[robocup-legged] New robot in the Standard Platform League

[Thomas Röfer]

> During the presentation in Atlanta Aldebaran was actually surprised
> that a carpet is being used for Legged Robot Soccer competitions
> which showed to me that they had not investigated much about
> the background, the state of the art and the requirements of the
> Four-Legged and Humanoid Robot Leagues.

If I remember correctly that was RoboSoft. Aldebaran gave the only
presentation that involved a ball (on carpet, without extra light).

> Now, as the decision about the platform has been made by the Committee
> and
> the Trustees, I think the RoboCup Federation should urge Aldebaran
> to monitor the 4L (or future SPL) mailing list and to answer questions
> of the teams on a regular basis.
> There should be no need for guessing about important robot details.

I agree with that. Actually I thought there already was someone who
subscribed the list. Anyway, August is a traditional holiday month in
France.

> I am also wondering why only 8 teams should be supported by Naos in
> 2008.
> In case there is sufficient interest more teams should be allowed
> to participate.

These conditions were defined by Aldebaran and we accepted them. If we know
how many teams are interested, we may ask them again, but for now the fact
is that there are limitations.

> Finally, as a member of the Four-Legged and the Humanoid Robot League
> I am very curious to see the performance of the Nao in 2008
> in direct comparison with the humanoid KidSize League.

Since the teams will barely have four months to prepare for the competition
with a completely unknown robot (and most of them have never worked with a
humanoid before), it would be a shame for the kid-size league if any of
their teams performs significantly worse.

- Thomas