KiRo is a completely autonomous table soccer playing robot: with the help of a camera it perceives the playing field and, dependend on the current game situation, it decides how the rods under its control should be moved. KiRo is developed at the institute for computer science of the University of Freiburg and is utilized for research into foundations of robotics and artificial intelligence.

Working with KiRo, one gains an insight into a number of research areas, such as sensor interpretation, control, autonomous systems, planning and machine learning. Through publications, knowledge and results are made accessible to the wider research community. The long term goal is to develop methods which can also be applied in other areas, e.g. for service robots.

KiRo offers the possibility of a direct comparison between alternative research approaches, for example competitions in which two table soccer robots compete against each other. Such an evaluation of different systems is very instructive for researchers. In the field of education, KiRo can be used for teaching students who want to extend and practically apply their knowledge in different research areas. KiRo makes the latest advances in robotics and artificial intelligence visible and accessible to the public. Those who are interested can learn about the fundamental research issues and techniques which are applied. Finally, KiRo may become an attractive pastime as an "intelligent" opponent or even serve as a training partner for professional players. In cooperation with the German company adp Gauselmann, KiRo was further developed to a market-ready product. Since January 2005 KiRo has been commercially available under the name StarKick.