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Robots have gradually been making their way into a variety of fields and settings, including sports competitions. Robotic football, or soccer, is an innovative version of soccer in which human players are replaced by robots.

Robotic football/soccer competitions have been around for a few decades, now. First introduced in the 1990s, they are now grouped into a single initiative marked by regular tournaments and leagues, dubbed RoboCup.

The humanoid robots that take part in RoboCup have become increasingly advanced over time, making games more engaging and dynamic. To perform well in these competitions, robots should ideally have a wide range of capabilities, including good locomotion, path planning, localization and interaction skills.

Researchers at Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology have recently developed a technique for planning attacks (i.e., attempts at scoring a goal) in robotic football. This technique, presented in a paper pre-published on arXIv, is based on a computational method known as heuristic search.