Date of Award

Spring 2024

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Santa Clara : Santa Clara University, 2024

Departments

Computer Science and Engineering; Electrical and Computer Engineering

First Advisor

Maria Kyrarini

Second Advisor

Ahmed Amer

Abstract

As the sports industry increasingly incorporates technological advancements, robotics has found a unique application in the field of soccer, traditionally dominated by human players. This transition has sparked significant interest in examining the performance and dynamics of robots in athletic contexts. In this senior design project, we focus on the development of autonomous movement, ball control, and game strategy algorithms for the NAO humanoid to play soccer. Utilizing an array of sensors and actuators, the robot is designed to perform fundamental soccer skills such as dribbling and shooting. The robot is able to identify both the goal and the ball using supervised machine learning programs. Additionally, the robot is equipped with Al-driven perception capabilities to interpret game dynamics and make realtime decisions using both a rule-based strategy and a reinforcement learning-based. This project seeks to contribute to the broader discussion on the integration of robotics in sports and its potential for helping human participation in professional athletics.

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