Determined preparation at the UEFA EURO 2008

The soccer table is a display and training object of the Bremerhaven University's Hochschulmobil

Peter Rohde wants to complete his soccer table before the start of the European Football Championships in June 2008, so that the preparations for the EURO 2008 can be completed early.

As part of his diploma thesis, Peter Rohde is constructing a soccer table in which the opponent is a fully automated computer. The table shows the possibilities of sophisticated automation and highly qualified control technology.

On one side are the challengers (one or two people) who take on the game against their fully automated opponent, who is moved by controlled motors. Sensors and actuators have to respond at lightning speed and are controlled by images from a high-speed camera. This determines the position of the ball and uses this to derive a strategy for the playing figures.

For the construction, igus supplied a high-quality lead screw linear system with high helix lead screw, linear guides that serve as the computer's play rods, and igubal® spherical plain bearings that ensure the flexible mounting of the challenger's play rods.

igus® was chosen as a collaboration partner because of the good cooperation in previous projects. Based on a commercially available soccer table, the investigations quickly revealed that the required dynamics and precision cannot be achieved with the built-in standard bearings. The drylin® R - FJUM-01 bearings meet these two criteria with flying colours and can also be easily integrated into the table. Very low coefficients of friction enable extreme dynamics and the high abrasion resistance in dry operation ensures maintenance-free operation. Furthermore, the bearings are ideally suited for the rotating or oscillating movements of the play rods.

The transverse movement of the rods takes place via high-quality drylin® SHTS lead screw linear guides with high helix lead screw and attached igubal® rod ends. These components were selected because they are extremely delicate. Thus, the view of the human opponent is only minimally restricted and can also be moved quickly and easily.

The soccer table is presented to the public in the Hochschulmobil of the Bremerhaven university. Hochschulmobil is a mobile trade fair booth in the form of a converted public transport bus. Exhibits of various courses of studies are found in the bus, which can be reviewed and tested by schools and study centers in and around Bremerhaven. Thus the soccer table provides for an excellent preparation: One, for students who can be informed about technical and scientific courses, and second, for a professional preparation for the 2008 European championships.

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