RoboCup Federation

RoboCup Federation (RoboCup Federation, Inc.) is an international nonprofit organization that coordinates global competitions and research in robotics and artificial intelligence. The initiative — originally the Robot World Cup Initiative — began in Japan: it was proposed in 1993, and the first RoboCup competition was held in 1997 in Nagoya alongside the IJCAI-97 conference, drawing more than 40 teams. The federation runs five main competition domains: RoboCupSoccer (robot soccer), RoboCupRescue (rescue robots), RoboCup@Home (service and domestic robots), RoboCupIndustrial (industrial and logistics robotics), and RoboCupJunior (an educational program for young people). Its overarching goal is the 2050 milestone: by the middle of the 21st century, a team of fully autonomous humanoid robot soccer players shall win a game against the most recent FIFA World Cup winners, complying with the official rules. RoboCup serves as a platform driving advances in AI, machine perception, reinforcement learning, and robot control. The initiative's co-founders are Hiroaki Kitano, Minoru Asada, Manuela Veloso, and Itsuki Noda; the federation's president is Ubbo Visser.