Preparations for the 2007 RoboCup are well underway for the University of Newcastle's NUbots - the reigning world champions in the four-legged robotic soccer league.

The team has just returned from the German Open Competition where they took on 10 international teams in the four-legged league competition. The NUbots placed second to 'The German Team', one of several teams from Germany.

Dr Stephan Chalup, Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, said the German Open Competition provided an important warm-up for the team.

"The German Open ran in conjunction with the Hannover Fair, which is regarded by many as the world's largest industry and technology fair.

"We were unlucky to go down in the final, but as we are still finalising our code, it allowed us to test our system and see where the strengths and weaknesses were.

"This competition gave our team the opportunity to meet with industry representatives and discuss potential collaborations as the area of autonomous robotics emerges as an important industry of the future," said Dr Chalup.

RoboCup 2007 will be held from 30 June - 10 July 2007 in Atlanta, USA.

Images from the competition are available.