Fully autonomous robots?

[Greg Marra]

Originally Posted by Mike

Do you think an offensively autonomous robot is feasible?
If so, do you think it would be competitive?
If not feasible, why not? What specific function could a robot do that a human could not?

Personally, I think that with the sensors we have available, a fully autonomous robot would be less competitive than a human driven one. I think it's just a lot easier for a human to say, "Hey, there's a ball, let me go pick it up," than for a robot to decide that that shape over there is a spherical game object and figure out how to change it's motors to get there (without pinning itself in a corner).

Primarily, I think the number one disadvantage comes from defensive driving. If I don't want you to get the to goal, I can play smarter than your algorithms. I can block your path, I can push you around, I can fool you into thinking you're on the other end of the field ().

However, I wish you the best of luck. It would be an amazing accomplishment.