noisy environment, Cosero
had some difficulties to understand names in the Who-is-Who test.
Nevertheless, our robot detected and recognized four persons correctly.
In the Open Challenge, Cosero prepared a breakfast. It opened a bottle,
poured milk in a bowl and fetched a spoon. This performance was
rewarded with the highes number of points of all teams.
6.7.2011
Our team NimbRo participates at RoboCup
2011, which takes place at the Expo
Center in Istanbul.
In the evening, our @Home robots Dynamaid and Cosero registered
themselves for the competition in the Robot Inspection and Poster
Session test. They reached the highest number of points of all 19 teams
in this test.
3.4.2011
Our Robots Cosero and Dynamaid won the @Home league!
In the final, our robots prepared a breakfast. Cosero opened a milk bottle, poured out the milk over the cereal bowl, and threw away the bottle into the trash bin. In the meanwhile, Dynamaid got the orange juice from the fridge. Cosero also could fetch a spoon, which had been placed in arbitrary position on a table by a jury member. Finally, the robot recognized a pointing gesture of a jury member showing the exit door. SmartBots (Ulm) came in second, b-it-bots (Sankt Augustin) reached third place.
2.4.2011
Our robot Cosero performed
the Enhanded Who is Who test, the Shopping
Mall test, and the Demo Challenge. Im Shopping Mall test, our robot
learned the map of a previously unknown environment, was introduced to
objects and delivered two of the three requested objects. In the Demo
Challenge, Cosero recognized objects, interpreted pointing gestures and
tidied up the appartment by moving objects into shelves.
1.4.2011
Cosero
got the most points in the Who is Who test by
finding four persons. It got the second most points in the Open
Challenge. Dynamaid was the only robot to score in the General Purpose
Robot Test II by understanding an underspecified command, asking for
the missing parts, and working on the task.
31.3.2011
We
participate at RoboCup
German Open
in Magdeburg in the @Home league with the service robots Cosero and
Dynamaid.
The robots had to show their skills in the Stage 1 tests
Robot
Inspection and Poster Session, Follow Me und Go Get It!.
24.6.2010
In
the @Home League final, Dynamaid recognized an object showing gesture
and the object shown to her. She also went to the fridge, opened the
fridge door, and grasped a can of beer. Afterwards, she closed the
fridge again and delivered the drink. Finally, our robot went to a
shelf to get some snack. [Video]
In the final ranking, the Japanese team Er@ser
was still ahead of NimbRo. NimbRo
won the second place in the @Home League.
23.6.2010
Dynamaid did very well
in the Shopping
Mall test. This test was conducted in a real toy store. Our robot
learned a map of the environment, remembered the location of multiple
objects and then went to collect a requested object. [Video]
In the
Enhanced-Who-is-Who test, our robot learned the appearance and the
names of three persons. One of these persons was recognized later when
ordering drinks. In the Demo Challenge, Dynamaid successfully
recognized pointing gestures, recognized objects shown to her, and
picked-up objects from the floor that she deposited in a thresh bin.
After completing all Stage II, tests NimbRo had the second most points
in the overall ranking, next only to to the Japanese team
Er@sers.
22.6.2010
Dynamaid
performed very well in the Open Challenge.
She recognized gestures, got something to eat and to drink for a guest
and picked-up an object from the floor. After Stage I, NimbRo is second
in the overall ranking, next only to team Er@sers from Japan. In the
General-Purpose-Service-Robot
test, Dynamaid recognized complex commands and asked
for clarification in underspecified commands.
21.6.2010
Dynamaid did
the FollowMe test perfectly. During the test, she successfully
recognized stop gestures. After the GoGetIt test, NimbRo still has the
highest total number of points.
20.6.2010
Our team participates at the RoboCup
2010
competition in Singapore in the @Home League with the
robot Dynamaid. In the first test,
Dynamaid registered herself successfully for the competition while the
team poster was presented. NimbRo reached the highest number of points
for this test.

5.5.2010
Our robot Dynamaid
participated in the ICRA
Mobile
Manipulation Challenge.
It fetched an object requested by the user by means of a pointing
gesture.
The user could also request a drink by showing it to the
robot.
Finally, Dynamaid collected an object from the table and moved
it towards a trash bin.
18.4.2010
Our robots Robotinho and
Dynamaid participated at German Open
2010.
Robotinho performed the registration. Dynamaid detected and
reconized all pesons in the Who-is-Who test and interpreted pointing
gestures correctly in the Open Challenge. Robotinho and
Dynamaid cooperated in the Demo Challenge.
In the final, Robotinho greeted a guest and guided
him to a table.
There, the guest could select something to eat using a pointing
gesture.
Also, the guest ordered a drink by showing it to Dynamaid. Overall, our
team reached the second place in the @Home league.
6.7.2009
Our robots Robotinho and Dynamaid participated for the first time at
the RoboCup@Home international competitions.
They reached the
highest score in the Introduce test. Dynamaid successfully performed
the Follow-me and the Who-is-Who test. Both robots reached the second
highest score in the Open Challenge, where Robotinho gave a home tour
to a guest while Dynamaid delivered a drink.
In Stage II, Dynamaid did the Walk&Talk test, the Supermarket test and the Party-bot test very well. Both robots were used in the Demo Challenge. After Stage II, our team had the second most points, almost on par with the leading team.
In the final, Dynamaid detected persons and delivered drinks to them.
Overall,
our
team reached the third place in the @Home competition. We won also the innovation award for
"Innovative robot body design, Empathic behaviors, and Robot-Robot
Cooperation".

The Video is also available in WMV-Format.
NimbRo participated for the first time in the @Home league at RoboCup German Open 2009 during Hannover Fair.
In Stage I, we used
Robotinho for the introduce task. It explained itself and Dynamaid and
interacted with a human in a natural way. For the follow me task, we
used Dynamaid. She was able to quickly follow an unknown human though
the arena, outside, and back into the arena. She also could be
controlled by voice commands. Dynamaid also did the fetch and carry
task very well. She took spoken orders from the human user and
delivered reliably the requested object.
In
Stage II, Dynamaid did
the walk and talk task perfectly. A human showed her places in the
apartment that she could visit afterwards as requested by spoken
commands. In the demo challenge, the users could order different drinks
that she fetched quickly and reliably from different places in the
apartment.
In
the final, Robotinho
gave a tour though the apartment
while Dynamaid fetched a drink for a guest [video].
Overall,
the NimbRo@Home
team reached the second place, only a few points
behind
b-it-bots.

Address:
Prof. Dr.
Sven Behnke
Rheinische
Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
Institut
für Informatik VI
Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 144
53113 Bonn
Tel:
+49 (0) 228 73-4422
Fax:
+49 (0) 228 73-4425
Email: behnke _at_ cs.uni-bonn.de
Universität Bonn, Institute for Computer Science, Departments: I, II, III, IV, V, VI