July 7-8, 2007

Technology Square Research Building

Room 113A & B

Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, Georgia

Official Program 

Nanogram Demonstration Competition

RoboCup 2007
Welcome to Nanosoccer! 

Imagine a mechanical Pelé or David Beckham six times smaller than an amoeba playing with a 

“soccer ball” no wider than a human hair on a field that can fit on a grain of rice. Purely science 

fiction? Not anymore. 

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is 

hosting the first nanoscale soccer games at the 2007 RoboCup in Atlanta, Ga., on July 7-8, 2007, 

on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology. 

RoboCup is an annual international competition designed to foster innovations and advances in 

artificial intelligence and intelligent robotics by using the game of soccer as a testing ground. 

NIST hopes that a competition between the smallest robots in RoboCup history will show the 

feasibility and accessibility of technologies for fabricating MicroElectroMechanical Systems 

(MEMS), tiny mechanical devices that are built onto semiconductor chips and are measured in 

micrometers (millionth of a meter). 

The 2007 RoboCup features six competition leagues: Four-Legged, Humanoid, Middle Size, 

Small Size, Simulation and Rescue Robot. RoboCup and NIST are jointly organizing this year’s 

nanosoccer competition as a demonstration event with plans for it to become the Nanogram 

League in 2008. Five teams are entered in the Nanogram Demonstration Competition: two from 

Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, Pa.), and one each from the U.S. Naval Academy 

(Annapolis, Md.), the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (Zurich, Switzerland) and Simon 

Fraser University (Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada). 

The soccer nanobots (nanoscale robots) operate under an optical microscope, are controlled by 

remote electronics using visual feedback and are viewed on a monitor. While they are a few tens 

of micrometers to a few hundred micrometers long, the robots are considered “nanoscale” 

because their masses range from a few nanograms to a few hundred nanograms. 

To win the competition, a nanobot must be fast, agile and capable of manipulating objects. These 

abilities will be tested in three events: a two-millimeter dash in which each nanobot seeks the 

best time for a goal-to-goal sprint across the playing field; a slalom drill where the path between 

goals is blocked by "defenders" (polymer posts) and a ball handling drill that requires robots to 

“dribble” as many “nanoballs” (microdisks with the diameter of a human hair) as possible into 

the goal within a 3-minute period. 

Technical Contact: Craig McGray, NIST Electronics and Electrical Engineering laboratory 

 (301) 975-4110 

 craig.mcgray@nist.gov 

Media Contact: Michael E. Newman, NIST Public Affairs Office 

 (301) 975-3025 Cell: (240) 602-5365 

 michael.newman@nist.gov 
Nanosoccer Contestants 

CMU 1

Operator: Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, Pa.) 

Length: ≈300 μm 

Made from silicon dioxide and aluminum, the CMU 1 nanobot responds to three different 

electrical wave patterns fed across the field of play directing the device to move straight, turn 

right or turn left. Because the nanobot is “biped” (possesses arms on either side), it can rotate in 

two directions. 

MAGIC AND VOODOO 

Operator: Carnegie Mellon University 

 (Pittsburgh, Pa.) 

Length: ≈300 μm 

Manufactured from neodymium iron boride, the Magic and Voodoo nanobot is magnetized. 

Electromagnets are used to create a magnetic field across the field of play. The movement and 

speed of the robot is determined by the direction and magnitude of the magnetic wave pulse 

reaching it. 

ETH ZURICH 

Operator: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology 

 (Zurich, Switzerland) 

Length: ≈300 μm 

Constructed from nickel and gold, the ETH Zurich nanobot has an actuator (a mechanism that 

causes a device to be turned on or off, adjusted or moved) that responds to changing magnetic 

fields to maneuver. The robot can be driven in forward and reverse, turn left and right, and move 

on surfaces other than the microchip field of play. 
USNA

Operator: U.S. Naval Academy 

 (Annapolis, Md.) 

Length: ≈300 μm 

Machined from silicon and chromium, the USNA nanobot moves forward in response to an 

electrical waveform sent across the field of play. Turns are negotiated by touching the stylus (the 

wing-like tip in the foreground of the photo) to the surface of the microchip. 

POLYMER MEMS PROS 

Operator: Simon Fraser University 

 (Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada) 

Length: ≈250 μm

Built from a combination of polymer and metal, the Polymer MEMS Pros nanobot contains an 

actuator that responds to a cycling electrical pulse by moving the robot in an inchworm fashion. 

Three different voltages trigger different sections of the actuator to engage, thus enabling 

forward, left and right movement. 
Nanosoccer Schedule of Events 

Saturday July 7, 2007

All events take place in Room 113A&B of the Technology Square Research Building 

CMU 1 Team: 

9:00-9:30 AM Setup 

9:30-10:00 AM Three runs each of 2-Millimeter Dash and Slalom Drill 

10:00-10:30 AM Breakdown 

Magic and Voodoo Team: 

10:30-11:00 AM Setup 

11:00-11:30 AM Three runs each of 2-Millimeter Dash and Slalom Drill 

11:30 AM- Noon Breakdown 

ETH Zurich Team: 

Noon- 12:30 PM Setup 

12:30-1:00 PM Three runs each of 2-Millimeter Dash and Slalom Drill 

1:00-1:30 PM Breakdown 

USNA Team: 

1:30-2:00 PM Setup 

2:00-2:30 PM Three runs each of 2-Millimetter Dash and Slalom Drill 

2:30-3:00 PM Breakdown 

Polymer MEMS Pros Team: 

3:00-3:30 PM Setup 

3:30-4:00 PM Three runs each of 2-Millimetter Dash and Slalom Drill 

4:00-4:30 PM Breakdown 
Nanosoccer Schedule of Events (continued) 

Sunday July 8, 2007

All events take place in Room 113A&B of the Technology Square Research Building 

CMU 1 Team: 

9:00-9:30 AM Setup 

9:30-10:00 AM Three runs of Ball Handling Drill 

10:00-10:30 AM Breakdown 

Magic and Voodoo Team: 

10:30-11:00 AM Setup 

11:00-11:30 AM Three runs of Ball Handling Drill 

11:30 AM- Noon Breakdown 

ETH Zurich Team: 

Noon- 12:30 PM Setup 

12:30-1:00 PM Three runs of Ball Handling Drill 

1:00-1:30 PM Breakdown 

USNA Team: 

1:30-2:00 PM Setup 

2:00-2:30 PM Three runs of Ball Handling Drill 

2:30-3:00 PM Breakdown 

Polymer MEMS Pros Team: 

3:00-3:30 PM Setup 

3:30-4:00 PM Three runs of Ball Handling Drill 

4:00-4:30 PM Breakdown 
Nanosoccer Field of Play 

Microchip with Nanosoccer Fields of Play

The glass microchip on the left measures 3 centimeters across - 

slightly more than the diameter of a quarter on the right - and 

is divided into sixteen nanosoccer playing fields.

In nanosoccer, the action takes place atop a 3 centimeter by 3 centimeter glass microchip—

actually on just 1/16th of the chip! The chip is divided into 16 square grids that are 2.5 

millimeters on a side (about the size of a grain of rice). Each grid contains a nanosoccer field, 1.5 

millimeters (approximately the diameter of the head of a pin) across with a 900 micrometers long 

by 500 micrometers wide goal on either side. 

Electrodes are dispersed throughout the field of play from which the nanobots draw power and 

receive instructions. The boundary lines of the field are marked with a thick layer of photoresist 

(a film applied to the microchip) that creates a wall that the nanobots cannot cross. 

The field of play is connected to a printed circuit board 

(PCB) containing the control electronics. The entire unit 

(16 microchip fields and PCB) is placed under an optical 

microscope with a 4 millimeter field of view. Both of the 

ocular ports (eyepieces) on the scope have cameras 

attached; one to record and display the competition, and 

the other to provide visual feedback to the nanobot 

operators. The microscope is housed within a glove box to 

protect the microchip/PCB unit from humidity. 

Photomicrograph of Nanosoccer Field

Printed Circuit Board Microchip with Nanosoccer Fields of Play
Nanosoccer Contests 

For the Nanogram Demonstration Competition, the nanobots will compete in three compulsory 

soccer exercises: the 2 Millimeter Dash, the Slalom Drill and the Ball-Handling Drill. 

In the 2 Millimeter Dash, each nanobot must sprint across the playing field from one goal to the 

other. The robot must begin with its entire structure behind the goal line, and it completes the 

dash when the first point on its structure crosses the opposing goal line. Each team will be 

allowed three trials. The winner is determined by the best of the three trials. The winning team 

will receive 5 points towards the overall competition, the second-place team will receive 3 

points, and the third-place team will receive 1 point. 

 

Photomicrograph of Field of Play with Defenders in Place

The nanobots must navigate around the stationary defenders to go 

from goal to goal. 

In the Slalom Drill, the path between goals is blocked by “defenders” (polymer posts shaped like 

soccer players) that a nanobot must avoid as it races between the goals. Each team will be 

allowed three trials. The winner is determined by the best of the three trials. The winning team 

will receive 5 points towards the overall competition, the second-place team will receive 3 

points, and the third-place team will receive 1 point. 

Nanosoccer Ball

This is a silicon dioxide disk (top view) about the diameter of a human hair 

(100 μm) that can be pushed across the Nanogram Soccer field of play by 

the nanosoccer robots. The "T" is a mark for spotting the ball on the field. 

The three circles are the location of the raised dimples on the underside of 

the disk that allow movement across the field. 

The Ball Handling Drill requires the nanobot to “dribble” as many “nanoballs” (silicon dioxide 

disks) as possible into the goal within a 3-minute time period, while avoiding the same type of 

"defenders" used in the Slalom Drill. 

The robot must begin the drill with its entire structure behind its own goal line and can only 

score goals in the opposing goal. A goal is scored when the entire ball is pushed past the full 

width of the goal line. 

Each team will run three trials of the ball handling drill, with the balls and defenders placed in 

different locations for each trial. The team receives 1 point towards the overall competition for 

each goal scored. In the event of a tie, additional trials of the Ball Handling Drill will be 

conducted. 
About NIST 

From automated teller machines and atomic clocks to mammograms and semiconductors, 

innumerable products and services rely in some way on technology, measurement, and standards 

provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). 

Founded in 1901, NIST is a non-regulatory federal agency within the U.S. Commerce 

Department's Technology Administration. NIST's mission is to promote U.S. innovation and 

industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in 

ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life. 

NIST carries out its mission in four cooperative programs: 

• the NIST Laboratories, conducting research that advances the nation's technology 

infrastructure and is needed by U.S. industry to continually improve products and 

services; 

• the Baldrige National Quality Program, which promotes performance excellence among 

U.S. manufacturers, service companies, educational institutions, and health care 

providers; conducts outreach programs and manages the annual Malcolm Baldrige 

National Quality Award which recognizes performance excellence and quality 

achievement; 

• the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a nationwide network of local centers 

offering technical and business assistance to smaller manufacturers; and 

• the Advanced Technology Program, which accelerates the development of innovative 

technologies for broad national benefit by co-funding R&D partnerships with the private 

sector. 
About RoboCup 

RoboCup (originally called the Robot World Cup Initiative) is an international research and 

education initiative. Its goal is to foster artificial intelligence and robotics research by providing 

a standard problem where a wide range of technologies can be examined and integrated. 

The concept of soccer-playing robots was first introduced in 1993. Following a two-year 

feasibility study, an announcement establishing an annual international conference and soccer 

games was made in August 1995. The first official conference and games were held in July 1997 

in Nagoya, Japan. Since then, RoboCup has been in the following locations: Paris, France; 

Stockholm, Sweden; Melbourne, Australia; Seattle, Wash., USA; Fukuoka, Japan (in cooperation 

with Busan, Korea); Padua, Italy; Lisbon, Portugal; Osaka, Japan; Bremen, Germany, and now in 

2007, Atlanta, Ga., USA. The events have been covered by national and international media 

from all over the world. 

 

The main focus of the RoboCup activities is competitive soccer. The games are important 

opportunities for researchers to exchange technical information. They also serve as a great 

opportunity to educate and entertain the public. 

The ultimate goal of RoboCup is to field by 2050 a team of fully autonomous humanoid robot 

soccer players that can win a soccer game against the most recent World Cup champions.