Each year, the Federation of International Robot-soccer Association (FIRA) holds an international robo-soccer competition, known as the FIRA RoboWorld Cup. This year, between Aug 26 and 30, 330 participants (52 groups) from 11 countries contested for a shot at the championship. In the end, top spot was clinched by the Tamkang University Robot Research Team. This is nothing new for the Robot Research Team. They were crowned champions in 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. Yet, what is new is the decisive way in which they won, claiming a staggering six gold and three silver medals.

The Robot Research Team is composed of two separate groups: the RoboSot (Robot Soccer) Research Team and the HuroCup (Humanoid Robot Soccer) Research Team. Therefore, the bulk of TKU’s medals were claimed in the RoboSot and HuroCup categories. As in previous years, the TKU Robot Research Team was lead by Prof. Wong Ching-chang of Tamkang’s Department of Electrical Engineering. The RoboSot Research Team consisted of 12 members, including team captain He Cheng-yao; while the HuroCup Research Team consisted of 17 members, including captain Hu Yue-yang.