# RoboCup Standard Platform League

The RoboCup Standard Platform League (SPL) is one of several leagues within RoboCup, an international competition with autonomous robotic soccer matches as the main event.

## Overview

In the Standard Platform League all teams use identical (i.e., standard) robots, allowing the teams concentrate on software development rather than the mechanics of robots. The robots operate fully autonomously; i.e., there is no remote control by either humans or computers during the games.
The League began as the Sony Four-Legged League in 1999 using the Sony AIBO. Initially a small number of teams were invited to join the league. In 2002, the league was opened and teams were allowed to apply through a qualification process. After Sony announced that it would discontinue production of the AIBO in 2006, the League searched for a new platform and decided on the Aldebaran Robotics humanoid NAO. In 2008, the League ran both AIBOs and Naos and was renamed the Standard Platform League. From 2009, only the Naos were used.

## History
### Summaries of previous World Championships

| Year (Robot) | Host | Final | Final | Final | Third Place Match | Third Place Match | Third Place Match | Number of Teams |
| Year (Robot) | Host | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Third Place | Score | Fourth Place | Number of Teams |
| 1999 (AIBO) | Stockholm - Sweden | LRP France | 4-1 | rUNSWift (UNSW Sydney) Australia | CMPack United States | | | |
| 2000 (AIBO) | Melbourne - Australia | rUNSWift (UNSW Sydney) Australia | 10-0 | LRP France | CMPack United States | | | |
| 2001 (AIBO) | Seattle - USA | rUNSWift (UNSW Sydney) Australia | 9-2 | CMPack United States | | | | |
| 2002 (AIBO) | Fukuoka/Busan - Japan/Korea Archived 2005-08-14 at the Wayback Machine | CMPack United States | 3-3 (2-1) | rUNSWift (UNSW Sydney) Australia | NUbots Australia | | | |
| 2003 (AIBO) | Padua - Italy | rUNSWift (UNSW Sydney) Australia | 4-3 | UPennalizers United States | NUbots Australia | 4-1 | CMPack United States | |
| 2004 (AIBO) | Lisbon - Portugal | GermanTeam Germany | 5-3 | UTS Unleashed! Archived 2010-05-23 at the Wayback Machine Australia | NUbots Australia | 5-4 | UPennalizers United States | 23 |
| 2005 (AIBO) | Osaka - Japan | GermanTeam Germany | 4-3 (2-2) | NUbots Australia | rUNSWift (UNSW Sydney) Australia | 8-0 | CMDash United States | 24 |
| 2006 (AIBO) | Bremen - Germany | NUbots Australia | 7-3 | rUNSWift (UNSW Sydney) Australia | Microsoft Hellhounds Germany | 6-0 | GermanTeam Germany | 24 |
| 2007 (AIBO) | Atlanta - USA | Northern Bites United States | 5-1 | NUbots Australia | CMDash United States | 3-3 (6-5) | WrightEagle China | 24 |
| 2008 (AIBO) | Suzhou - China Archived 2019-04-17 at the Wayback Machine | GermanTeam Germany | 5-0 | UTS-USTC WrightEagle Unleashed! China Australia | Northern Bites United States | 3-1 | UT Austin Villa United States | 10 |
| 2008 (Nao) | | NUManoids Australia Ireland | 1-0 (0-0) | GTCMUnited United States | Kouretes Greece | 1-0 (0-0) | Humboldt Germany | 15 |
| 2009 (Nao) | Graz - Austria | B-Human, Germany | 5-0 | Northern Bites United States | Nao Devils Dortmund Germany | 4-1 | UT Austin Villa United States | 24 |
| 2010 (Nao) | Singapore | B-Human, Germany | 6-1 | rUNSWift (UNSW Sydney) Australia | UT Austin Villa United States | 5-1 | CMurfs United States | 23 |
| 2011 (Nao) | Istanbul - Turkey | B-Human, Germany | 11-1 | Nao Devils Dortmund Germany | NTU Robot PAL Republic of China | 4-2 | Nao-Team HTWK Germany | 27 |
| 2012 (Nao) | Mexico City - Mexico Archived 2011-09-24 at the Wayback Machine | UT Austin Villa United States | 4-2 | B-Human, Germany | rUNSWift (UNSW Sydney) Australia | 11-1 | Nao-Team HTWK Germany | 25 |
| 2013 (Nao) | Eindhoven - The Netherlands | B-Human,  Germany | 6-2 | Nao-Team HTWK, Germany | UT Austin Villa United States | 4-0 | rUNSWift (UNSW Sydney) Australia | 22 |
| 2014 (Nao) | Joao Pessoa - Brazil | rUNSWift (UNSW Sydney) Australia | 5-1 | Nao-Team HTWK, Germany | B-Human, Germany | 7-0 | UChile Chile | 20 |
| 2015 (Nao) | Hefei, China | UNSW Sydney Australia | 3-1 | B-Human, Germany | Nao-Team HTWK, Germany | 3-1 | UChile Chile | 20 |
| 2016 (Nao) | Leipzig, Germany | B-Human, Germany | 3-0 (0-0) | UT Austin Villa United States | Nao-Team HTWK, Germany | 4-1 | UChile Chile | 24 |
| 2017 (Nao) | Nagoya, Japan | B-Human, Germany | 2-1 | Nao-Team HTWK, Germany | Nao Devils Dortmund Germany | 6-2 | UT Austin Villa United States | 24 |
| 2018 (Nao) | Montreal, Canada | Nao-Team HTWK, Germany | 1-0 | B-Human, Germany | TJArk, China | 2-0 | HULKs Germany | 21 |
| 2019 (Nao) | Sydney, Australia | B-Human, Germany | 2-1 | Nao-Team HTWK, Germany | rUNSWift (UNSW Sydney) Australia | 11-2 | Nao Devils Dortmund Germany | 20 |

### Technical Challenges Results

| Year (Robot) | Host | First | Second | Third |
| 1999 (AIBO) | Stockholm - Sweden | rUNSWift Australia | | |
| 2000 (AIBO) | Melbourne - Australia Archived 2009-04-28 at the Wayback Machine | rUNSWift Australia | | |
| 2001 (AIBO) | Seattle - USA | rUNSWift Australia | | |
| 2002 (AIBO) | Fukuoka/Busan Japan/Korea Archived 2005-08-14 at the Wayback Machine | rUNSWift Australia | | |
| 2003 (AIBO) | Padua - Italy | | rUNSWift Australia | |
| 2004 (AIBO) | Lisbon - Portugal | UTS Unleashed! Archived 2010-05-23 at the Wayback Machine Australia | ARAIBO Japan | ASURA Japan |
| 2005 (AIBO) | Osaka - Japan | Cerberus Turkey | NUBots Australia | ARAIBO Japan and GermanTeam Germany |
| 2006 (AIBO) | Bremen - Germany | Microsoft Hellhounds Germany | ASURA Japan | Dutch AIBO Team Netherlands |
| 2007 (AIBO) | Atlanta - USA | GermanTeam Germany | Jolly Pochie Japan | UT Austin Villa United States |
| 2008 (AIBO) | Suzhou - China Archived 2019-04-17 at the Wayback Machine | | | |
| 2008 (Nao) | | | | |
| 2009 (Nao) | Graz - Austria | B-Human Germany and Nao-Team HTWK Germany | | Nao Devils Germany and Nao Team Humboldt Germany |
| 2010 (Nao) | Singapore | rUNSWift Australia | UT Austin Villa United States | CMurfs United States |
| 2011 (Nao) | Istanbul - Turkey | RoboEireann Ireland | Noxious-Kouretes United Kingdom and Greece | rUNSWift Australia |
| 2012 (Nao) | Mexico City - Mexico Archived 2011-09-24 at the Wayback Machine | Nao Team Humboldt Germany | rUNSWift Australia | B-Human Germany |
| 2013 (Nao) | Eindhoven - The Netherlands | B-Human Germany | Nao-Team HTWK Germany | Nao Devils Dortmund Germany and rUNSWift Australia |
| 2014 (Nao) | Joao Pessoa - Brazil | B-Human Germany | Austrian Kangaroos Austria | HULKs Germany |
| 2015 (Nao) | Hefei, China | B-Human Germany | Nao Devils Germany | WrightOcean China |
| 2016 (Nao) | Leipzig, Germany | Nao Devils Germany | HULKs Germany | B-Human Germany |

### Drop-In Competition Results

| Year | Host | First | Second | Third | Best Drop-In Only Team |
| 2014 | Joao Pessoa - Brazil | B-Human Germany | Nao-Team HTWK Germany | Nao Devils Dortmund Germany | UnBeatables Brazil |
| 2015 | Hefei, China | Nao-Team HTWK Germany | B-Human Germany | Nao Devils Dortmund Germany | UnBeatables Brazil |
| 2016 | Leipzig, Germany | B-Human Germany | Nao-Team HTWK Germany | UT Austin Villa United States | UnBeatables Brazil |

### League Photos
#### 2014

A group photo of all teams participating in RoboCup SPL 2014

#### 2013

A group photo of all teams participating in RoboCup SPL 2013 Robots on display for the Queen of The Netherlands at RoboCup 2013

#### 2012

A group photo of all teams participating in RoboCup SPL 2012

#### 2011

A group photo of all teams participating in RoboCup SPL 2011

#### 2010

A group photo of all teams participating in RoboCup SPL 2010

#### 2009

A group photo of all teams participating in RoboCup SPL 2009

### Founders of the League

* Hiroaki Kitano, RoboCup Federation
* Manuela Veloso, Carnegie Mellon University, USA
* Masahiro Fujita, Sony Corporation, Japan
* Minoru Asada, Osaka University, Japan
* Dominique Duhaut, Université de Bretagne Sud, France

## Rules

* RoboCup SPL Rules
| Year | Robots | Team size | Field Size | Walls | Beacons | Ball | Goals | Lighting |
| 1999 | AIBO ERS-110 | 3 | 180 cm × 280 cm | Yes | 6 | Orange | Blue & Yellow | Even & Bright |
| 2000 | AIBO ERS-110 | 3 | 180 cm × 280 cm | Yes | 6 | Orange | Blue & Yellow | Even & Bright |
| 2001 | AIBO ERS-210 | 3 | 180 cm × 280 cm | Yes | 6 | Orange | Blue & Yellow | Even & Bright |
| 2002 | AIBO ERS-210 | 4 | 270 cm × 420 cm | Yes | 6 | Orange | Blue & Yellow | Even & Bright |
| 2003 | AIBO ERS-210A SuperCore | 4 | 270 cm × 420 cm | Yes | 6 | Orange | Blue & Yellow | Even & Bright |
| 2004 | AIBO ERS-7 | 4 | 270 cm × 420 cm | Yes | 4 | Orange | Blue & Yellow | Even & Bright |
| 2005 | AIBO ERS-7 | 4 | 400 cm x 600 cm | No | 4 | Orange | Blue & Yellow | Even & Bright |
| 2006 | AIBO ERS-7 | 4 | 400 cm x 600 cm | No | 4 | Orange | Blue & Yellow | Even & Bright |
| 2007 | AIBO ERS-7 | 4 | 400 cm x 600 cm | No | 4 | Orange | Blue & Yellow | Even & Bright |
| 2008 | AIBO ERS-7 | 5 | 400 cm x 600 cm | No | 2 | Orange | Blue & Yellow | Even & Bright |
| 2008 | NAO V2 | 2 | 440 cm x 680 cm | No | 0 | Orange | Blue & Yellow | Even & Bright |
| 2009 | NAO V3 | 3 | 540 cm x 740 cm | No | 0 | Orange | Blue & Yellow | Even & Bright |
| 2010 | NAO V3 Plus | 3 | 540 cm x 740 cm | No | 0 | Orange | Blue & Yellow | Even & Bright |
| 2011 | Nao V3.3 | 4 | 540 cm x 740 cm | No | 0 | Orange | Blue & Yellow | Even & Bright |
| 2012 | Nao 4 | 4 | 540 cm x 740 cm | No | 0 | Orange | Yellow | Even & Bright |
| 2013 | Nao 4 | 5 | 600 cm x 900 cm | No | 0 | Orange | Yellow | Even & Bright |
| 2014 | Nao 4 or Nao 5 | 5 + Coach | 600 cm x 900 cm | No | 0 | Orange | Yellow | Even & Bright |
| 2015 | Nao 4 or Nao 5 | 5 + Coach | 600 cm x 900 cm | No | 0 | Orange | White | Even & Bright |
| 2016 | Nao 4 or Nao 5 | 5 + Coach | 600 cm x 900 cm | No | 0 | Black and White | White | Even & Bright |
| 2017 | Nao 4 or Nao 5 | 5 + Coach | 600 cm x 900 cm | No | 0 | Black and White | White | Natural elements |
| 2018 | Nao 4 or Nao 5 | 5 | 600 cm x 900 cm | No | 0 | Black and White | White | Natural elements |
| 2019 | Nao 6 or earlier | 5 | 600 cm x 900 cm | No | 0 | Black and White | White | Natural elements |

### Robots

1999–2008 Sony AIBO.
2008–present Aldebaran Robotics humanoid NAO robots.

## Technologies

Control of the robots relies on several areas of robotics, including
* Adaptive control
* Artificial Intelligence
* Bayesian Learning Learning
* Classification and Clustering
* Computational Neuroscience
* Data Mining Techniques
* Digital Control
* Digital Image Processing
* Dimension reduction
* Evolutionary Computation
* Kalman Filter, Extended Kalman Filter
* Flexible Distribution functions
* Feedback Control and Regulation
* Manifold learning
* Motor Control and Legged Locomotion
* Neural Networks
* Reinforcement Learning
* Robot Programming
* Software Engineering
* Support Vector Machines
* Machine vision