"LET'S volt in!" may be this century's opening hurrah of the Department of Science and Technology as it prepares to engage the country in the first robot soccer match slated July 2000 during the National Science and Technology Week celebration.

The engineering and computer science departments of De La Salle University, University of the Philippines-Diliman and DOST's Advanced Science and Technology Institute will be implementing the robotics project.

As part of the preparation, a memorandum of agreement was signed between Amkor Technology Philippines (ATP) and the De La Salle University for financial support of two participating Filipino researchers during the Federation of International Robot Soccer Association (FIRA) Technical Training Program in Korea Jan. 11-25. The training, signed by ATP president Antonio Ng and DLSU president Rolando Dizon, will be held at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in South Korea. Under the agreement, ATP will finance the travel and accommodation expenses of two researchers.

The training, which will be participated in by researchers from the University of the Philippines and the DLSU, includes lectures on robotics and related fields, particularly the development of software algorithms on artificial intelligence. The soccer competition between UP Diliman and DLSU robot teams, on the other hand, will be more focused in improving the reliability and performance of robot systems to prepare the country in its participation in the annual FIRA World Cup Soccer Robot Tournament later this year.

According to the Philippine Council for Advanced Science and Technology Research and Development (PCASTRD), the tournament will serve as "a big incentive for students to continuously upgrade their programs and promote competition and cooperation among universities here and abroad."

The Filipino participants in the training are expected to lead the development of two robot systems and test the efficiency of these systems. The development will see to it that the robot systems will move with agility, see with acuity and think in perspective within the limited concept of a soccer game.

The project also expects to develop more Filipino researchers and technical personnel in the fields of information technology and electronics through robot competitions. It also aims to attract more Filipino manpower in the fields of information technology, electronics engineering and other related courses as Filipino students may be enticed with robot system development, particularly an exciting and entertaining soccer robot competition.

DOST Secretary Filemon Uriarte Jr. said the project will not only attract students to IT and other related fields but will also "bring together the expertise of researchers in robotics, intelligence control, sensor fusion, image processing, communications, mechatronics, artificial life and computer technology to develop intelligent and autonomous robots."

"UP and DLSU will be working together. The two will have a simulated competition to help improve the system," Uriarte said. "The improved system will be our bet in the international competition, the annual FIRA robot soccer competition," he added.

It is said that interest in robot soccer started with the increase of robots in an industrial environment. According to experts, since scientists and technologists were often faced with issues on cooperation and coordination among different robots and their self governance in a work space, it led to the developments in multi-robot cooperative autonomous systems. And robot soccer, described experts, "makes heavy demands in all the key areas of robot technology, mechanics, sensors and intelligence. It does so in a competitive setting that people around the world can understand and enjoy."

Simple matches of robot soccer started the Micro-Robot World Cup Soccer Tournament (MiroSot).

Because of this, a new interdisciplinary research area in diverse fields like robotics, intelligence control, sensor technology, mechatronics and artificial life emerged.