In the scope of his diploma thesis, Peter Rohde constructed a soccer table in which your opponent is a fully automatic computer. The table shows the potentials of very exacting automation and highly qualified control engineering.

On one side of the table stands the challenger (one to two persons), who plays against their fully automatic opponent who is moved by regulated motors. Sensors and actuators must respond as fast as lightning and are controlled by the images of a high-speed camera. They determine the position of the ball and from it derive a strategy for the game pieces.

For the construction, igus® supplied a high-quality spindle lift table with steep-threaded spindle and linear guides, which serve as game bars of the computer, as well as the igubal® spherical bearings which ensure the flexible mounting of the challenger's game bars.

igus® was selected as a cooperation partner due to the good collaborations in past projects. Tests based on a standard commercial soccer table quickly showed that the required dynamics and accuracy cannot be attained with the installed standard bearings. The DryLin® R - FJUM-01 bearings brilliantly fulfill the two criteria and could also be splendidly integrated in the table. Extremely low coefficients of friction enable extreme dynamics, and the high abrasion resistance in dry run provides for a maintenance-free operation. Moreover, the bearings are best suited for the rotating or oscillating motions of the game bars.

The cross traverse of the bars takes place over the high-quality DryLin® SHTS spindle linear guides with steep-threaded spindle and attached igubal® rod end bearings. These components were selected due to their extremely sophisticated construction. Thus the view of the human opponent is only minimally restricted and in addition is fast and easily moveable.

The soccer table is presented to the public in the Hochschulmobil of the Bremerhaven university. Hochschulmobil is a mobile trade fair booth in the form of a converted public transport bus. Exhibits of various courses of studies are found in the bus, which can be reviewed and tested by schools and study centers in and around Bremerhaven. Thus the soccer table provides for an excellent preparation: One, for students who can be informed about technical and scientific courses, and second, for a professional preparation for the 2008 European championships.