Thai team "Independent", from King Mongkut's Institute of Technology North Bangkok (KMITNB), beat out all rivals by a wide margin to take first place in the international contest's Rescue category.

Later, a team from Chulalongkorn University emerged as second runner-up in the RoboCup Soccer's Small Size League.

Adding to the list of honours for the Kingdom was the third-runner up place in the RoboCup Soccer's Humanoid League, which went to a team from King Mongkut University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT).

KMITNB has rewarded the winning team with scholarships up to doctorate level. Team members Pinit Khueansuwong, Thongchai Photsathian, Nati Namwong, Adisak Duangkaew and Suchat Junlee are all Institute alumni or current students.

Chulalongkorn University head Suchada Kiranandana yesterday applauded the Plasma-Z team, second-runner up in the RoboCup Soccer's Small Size category.

"I want to offer my congratulations to you. This is another step for Thailand in the international arena," she said. Suchada said the Plasma-Z team's feat was especially impressive because it beat Singaporean robots, which started as Asia's top-ranked team, and claimed three goals in a match against the mighty CMDragons from the US. The CMDragons won the the competition.

Nawarat Termtanasombat, team leader and fourth-year engineering student at CU, said her team had developed robots based on know-how passed down by her seniors.

"Our robots use artificial intelligence. They can send a low shot or punch the ball. They are outstanding at passing and defending," Nawarat said. Team member Mahisorn Wongpati, a graduate student at CU's Faculty of Engineering, said the CMDragons team stunned its rivals by producing a robot that could head the ball.

"That's so advanced - it's why we lost in the match," he said. In RoboCup Soccer's Small Size League, two teams each comprising five small robots equipped with a few on-board sensors play soccer on a small "field". Overhead cameras relay information about the the ball, players and opponents to an external computer.

Players and other key objects are identified by colour-coded markers. Commands are transmitted to the team robots wirelessly.

Some robots feature on-board cameras. No external human intervention is allowed, other than the insertion or removal of robots to or from the field.

The King Mongkut Thonburi team entered two robots in the RoboCup Soccer Humanoid League and claimed the third-runner up award. Initially, these robots were limited to contests such as walking races and penalty kicks, but soccer games with two-player teams were introduced at last year's competition in Osaka, Japan.

The humanoid soccer robots are fully autonomous. Help from outside the field is not permitted while the ball is in play. One particular challenge in the Humanoid League is maintaining the robots' balance. If the robots go to ground, they must get up by themselves. "Our focus is on how to make our humanoids light and agile," KMUTT doctoral candidate Pasarn Kullawanich said.

His team-mates, all masters-degree candidates, were Apinya Boonprakob, Weerayuth Sawasdee, Bantoon Srisuwan and Is Sarimi.

"We believe our inventions are as good as those that took the first runner-up and second runner-up places," Pasarn said.