Adapting a Very Small Size Soccer (VSSS) competition for learning robotics in virtual teaching

Abstract

The combination of games, competitions around the world, and mobile robots cause motivation in students for learning while acquiring practical skills. However, the global pandemic has forced social and physical distancing measures, while the need for distance learning has made the teaching of robotics difficult. The intention of this work is the adaptation of the Very Small Size Soccer (VSSS) competition to be used as a distance learning strategy of robotics, following most of the rules of the original competition. The proposal consists in using free-available software and libraries for 1) modeling a non-holonomic wheeled mobile robot, 2) designing the graphical appearance, and 3) implementing different intelligent algorithms for computer vision, path planning, and decision-making. The main contribution of this work is the general methodology and development of a complete virtual system based on the VSSS, using only open and free software tools easily reachable by students. The fundamentals of mobile robotics (locomotion, perception, cognition, and navigation) have been successfully covered during the development of the system, while significant learning has been achieved by students.