Robot Soccer Balls.
The balls are about 75 mms. (about 3 inches) in diameter. They have a transparent plastic shell containing LEDs that shine with infra-red light that is invisible to human eyes, but can be seen by sensors that we can attach to our soccer robots.
The combination of the new HiTechnic Soccer Ball RCJ-05 together with the latest HiTechnic Seeker V2 allows a robot soccer player to detect the robot soccer ball from a much greater distance than was possible using the original robot soccer balls. This is the ball/seeker combination that is approved for use in 2011 Australian GEN II Open League soccer tournaments, the 2011 New Zealand GEN II Robot Soccer events, and in 2011 World Robot Olympiad Robot Soccer events.
HiTechnic are an official sponsor of the 2011 World Robot Olympiad and offer a "Football Kit" that includes a ball, seeker V2 and compass sensor; click here to see the reduced price.
The New HiTechnic Robot Soccer Ball.
This RCJ-05 Robot Soccer ball can be used in 2011 Australian RoboCup Junior Soccer Open League and New Zealand Robot Soccer competitions in (pulsed) mode A, in the 2011 Australian RoboCup Novice League Soccer in (unpulsed) mode B, and in 2011 World Robot Olympiad Robot Soccer events in (pulsed) mode D. It can be obtained from HiTechnic.
The Wiltronics Robot Soccer Ball
This ball was the robot soccer ball used in the Australian Robot Soccer Tournaments up until 2009, and is one of the approved balls for the 2011 Australian RoboCup Junior Novice League (the other is the HiTechnic RCJ-05 ball listed above when it is operating in unpulsed mode B). It can be obtained from Wiltronics or Modern Teaching Aids.
The Original HiTechnic Robot Soccer Ball
You can see the identification number "RCJ-01" on the ball's bottom circuit board - this identifies this HiTechnic ball as an older HiTechnic ball. This ball could be used with the 2011 Australian RoboCup Junior Novice League events, as its output is unpulsed. This ball is no longer available for sale from HiTechnic, it having been replaced by the RCJ-05 shown above.
To find out how to keep your Robot Soccer player inside your Robot Soccer field, click here.
Technical Note: - Differences between HiTechnic and Wiltronics Soccer Balls.
The most obvious difference you will notice is that both the new and old HiTechnic robot soccer balls have four replaceable AAA batteries powering them, whereas the Wiltronics ball has one inbuilt non-replaceable rechargeable battery. A video showing how to change the batteries in the new HiTechnic ball can be see here [video Big, Small].
The Wiltronics ball does not have a separate on/off switch, it is turned on by removing the charging cable. The HiTechnic balls have an on/off switch.
There are also technical differences in the way these different Robot Soccer balls are used in combination with the HiTechnic Seeker V2. For more technical information, click here.
To find out how to keep your Robot Soccer player inside your Robot Soccer field, click here.
DrGraeme.net - Family Fun With Robotics - LEGO NXT MindStorms - NXT-G - Robot Gen II Soccer step 3 - Robot Soccer Balls