The RoboCup Federation, famous for organising football matches between teams of tiny Nao humanoid robots, and UBTech Robotics have formed a strategic partnership.
The two companies say they are aiming to achieve “the highest-quality artificial intelligence and robotic research and education as well as respective worldwide visibility”.
Both organizations share the goal of intelligent robots serving and supporting humans in various challenging tasks both at home and at work.
To achieve that goal, RoboCup and UBTech believe it is necessary to bring together different individuals, institutions, and commercial efforts, in order to benefit human life.
On the side of RoboCup, the international scientific platform will bring in its network of AI and robotics research institutions and scientists to promote research discussions, extensions and collaborations.
UBTech has pledged to utilize its business network and commercialization capabilities to promote opportunities to fund or to commercialize RoboCup-linked project research, technology and products.
It will also share its communication partnership and platform resources for more robotic research and application awareness building, such as the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) and the World Robot Conference (WRC).
RoboCup’s president Dr Peter Stone, who is expected to join this year’s WAIC and give a keynote speech on service robots, says: “The RoboCup Federation is very excited to be partnering with UBTech towards our joint goal of improving the state of the art of intelligent robotics through cutting-edge research and world class development.
“I am confident that by working together we will be able to achieve much faster and better progress than either of us could accomplish alone.”
Dr. Rick Xiong, CTO of UBTech, welcomed the new partnership, saying: “By working with RoboCup’s top robotic scientists, we are seeking to enrich an ecosystem that will enable and motivate more researchers to explore and innovate robotic applications in the future.
“As AI and robotics become an increasingly important part of society, this MoU solidifies our joint commitment in promoting AI and robotic research as well as accelerating the adoption of them to help solve difficult real-world problems.”
