Robot soccer-players clinch penalty shootout

In a nail-biting finale to the recent RoboCup Open tournament in Germany, a Dutch team of soccer-playing robots defeated a German team in a penalty shootout to take the crown as champions of the German Middle Size League. Teams in this league are formed of six three-wheeled players, each weighing around 35kg and moving at speeds of up to 4m/s.

In the semi-final, the Dutch Team Tech United Eindhoven conquered the Brainstormers Tribots from Osnabrück, Germany, who had not been beaten since 2004. In the final, the Dutch team triumphed over the world number 3, the CoPS Team from Stuttgart.

Each of the Dutch robot players acts autonomously without remote control and has its own role such as goalkeeper, defender or striker. The players co-operate with each other in a team effort and communicate via wireless Ethernet.

A camera pointing up towards a parabolic mirror provides each player with a 360-degree view of its surroundings which it uses to determine its position. A feature that distinguishes the Dutch players from their rivals is an active ball-handling mechanism. Two levers equipped with motor-driven wheels allow the ball to be pulled as well as pushed.

The robot’s kicking mechanism can produce flat as well as lob shots - a feature that proved to be extremely effective in the semi-final. Each player is controlled by a mini-PC and uses EtherCAT communications to interface with drives, sensors and actuators. EtherCAT was chosen because of its low CPU load and the fact that it did not need any hardware extensions to the PC.

Attention now moves to Suzhou, China, where the world RoboCup championships will be held in July. The ultimate goal of the RoboCup project is to develop a team of autonomous humanoid robots that will be able to beat the human world soccer champions by 2050.

Sameera romancing Ishant Sharma?

Cricket and Indian cinema are slowly turning inseparable. The introduction of Indian Premiere League (IPL) has surely strengthened the bond. While celebrities like Shahrukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Juhi Chawla took cricket seriously by buying IPL teams, others enjoyed live matches or caught up at home. However, hot actress Sameera Reddy seemed to be watching only Ishant Sharma if the latest news is to be believed.

The news is doing the rounds that Sameera and Ishant became close after meeting a few times at the recent IPL matches. It is said that they are more than just good friends with their relationship turning serious. Sameera was even spotted cheering Ishant when Kolkata Knight Riders played.

Asif detained for drug possession

Asif

Pakistan's Mohammad Asif has been detained at Dubai airport for possession of illegal drugs, the country's Cricket Board confirmed on Tuesday.

The fast bowler was stopped on his way to Lahore from Mumbai after playing for the Delhi Daredevils in the recently concluded Indian Premier League.

Nadeem Akram, human resources manager for the PCB, told Indian news channel CNN-IBN that a powder had been found in Asif's wallet.

Akram added that Asif had been given the substance by a hakeem, a traditional Islamic healer.

He said: "Yes, he has not been arrested he has been detained at Dubai airport.

"Apparently it was some drugs given to him by a doctor. It was a very small quantity, it was in his wallet. A small bit of powder.

"It is a medicine given to him by a hakeem in Dubai. It had been given to him some 5-6 months ago and he had forgotten about it."

He had earlier said: "We are co-ordinating with the Pakistan embassy and handling this issue.

"The substance recovered from him has been sent for tests. We will now follow the legal procedures and we have hired lawyers for this purpose."

Akram added that Asif will appear before the magistrate on Tuesday while sources on the board said he will likely be bailed.

They added they had only learnt of his detention late on Sunday and immediately sent a team to sort out the matter.

"Obviously it was a big embarrassment for Pakistan cricket but we first have to see what is the real case," an unnamed official added.

The PCB is due to hold a news conference later on Tuesday.

On Monday, Asif was named in the Pakistan squad to play in the triangular series in Bangladesh from June 8th against India and the hosts.

The 25-year-old received a one-year ban from the PCB in 2006 after testing positive for the banned steroid Nandrolone but the ban was later overturned on appeal.

MacGill retirement could 'open door' for Warne return

The sudden retirement of Au The sudden retirement of Australian leg-spinner Stuart MacGill (pictured here in 2006) over the weekend could see bowling great Shane Warne come out of international retirement, cricket commentators have said.The sudden retirement of Australian leg-spinner Stuart MacGill over the weekend could see bowling great Shane Warne come out of international retirement, cricket commentators said Monday.

MacGill called quits on his 44-Test career Sunday midway through the second Test against the West Indies in Antigua after admitting that at 37 he was no longer up to the rigours of international cricket.

The veteran, who spent much of his playing career in Warne’s considerable shadow, only made the Australian tour of the Caribbean after overcoming serious knee and wrist injuries.

Only last month Warne, who retired from international cricket following the fifth Test against England in Sydney in January 2007 with a then world record 708 Test wickets, raised the prospect of playing again for Australia.

Warne, a year older than MacGill at 38, reportedly said: “If Australia really needed me and there was no-one else around, and (captain) Ricky Ponting thought I could do the job, you would weigh up the options.

“If Stuey MacGill fell over and broke his leg, and there were no other spinners around, and Ricky came out and said, ‘Mate, can you please help us out for this one-off tour? We need you’, that is something I would weigh up.”.

Former Australian leg-spinner and radio commentator Kerry O’Keefe said Warne, who has been playing in the domestic Indian league, could well make a shock international return.

“He definitely could come back,” O’Keefe said Monday. “I think it’s now going to be a possibility if he has a desire to do it.

“Obviously, he has to come back and play first-class cricket… and whether or not the grind of Test cricket as a player, and not a captain, is as attractive for him, we’re going to find out I guess, because this will generate a lot of interest now.

“I think Warney would be worth a phone call, just asking ‘what’s doing Shane?’”

Warne has admitted he misses playing international cricket and said that he would be up to the task of returning to the top level if called upon.

“If I wanted to keep playing I don’t think there would be an issue with me being the No.1 spinner and performing,” Warne told an Australian newspaper last month.

“I would still love to be playing international cricket, and miss it because I devoted 20 years to first-class cricket. It is a big part of my life.”

Australian selectors now have to decide who will be the team’s first-choice spinner for Australia’s four-Test tour of India in October following the retirements of MacGill and Brad Hogg.

MacGill said he will play out the current Antigua Test, with young left-arm spinner Beau Casson likely to make his debut in the third and final Test starting in Barbados next week.

Australian selectors had hoped MacGill could provide a bridge between the retirement of Warne and the emergence of a new frontline spinner but, just eight Tests into the post-Warne era, no obvious heir apparent has appeared.

MacGill said the fear of not playing his best cricket was at the back of his retirement decision.

“Unfortunately, now my time is up. As I said many times last summer, there is no way I will ever walk onto a cricket field unless I can guarantee that I can dismiss top order batsmen consistently,” MacGill said.