1. A New Look to the FIRA Website [www.fira.net]

The FIRA website is updated providing useful information about FIRA activities, Robot Soccer, etc. Please sign up online to access FIRA website (FIRAnet).

Updated FIRAnet consist of 6 sections as belows and each section has sub-categories.

■ About FIRA Cup

In the Participation category, information about the participating is provided. If you wish to take part in as a robot soccer team, please send the details (Team Name, Affiliation, Name of Team
Coordinator, Team Members’ Names, Categories, Website, E-mail id, etc.) to [office@fira.net].

■ FIRA Cup

The past and future compeitions and congress are showcased here.

■ FIRA Congress

You can find news related Congress and download papers related Robot Soccer. If you would like to upload your paper, please send your paper to [office@fira.net].

■ Robot Soccer

Rules of FIRA Competition Categories.

■ Community

This section is for the participants. Each category of competition has a community board. Participants can discuss or share information on their category of interest.

■ Media Center

This section includes the Photo and Video Galleries, and News Archives. If you have any news items or photos related to FIRA events and Robot Soccer, please e-mail to [office@fira.net].


2. The Results

2.1 FIRA Invitation Championship in Dortmund

[Informatik 2002] IT 2002 - 32nd annual conference was held by the German Informatics society (GI) in Dortmund, Germany, from Sept. 30 - Oct. 3, 2002.

In conjunction with this conference, an international robot-soccer tournament was organized with three Asian teams and three European teams, including winners of Middle League MiroSot in 2002 and 2001 FIRA Robot World Cup. Participation in this tournament was by invitation only.

■ Brief Introduction

* Period: 2002. 9. 30 (Mon.) ~ 10. 3 (Thu.)
* Venue: Westfalenhallen Dortmund (www.westfalenhallen.de), Dortmund, Germany
* Competition Categories: Middle League MiroSot (5 vs. 5)
* Schedules for Competitions
- 9. 30 (Mon.): Preliminary Round 1
- 10. 1 (Tue.): Preliminary Round 2
- 10. 2 (Wed.): Semi-finals, 5th place game
- 10. 3 (Thu.): Finals

■ Grouping

[A Group]
- Austro (Vienna Univ. of Tech., Austria): 4th Place of 2002 FIRA Cup
- KingGo (SKKU, Korea): 1st Place of 2002 FIRA Cup
- Ljubljana Dragons (Univ. of Ljubljana, Slovenia): Included final 8 competitions of 2002 FIRA Cup

[B Group]
- Dortmund Droids (Univ. of Dortmund, Germany): 2nd Place of 2002 FIRA Cup
- NewNeu (Northeastern Univ., China): 3rd Place of 2002 FIRA Cup
- Soty 5 (KAIST, Korea): 2nd Place of 2001 FIRA Cup

■ The Results

* 1st Place: KingGo (SKKU, Korea)
* 2nd Place: Ljubljana Dragons (Univ. of Ljubljana, Slovenia)
* 3rd Place: NewNeu (Northeastern Univ., China)
* 4th Place: Dortmund Droids (Univ. of Dortmund, Germany)

For any inquiries on the tournament, please contact Dr. Norbert Jesse at E-mail [jesse@ls1.cs.uni-dortmund.de] in Germany.


2.2 Wulihe Cup in Shenyang

China International Equipment Manufacturing Exposition was held in Shenyang International Exhibition Center on Aug. 30 to Sep. 5, 2002.

That was the first International Equipment manufacturing Exposition being held in China. In conjunction with this Exposition, an invited international robot-soccer tournament named “Wulihe Cup International Robot Soccer Match” was organized.

■ Participating Teams

1) Peking University, China
2) Tsinghua University, China
3) Northeastern University, China
4) Zhejiang University, China
5) Central South University, China
6) Guangdong University of Technology, China
7) MR BLACK, KAIST, Korea
8) TACHYON, SKKU, Korea
9) POWERSUPPLY 4, YeungNam University, Korea

■ The Results

[Small League MiroSot]
- 1st Place: PowerSupply 4, Yeong Nam Univ., Korea
- 2nd Place: Tsinghua Univ., China
- 3rd Place: New NEU, Northeastern Univ., China

[Middle League MiroSot]
- 1st Place: Powersupply 4, Yeong Nam Univ., Korea
- 2nd Place: New NEU, Northeastern Univ.
- 3rd Place: Guangdong Univ. of Tech.

For more information on the competition, please visit FIRAnet and for further details, please contact Prof. Xinhe Xu [xuxinhe@163.net].


3. 2003 FIRA Cup and Congress Austria

3.1 Call for Participations: 2003 FIRA Cup Austria

2003 FIRA Cup is planned in Vienna, Austria from 22 September to 27 September, 2003 organized by Institute for Handling Devices and Robotics (IHRT) and Vienna University of Technology (VUT).

■ Period: September 28 to October 3, 2003

[Preliminary Rounds] September 28 - 30
[Semi-Finals] October 1 - 2
[Semi-Finals and Finals]October 3

■ Venues: Vienna Exhibition Center, Hall 14, Vienna, Austria

■ Competition Categories

- HuroSot / - KheperaSot / - MiroSot [Large-(7 vs. 7), Middle and Small League]
- NaroSot / - RoboSot / - SimuroSot [Large-(11 vs. 11) and Middle League]

■ Social Events: Reception by the Mayor of Vienna and Typical ¨Viennese Heuriger¨

■ Related Events

2003 FIRA Robot World Congress
VIET 03 (Int’l Fair for Electrical Engineering and Automation)
Austrian Automation Day 2003

■ Registration

The organizer of 2003 FIRA Cup Austria looks forward to the participation of the best teams across the world at the FIRA Cup Austria. Please contact General Secretary Dr. Han [e318@ihrt.tuwien.ac.at] for FIRA European Headquarters in Vienna.


3.2 Call for Papers: 2003 FIRA Robot World Congress

Parallel to the 2003 FIRA Cup Austria, the FIRA Robot World Congress will be organized. The congress will review and discuss the major advances in science and technology regarding robotics. Particular emphasis will be given to the applications and development in the area of entertainment/education/service/personal robots. The contribution should focus on theories, principles and developments as well as application in the common field of robotics. Selected papers will be publsihed as a book by the KAIST Press.

■ Period: October 1 to 3, 2003

■ Venue: Vienna Exhibition Center, Vienna

■ Topics include but are not limited to:

Specific topics

- Adaptive Systems / - Artificial Life / - Entertainment Robots / - Human Robot Interface /
- Humanoid Robots / - Intelligent (Smart) Sensors / -Intelligent Control / - Legged Robots /
- Machine Learning / - Machine Vision / - Mechatronics / - Multi-Agent Systems / - Navigation /
- Path Planning / - Robot Soccer Simulation / - Sensors and Control / - Supervisory Control /
- Robot Soccer System (HuroSot, KheperaSot, MiroSot, NaroSot, RoboSot, and SimuroSot)

■ Regular Paper Submission:

Authors should submit an extended abstract electronically in pdf format - 600 words - the email address: [e318@ihrt.tuwien.ac.at]. The first page of the paper must be contained the title, the names and affiliations of the authors, email address, and four key words/phrases. Please identify
the corresponding author giving full contact information including email.

■ Invited Sessions:

The Program Committee also solicits proposals for invited sessions within the technical scope of the congress. Each proposal for an invited session should describe the theme and scope of the proposed session and how the papers form a cohesive and complementary in the session topic. One session typically contains six (6) papers. The proposal must contain the title and theme of the session and a list of paper’s title, names and email addresses of the corresponding authors. Session proposals must be submitted through the email address: [e318@ihrt.tuwien.ac.at].

■ Proceeding and CD Rom:

A CD-ROM and a Book of Abstract will be provided at the congress. A hard copy for the proceeding will be availabe at an additional charge.

■ Important dates:

- Abstract submission: June 15, 2003
- Notification of Acceptance: July 15, 2003
- Camera-ready Manuscript: August 15, 2003

[2003 FIRA Cup and Congress Headquarters]

Institute for Handling Devices and Robotics, Vienna University of Technology,
Favoritenstrae 9-11/318, A-1040 Vienna, Austria

Tel: +43-1-58801 31801 Fax: +43-1-58801 31899
E-mail: e318@ihrt.tuwien.ac.at

Homepages:
For 2003 FIRA Cup, http://www.ihrt.tuwien.ac.at/FIRAWM03
For 2003 FIRA Congress, http://www.ihrt.tuwien.ac.at/FIRAWC03


4. International Robot Olympiad 2002

Int’l Robot Olympiad 2002 will take place in Beijing, China from Nov. 1 to 3, 2002.

■ Period: Nov. 1 -3, 2002.

■ Venues: Western Academy Beijing School, Beijing, China

■ Competition Categories

[Regular Category]
A. Elementary (Primary) School Group
- Robot Racing , Robot Line Tracing
B. Middle (Secondary) School Group
- Legged Robot Racing, Robot Line Tracing
[Open Category] Theme: Technology Creates Better Tomorrow
[Robot Soccer]

If you have any enquiries, please contact [info@semia.com].
* Official Website: http://www.IROC.org [www.semia.com/iroc2002_en.htm]


5. Large League SimuroSot Category Updated

Prof. Hong Bingrong, Harbin Institute of Technology of FIRA China Branch improved the platform of Large league Simurosot (11 vs. 11) as follows:

1) To a clear the picture in screen of SimuroSot platform, a white frame to each of the robot is added.

2) To avoid disputes in competition, the auto-referee function is developed.


6. Highlight Video Clip of 2002 FIRA Cup Korea

Highlight Video Clip of 2002 FIRA Cup Korea which was held from May 23 to 29, 2002 in Korea is uploaded to the FIRA website. If you would like to purchase video tape or CD-Rom, please e-mail to [office@fira.net].

In the Highlight Video Clip, the Opening to Award Ceremonies are inlcuded. You can also find game scenes of each category and Prof. Jong-Hwan Kim, President of FIRA, passing the FIRA flag to the Prof. Peter Kopacek, the General Chair of 2003 FIRA Cup Austria.


7. * News about Prof. Jong-Hwan Kim, President of FIRA

Prof. Jong-Hwan Kim was selected as a Torch Bearer at the 14th Asian Games BUSAN 2002, which was held from September 29 to October 14, 2002 in Korea, in token recognition of his tireless efforts in promoting the development of autonomous soccer-robots and intelligent systems
capable of cooperating with one another, and in contributing to the state-of-the-art advancements in these specialized fields.

Prof. Kim did his relay course at the mecha of science and technology, Daedeok Science Town, Daejeon in Korea at 16:22 pm on September 16, 2002.

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THE FEDERATION OF INTERNATIONAL ROBOT-SOCCER ASSOCIATION
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Editor-in-chief: Jong-Hwan Kim

Editors:
Prahlad Vadakkepat, Han Pang Huang, Igor Verner, Elmer Dadios,
Jun Jo, Norbert Jesse, Paul Robinson, Hong Bingrong, Man-Wook Han,
Amitabha Mukerjee, Chao Cheng, Chris H. Messom, Krzysztof R.Kozlowski,
J.L. de la Rosa I Esteva, Seow Kiam Tian

Editorial Staff:
Jin-Wook Kim, Jin-Ah Lee, Hye-Young Park, Mi-Hong Sim, Min-Jeong Kim,
and Hye-Jin Han

FIRA Headquarters:
Undergraduate Building 2, KAIST, 373-1, Gusong-dong, Yusong-gu,
Daejeon 305-701, Korea.

Tel: +82-42-869-3448, 8871~9 Fax: +82-42-869-8870
E-mail: fira@fira.net URL: http://www.fira.net
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