Main organizers Roel Merry and René van de Molengraft of Tech United – the TU/e robotics team – welcomed several hundreds of people in a giant catering tent. Along with the Italian Daniele Nardi, chairman of the RoboCup Federation, they stressed the ‘Olympic spirit’ of the event. Winning is great, but sharing ideas and innovations is even more important. After all, the open source characterizing the RoboCup is exactly why the skills of robots are improving so rapidly. 

A sparkling performance with the Tesla coil of TU/e, and an energized dance show concluded the short official ceremony. In the next few days, 2500 participants will compete in a total of fifteen different competitions in an attempt to win the world title. Categories include soccer, healthcare and rescue robots. There’s a separate junior competition for kids, and visitors can participate in workshops.