Institute’s College of Computing Hosts Top International Robotics Competition

ATLANTA, April 21, 2006 – The College of Computing at Georgia Tech, a national leader in the research and creation of real-world computing breakthroughs that drive social and scientific progress, today announced that it has been selected to host the prestigious RoboCup 2007, the most significant robotic competition in the world.  Chosen because of its distinguished robotics program and its appealing location in Atlanta, Georgia Tech’s College of Computing will open its doors to more than 2,000 high school and university students, faculty and staff from around the world for RoboCup 2007 Atlanta July 1-10, 2007.

College of Computing (CoC) Associate Professor Tucker Balch announced the big win for the College of Computing this morning at the kickoff of the 2006 KUKA RoboCup U.S. Open, the top robotics competition in the U.S.  In addition to serving as chair for the 2006 KUKA RoboCup U.S. Open Balch will also chair RoboCup 2007 Atlanta.

“Georgia Tech is emerging as a leader in robotics,” said Balch. “We are very pleased to host some of the world’s foremost robot researchers on our campus. This is a great opportunity to share with Atlanta the latest advances in robotics as well as to showcase our city and campus to researchers world-wide.”

Past host cities for the international tournament pitting custom-built robots and their designers against their peers from around the world in a series of competitions include Paris, Lisbon, Osaka, Japan and Seattle. Lockheed Martin, a sponsor of the 2006 KUKA RoboCup U.S. Open, also today announced plans to sponsor RoboCup 2007 Atlanta.

This year’s 2006 KUKA RoboCup U.S. Open at the College of Computing at Georgia Tech runs from April 20-23. The public is invited to attend as teams from the United States, Germany, Mexico and Canada put their robots to work competing in realistic search-and-rescue demonstrations, as well as four-legged and humanoid soccer games.

2006 KUKA RoboCup Schedule:
April 20 – venue opens for the teams at 12 noon
April 21 – competition begins 8:30AM - 6PM
April 22 – round-robin competitions and quarter finals from 8:30AM – 5PM
April 23 – semi-finals and finals 8:30AM – Noon; finals 1PM – 4PM

About the RoboCup
RoboCup is an international research and education initiative. Its goal is to foster artificial intelligence and robotics research by providing a standard problem where a wide range of technologies can be examined and integrated. The concept of soccer-playing robots was first introduced in 1993. Following a two-year feasibility study, in August 1995, an announcement was made on the introduction of the first international conferences and soccer games. In July 1997, the first official conference and games were held in Nagoya, Japan. Followed by Paris, Stockholm, Melbourne, Seattle and Fukuoka/Busan, the annual events attracted many participants and spectators. This year, the 10th anniversary of RoboCup, the competition and symposium is being held in Bremen, Germany.

For more details about this year's RoboCup including participants and updated schedule, visit http://www.robocup-us.org/. To learn more about RoboCup 2006 Bremen, Germany visit http://www.robocup2006.org/.

About the College of Computing at Georgia Tech
The College of Computing at Georgia Tech is a national leader in the creation of real-world computing breakthroughs that drive social and scientific progress. With its graduate program ranked 11th nationally by U.S. News and World Report, the College’s unconventional approach to education is pioneering the new era of computing by expanding the horizons of traditional computer science students through interdisciplinary collaboration and a focus on human centered solutions. For more information about the College of Computing at Georgia Tech, its academic divisions and research centers, please visit www.cc.gatech.edu.

About KUKA Robotics
KUKA Robotics Corporation, with its parent company KUKA Roboter GmbH, Augsburg, Germany, is one of the world's leading manufacturers of industrial robots, with an annual production volume approaching 10,000 units, and an installed base of over 60,000 units.  The company’s 5 and 6 axis robots range from 3kg to 570kg payloads, and 635mm to 3700mm reach, all controlled from a common PC based controller platform. KUKA robots are utilized in a diverse range of industries including the appliance, automotive, aerospace, consumer goods, logistics, food, pharmaceutical, medical, foundry and plastics industries. KUKA robots are found in a multitude of applications including: material handling, machine loading, assembly, packaging, palletizing, welding, bending, joining, and surface finishing. For more information contact KUKA Robotics at 866-873-5852 or visit their website at www.kukarobotics.com.

For more information contact:
Stefany Wilson
404.894.7253
stefany@cc.gatech.edu
www.cc.gatech.edu