Welcome to 2011!

This blog serves as a way to quickly get information to competitors about the RoboCupJunior Rescue Competition in Istanbul 2011.

Be aware that no matter what is said on this blog, the final interpretation will always fall back to the published rules at www.robocup2011.org

Feel free to ask a question (click on the link above) and we'll answer it as soon as possible.

Every post below this post, is for last years competition so can be safely ignored! :)

FAQ 9 <-- RESCUE A -->

Q: Does the wall in Red Zone consist of what? Is it transparent?
A: The walls will be solid. They may or may not be transparent

Q: Is the entrance of Red Zone the right side of the slope?
A: Possibly. We envisage that it will be, but there is a small possibility it will be on the other side. Make sure your robot is capable of dealing with either condition.

Q: Is the platform the victim is supposed to be placed in a square or a triangle, and what colour is it?
A: The platform for Secondary rescue is a black triangle with vertical sides.

Q: How long would be the dowel (10mm diameter) be?
A: The dowel will be of various lengths, between 5cm and 30cm in length.

Q: If the robot lacks of progress, does it have to go through three attempts of lack of progress before it can skip to continue at another stage? Can we just choose to move the robot to the end of the room to continue on with just one attempt?
A: As per the rules


" 3.6.2. If a robot loses the line or fails to appropriately negotiate a piece of debris it must be returned to the start of the room (and in the process incur a 15 point touch penalty). If after the third attempt at a room, there is a lack of progress, the team captain can choose to move the robot to the end of the room to continue on. "


This means you cannot move past the room until it is either successfully completed *OR* it has had three attempts at it.

FAQ 8 <-- RESCUE A -->

Q: In this Robocup there will be superteams, as in the last Robocups?
A: Yes there are superteams competition for the top 16 teams.  The rules will be very different to previous years and will not be released until the competition is running! :)

Q: Which position is the center of gravity of the can?
A: The can will be weighted to 150g by placing weights in the bottom.  This means the centre of mass will be quite low.

Q: What is the current dimensions for the playfield? The building instructions and the 3D reference picture in the rules seem to differ.
A: 1.2. Dimensions: 
1.2.1. Each module  is  approximately 1200mm  by  900mm  (47  inches  by  36  inches), with 
walls that are approximately 30 cm (12 inches) high. 
1.2.2. Each room will have two doorways in standard locations (see building plans). Robots 
will  enter  through  one  doorway  and  exit  through  the  other.  Doorways will  be  250mm  x 
250mm in size.   

FAQ 5 <--RESCUE B-->

Q: What is the size of each room? (90.120 or 120.120)

A: 120x120, like Rescue A, but is usually formed by 90x120 + 120x30

 

Q: Where is the start point?

A: Begin of the first room.

 

Q: How many victims are located in the rooms?and wich room are they in?

A: There is no fixed number... It could be 0 to 6, probably. They are all around the maze

 

Q: Should the robot find all the victims or should it completly search the rooms to stop? 

A: The idea is get the maximum number of points within the time of the run. There is no stop point on maze, so is the team (or the time) that makes the end of run.

 

Q: Is the victim placed in the ramp? 

A: Its possible to exist a victim on ramp, but this year we will not do it.

Q: When the robot identify a victim. A robot may flash a lamp on and off for two seconds. Must the robot stop at the time?

A: The robot don't need to stop, but, according to:
"3.5.1. Robots are rewarded 20 points for each “victim” that they identify in the arena. To identify a victim, a robot must flash a lamp on and off for two seconds while it is within 100 mm of that victim."
If the robot moves away from the victim (more than 10cm's), you will not have any points.

Q: When lack of progress occurs, Who moves a robot at the entrance of the room?　(Team member or referee)

A: Team Member (captain) should do it, with the authorization of Refree.

Q: If a robot returns to the room in front, is it a lack of progress? 

A: If the robot is on the path, but going on the "wrong" direction, it isn't a lack of progress. But, in any time, the captain could choose to declaire a lack of progress and move the robot.

FAQ 7 <--Rescue A -->

Q. Will there be big obstacles, for example bricks and such, in the red zone? 

A:  There will be no large debris to be avoided in the Red Zone.  There may be smaller debris / speed bumps to be driven over.




Q: Will there be any penalties for termination despite the robot not having lack of progress? 
A:  There are no penalties for early termination.  Ensure you make it obvious to the referee when you wish to terminate your round.

Robot Kits

Q: Will we be disqualified if we build and modify slightly robots, to suit the mission, from guideboooks? 

A: If you bring along a robot that commercially available, and it performs the vast majority of rescue tasks 'out of the box' with little modification by the students, you will be disqualified.  RoboCup Junior is a competition designed to enable students to learn from the process of building and programming their own robots.  Pre-built robots that are specifically marketed as 'rescue' robots or 'line-following' robots take away the learning opportunities that RoboCup Junior is designed to foster.

 If you are in doubt, please send details of the commercial kit you wish to use to the Rescue Technical Committee (damien@domabotics.com).  Include details of the capabilities, where it can be purchased from, and the 'guidebook' that is provided with the kit.  The committee will review the kit in question and inform you if it is acceptable to the RoboCup Competition.  All information will be kept in the strictest confidence.

The Rules state:

2.2.2.   Any  commercially  produced  robot  kits  that  are  specifically  marketed  as  'line 

followers' or 'rescue' robots will likely to be disqualified unless *significant* modifications 

to  both  the  mechanical  design  and  provided  software.   If  there  is  any  doubt  as  to  the 

legitimacy of  a  particular  commercial product, participants must  contact  the  International 

RoboCupJunior Rescue Technical Committee  several months  prior  to  any  competition  to 

confirm.  Organisers will  treat  all  inquiries with  the  utmost  privacy,  and will  not  release 

details to any 3rd parties. 

  

These rules have been publicly available for many months and all teams are expected to have read them and abide by them.  

FAQ 6 <--RESCUE A-->

Q: Must robot release the victim both Primary and Secondary in the evacuation zone? (rule 3.5.8 was not written "release" in Primary.) 

A: Yes, there must be no contact between the victim and the robot for the rescue to be considered 'finished'.  This applies to both Primary and Secondary

Q:If robot release the victim with robot arm unit,is it Judged the "release"? I think, it is like carries the victim with stretcher. 

A: No.  You cannot release a part of the robot along with the victim.  The victim must be by itself in the evacuation area