Open Source, Soccer-Playing Robots For All!

What’s cooler than a humanoid robot? Why, a humanoid robot that plays soccer, of course. And you can get one for just 25 grand.

The robot, developed by researchers at the University of Bonn, is more than just another droid headed for the intensely competitive RoboCup tournament. The little guy features some serious technical upgrades with a simple design and open source code so others can build their own ‘bot. The software and CAD files (.zip) are available on GitHub.

“I had the idea to open the platform to make life easier” for other developers, said computer scientist Dr. Sven Behnke. “Of course such a robot can in principle do many things, though probably nothing useful in the near future. This is a research vehicle.”