RobocupJunior / USA

(USA only) 2024 Rescue Simulation Entry Level Rules Document - Draft 1

Last update: Nov 31st, 2023

Should expect next update no later than Feb, 2024.  Most changes will surround  the simulation environment and update on images.  It will not have a significant impact to your work or rules. Thus, you can start working on the competition now.

Preface        4

Programming Environment Contributors        4

About this competition        4

Game Scenario        4

Sample field        5

1.    Code of Conduct        6

1.1.    Spirit        6

1.2.  Fair Play        6

1.3.   Behavior        6

1.4. Mentors        7

1.5.   Ethics and Integrity        7

1.6.   Sharing        8

2.    Field        8

2.1.    Description        8

2.2.    Floor        9

2.3.    Line        9

Stage 1 Line        9

Stage 2 Line        10

Stage 3 Line        10

2.4.    Checkpoints        10

Stage 1 Checkpoints        10

Stage 2 Checkpoints        10

Stage 3  Checkpoints        11

2.5.    Speed Bumps, Debris, and Obstacles        11

Stage 1 Speedbumps        11

Stage 2 Speedbumps        11

Stage 3 Speedbumps        11

2.6.    Intersections        12

Stage 1 Intersections        12

Stage 2 Intersections        12

Stage 3 Intersections        13

2.7.        Inclined Plane        14

Stage 1:  Inclined Plane        14

Stage 2:  Inclined Plane        14

Stage 2:  Inclined Plane        14

2.9. Evacuation Zone        14

Stage 1  Evac Room        14

Stage 2 Evac Room        15

Stage 3 Evac Room        15

3.    Robots        16

3.1.    Control        16

3.2.    Team        16

3.3.    Proof of work        17

3.4.    Violations        17

4.    Play        18

4.1.          Humans        18

4.2.    Start of Game        18

4.4  The game        18

4.5  Lack of progress        19

4.6.    Scoring        20

4.7.    End of Game        22

5.    Open  Technical  Evaluation        22

5.1.    Description        22

5.2.    Evaluation Aspects        23

5.3.        Sharing        23

6.    Conflict Resolution        23

6.1.    Referee and Referee Assistant        23

6.2.    Rule Clarification        24

Preface

Programming Environment Contributors

The Simulation environment is run on the industrial simulation engine called Webots™ by Cyberbotics®.   Main contributors to this Simulation field and additional libraries are: Jeremy Desmond - a High School Robotics Instructor / Specialist.      If you have any questions pertaining to the rules, please either post it at the RCJ/USA Discord server or email to Jeremy Desmond.

About this competition

This simulates the competitive environment called  the Robocup® Junior Rescue Line competition. Please note that this is an RCJ/USA initiative ONLY in 2024.

Robotics Simulation - Entry Level is a new regional sub-league under the OPEN  RobocupJunior Robotics Simulation League.  Rules will be similar to those of the Rescue Line in 2024. The robotics simulation environment has mainly targeted the industry, college, and advanced high school levels.   The Entry Level goal is to extend the learning opportunity to robotics novice.

The "robot" in this framework refers to the "virtual robot" .

Game Scenario

The land is too dangerous for humans to reach the victims. Your team has been given a difficult task. The robot must be able to carry out a rescue mission in a fully autonomous mode with no human assistance. The robot must be durable and intelligent enough to navigate treacherous terrain with hills, uneven land, and rubble without getting stuck.

When the robot reaches the victims, it has to gently and carefully transport each one to the safe evacuation point where humans can take over the rescue. The robot should exit the evacuation zone after a successful rescue to continue its mission throughout the disaster scene until it leaves the site. Time and technical skills are essential! Come prepared to be the most successful rescue team.

Sample field

Get Started with Webots™ 2023a

• Install Python v.3.11+ 
• Install the Webots 2023a (approx. 1G)
• Learn about the programming Environment work.
• Learn from samples.

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1.    Code of Conduct

1.1.    Spirit

• It is expected that all participants (students and mentors alike) respect the aims and ideals of RoboCupJunior as set out in our mission statement.

The volunteers, referees, and officials will act within the event’s spirit to ensure the competition is competitive, fair, and, most importantly, fun.

It is not whether you win or lose but how much you learn that counts!

 1.2.  Fair Play

• Robots that cause deliberate or repeated damage to the field will be disqualified.
• Humans who cause deliberate interference with robots or damage the field will be disqualified.
• It is expected that all teams aim to participate fairly.

1.3.   Behavior

1. Each team is responsible for verifying the latest version of the rules on the RoboCupJunior Official website and additional clarifications/corrections on the official forum made by the RoboCupJunior Rescue Committee before the competition.
2. Participants should be mindful of other people and their robots when moving around the tournament venue.
3. Participants are not allowed to enter setup areas of other leagues or teams unless explicitly invited to do so by team members.
4. Teams will be responsible for checking updated information (schedules, meetings, announcements, etc.) during the event. The RoboCupJunior Rescue Committee will provide updated information on notice boards in the venue, the local competition website, or the RoboCupJunior website if possible.
5. Participants and their companions who misbehave may be asked to leave the venue and risk being disqualified from the tournament.
6. Referees, officials, tournament organizers, and local law enforcement authorities will enforce these rules equally to all participants.
7. Teams are expected to be at the venue early on the setup day as important activities will occur. These activities include but are not limited to registration, participation raffle, interviews, captains, and mentor’s meetings, among others.

1.4. Mentors

1. Non-team members (mentors, teachers, parents and other family, chaperones, translators, and other adult team members) are not allowed in the student work area.
2. Mentors are not permitted to be involved in building, repairing, or programming their team’s robots before and during the competition.
3. In the first instance, mentor interference with robots or referee decisions will result in a warning. If this behavior recurs, the team could face a possible elimination from the tournament.
4. Robots have to be the work of the students. Any robot that appears identical to another robot may be prompted for re-inspection.

 1.5.   Ethics and Integrity

1. Fraud and misconduct are not condoned. Fraudulent acts may include the following:
2. Mentors working on the software or hardware of student’s robot(s) during the competition.
3. More experienced/advanced groups of students may provide advice but should not do the work for other groups. Otherwise, the team risks being disqualified.
4. RoboCupJunior reserves the right to revoke an award if fraudulent behavior is proven after the award ceremony occurs.
5. Suppose it is evident that a mentor intentionally violates the code of conduct and modifies and works on the student’s robot(s) during the competition. In that case, the mentor will be banned from future participation in RoboCupJunior competitions.
6. Teams that violate the code of conduct can be disqualified from the tournament. Disqualifying a single team member from further participation in the tournament is also possible.
7. Referees, officials, tournament organizers, and local law enforcement authorities will give a team a warning in less severe cases of violations of the code of conduct. A team can be disqualified immediately without warning for severe or repeated violations of the code of conduct.

1.6.   Sharing

1.  The spirit of RoboCup competitions is that teams should share technological and curricular developments with other participants after the tournament. Sharing furthers the mission of RoboCupJunior as an educational initiative.
2. The RoboCupJunior Rescue Committee may publish developments on the RoboCupJunior website after the event.
3. Participants are strongly encouraged to ask questions to their fellow competitors to foster a culture of curiosity and exploration in the fields of science and technology.

2.    Field

2.1.    Description

1. The field comprises modular tiles, which the organizers can use to make an endless number of courses for the robots to traverse.
2. The field will consist of 30 cm x 30 cm tiles with different patterns. The organizers will not reveal the final selection of tiles and their arrangement until the day of the competition. Competition tiles may be mounted on a hard-backing material of any thickness.
3. There will be a minimum of 8 tiles in a competition field, excluding the start and goal tiles.
4. There are different tile designs (teams can find examples under 2.3).

 2.2.    Floor

1. The floor is white. The floor may be either smooth or textured (like linoleum or carpet) and may have steps of up to 3 mm in height between tiles. Due to the nature of the tiles, there may be a step or gaps in the construction of the field.
2. Competitors should be aware that tiles may be mounted on thick backing or raised off the ground, making it difficult to get back on a tile where the robot comes off the course. No provision will be made to assist robots that drive off a tile to get back onto the tile.

2.3.    Line

1. The black line, 1-2 cm wide, forms a path on the floor. (The grid lines indicated in the drawings below are for reference only, and competitors can expect tiles to be added or omitted.)
2. Straight sections of the black line may have gaps with at least 5 cm of the straight line before each gap as measured from the shortest portion of the straight part of the line. The length of a gap will be no more than 20 cm.
3. The arrangement of the tiles and paths may vary between rounds.
4. The line will be 10 cm away from any edge of the field, walls, pillars to support ramps, and obstacles that do not lie ahead of the robot’s path.
5. The line will end with a goal tile with a 25mm x 300mm strip of red tape at the end of the tile, perpendicular to the incoming line.

Stage 1 Line

Stage 2 Line

Stage 3 Line

2.4.    Checkpoints

1. A checkpoint is a tile in which a robot will be manually placed back when a lack of progress occurs.
2. Checkpoints will not be located on tiles with scoring elements.
3. The start tile is a checkpoint where the robot can restart.
4. A checkpoint marker is a marker that indicates for humans which tiles are checkpoints. A disk with 5 mm to 12 mm thickness and up to 70 mm in diameter has been used frequently. Still, it can be different depending on the organizer.
5. The field designers will predetermine the number of checkpoint markers and their locations.

 Stage 1 Checkpoints

Checkpoints will occur every 3 tiles.

Stage 2 Checkpoints

Checkpoints will occur every 5 tiles.

Stage 3  Checkpoints

Checkpoints will occur every 7 tiles.

2.5.    Speed Bumps, Debris, and Obstacles

1. Speed bumps will have a height of 1 cm or less and be white. When the speed bump is placed over any black line, the overlap between the speed bump and the black line will be colored black. The organizers will fix speed bumps on the floor.
2. Obstacles may include bricks, blocks, weights, and other large, heavy items. Obstacles will be at least 13 cm high and can be fixed to the floor.
3. An obstacle will not occupy more than one line or tile.
4. A robot is expected to navigate around obstacles. The robot may move obstacles, but obstacles may be very heavy or fixed to the floor. Obstacles will remain where they were moved to, even if that prevents the robot from proceeding.
5. Obstacles will not be placed closer than 25 cm from the edge of the field (including edges of tiles that are elevated by ramps) and inclined tiles.

Stage 1 Speedbumps

Maximum 2 speedbumps on a single tile. Speedbumps will be on a straight line perpendicular to the line.

Stage 2 Speedbumps

Maximum 3 speedbumps on a single tile. Speedbumps will be on a straight line and can be placed at an angle so that they are not perpendicular to the line.

Stage 3 Speedbumps

Maximum 4 speedbumps on a single tile. Speedbumps can occur anywhere on a tile with no other scoring item (90-degree turn tiles).

2.6.    Intersections

1. The organizers can place intersections anywhere.
2. Intersections markers are green and 25 mm x 25 mm in dimension. They indicate the direction of the path the robot should follow.
3. The robot should continue straight ahead if there is no green marker at an intersection.
4. A dead end is when there are two green marks before an intersection (one on each side of the line); in this case, the robot should turn around.
5. The intersections are always perpendicular but may have 3 or 4 branches.
6. Intersection markers will be placed just before the intersection. See the images below for possible scenarios.

Stage 1 Intersections

Either left or right turn green square intersections ONLY, and pass through intersections without any green marker.

Stage 2 Intersections

In addition to Stage 1 intersections, there may have U-turn intersections.

Stage 3 Intersections

All possible intersections. Left, right, and u-turn as well as false green and pass-through intersections.

In addition, there may be  5 cm gaps. On the straight sides, you may find gap  with no less than 5cm.  For example:

2.7.        Inclined Plane

Stage 1:  Inclined Plane

         No inclined plan.  

Stage 2:  Inclined Plane

TBD:   There may be ramp with maximum 25o incline.

Stage 2:  Inclined Plane

1. There may  be ramp as well as seesaw in Stage 3 challenge. Seesaw is a tile that can pivot around a hinge in the center of a regular tile.
2. The seesaw will have an incline less than 20 degrees when tilted to one side.
3. The seesaw tile will have a straight line with no scoring elements present.

2.9. Evacuation Zone

1. The black line will end at the entrance of the evacuation zone.
2. The black line will begin again at the exit of the evacuation zone.
3. The evacuation zone is 120 cm by 90 cm with walls around the four sides at least 10 cm high and colored white.
4. At the entrance to the evacuation zone, there is a 25 mm × 250 mm strip of reflective silver tape on the floor.
5. There will be one or two  Safe Evacuation Point(s) and obstacles, depending on the Stages.  A single Safe Evaluation Point is a 30cm x 30cm right-angled triangle  

Stage 1  Evac Room

1. There will not be any obstacle in the Evac Zone.
2. There will be only a single Safe evacuation point, with 1-cm raised along the outer rim.

3. The evacuation points will be placed at the opposite diagonal to the entry corners in the evacuation zone.
4. Dead/Live Victims can be deposited in the evacuation point in any order.

Stage 2 Evac Room

1. There will not be any obstacle in the Evac Zone
2. There will be two single Safe evacuation points, with 1-cm raised along the outer rim of each  triangle.  Note: right angle sides measure 30cm by 30cm.

3. The evacuation points can be placed in any non-entry/exit corners in the evacuation zone.
4. Dead Victims  must be deposited into the red evac point;  while Live Victims must be deposited in the green evac point.

Stage 3 Evac Room

1. There will be an obstacle inside the evacuation zone. In the evacuation zone, organizers may put the obstacle anywhere with a minimum of 10 cm clearance from the wall. Obstacles in the evacuation zone are not scored.
2. There will be two Safe evacuation points,  one red and one green, with 6 cm raised walls and a hollow center.

3. The evacuation points can be placed in any non-entry/exit corners in the evacuation zone.
4. Dead Victims  must be deposited into the red evac point;  while Live Victims must be deposited in the green evac point.
5. Robot must move to exit of the evacuation zone; which is  a 25 mm × 250 mm strip of black tape on the floor.

3.    Robots

3.1.    Control

• Robots will be started by the judge.
•  Any pre-mapped type of dead reckoning (movements pre programmed based on known locations or placement of features in the field) is prohibited.

3.2.    Team

1. Each team must have only one robot on the field.
2. Each team may have 2 to 4 members.
3. Each team member must explain their work and have a specific technical role.
4. A student can be registered on only one team across all RoboCupJunior leagues/sub-leagues.

3.3.    Proof of work

5. Students will be asked to explain their robot’s operation to verify that its construction and programming are their own work.
6. Students will be asked about their preparation efforts. The RoboCupJunior Rescue Committee may request them to answer surveys and participate in videotaped interviews for research purposes.
7. All teams must complete a web form before the competition to allow referees to prepare better for the interviews. The RoboCupJunior Rescue Committee will provide instructions on submitting the form to the teams before the competition.
8. All teams must submit their Technical Description Paper (TDP) before the competition. The TDP is a public document that will be shared with the community. A template for the TDP and rubrics are available on the RoboCupJunior Official website.
9. All teams have to submit their source code before the competition. The organizers will not share the source code with other teams without the team’s permission. The organizers will request permission at the registration.
10. All teams must submit their Engineering Journal before the competition. The organizers will not share the journals with other teams without the team’s permission. The organizers will request permission at the registration. A guide for the Engineering Journal format and rubrics are available on the RoboCupJunior Official website.

 3.4.    Violations

No mentor assistance is allowed during the competition.

Any rule violations may be penalized by disqualification from the tournament or the game or result in a loss of points at the discretion of the referees, officials, or RoboCupJunior Rescue Committee.

4.    Play

4.1.          Humans

1. Teams should designate one of their members as "captain" and another as "co-captain." Only these two team members will be allowed to call for Lack of Progress.
2. The referee performs all operations of the simulation environment in-game, such as loading programs and operating LoP.
3. No one is allowed to touch the simulation environments intentionally during a game.

4.2.    Start of Game

The game time allowed is 4 minutes in real time (not simulated time). Since this is a simulation, an additional one-minute real-time will be allowed. Thus, judges will terminate the controller when 5 minutes of real-time expire.

Judges will start the game with the submitted code loaded on the simulation platform

4.4  The game

1. The robot should follow a black line while overcoming problems in a modular field formed by tiles with different patterns. The floor is white, and the tiles are on different levels connected with ramps.
2. Robots will start behind the joint of the start tile and the subsequent tile along the course. The referee will check the correct placement.
3. Modifying the robot during a scoring run is prohibited, which includes remounting parts that have fallen off.
4. Any parts the robot loses intentionally or unintentionally will be left in the field until the run is over. Team members and referees cannot move or remove elements from the field during a scoring run.
5. Teams cannot give their robot any information about the field. A robot is supposed to recognize the field elements by itself.
6. The robot must follow the course completely to enter the evacuation zone and then out of the evacuation zone towards the goal tile.
7.  The robot has visited a tile when more than half the robot is within that tile when viewed from above.

4.5  Lack of progress

1.  A Lack of Progress (LoP) occurs when:
2. Robot being in a fixed location for 20 seconds or more (automatically called).
3. The referee determines the Robot is not entirely static but stuck in a motion sequence. A button will allow the referee to execute a manual lack of progress.
4. The Robot can call the LoP autonomously.
5.  Arobot loses the black line without regaining it by the next tile in the sequence (see figures at the end of the section).
6. A robot reaches a line that is not in the intended sequence.
7. If the robot gets stuck in the field, it can be restarted at the last visited checkpoint. The robot will earn points when it reaches new checkpoints.
8. If there is a lack of progress, the Robot must return to the last visited checkpoint (or the start tile if it never reached a checkpoint).
9. There is no limit to the lack of progress within a round.
10.  After three failed attempts to reach a checkpoint, a robot is allowed to proceed to the next checkpoint.
11. The Robot can be installed in any direction. For the definition of the visited tile (see 4.4.5). 3. When a LOP is triggered, the engine will send a letter "L" to the Robot

4.6.    Scoring

1. Teams are not allowed to give their robot any information in advance about the field as the robot is supposed to recognize the area by itself.
2. A robot is awarded points for successfully navigating each hazard (gaps in the line, speed bumps, intersections, dead ends, obstacles, and seesaws). Points are awarded per hazard when the robot has reached the next tile in sequence. The robot earns points as follows:
3.  10 points for following the correct path on a tile at an intersection or a dead end.
4. 15 points for navigating through a seesaw tile.
5. 15 points for overcoming each obstacle (bricks, blocks, weights, and other large, heavy items). A robot is expected to navigate various obstacles.
6. 10 points for reacquiring the line after a gap.
7.  5 points for negotiating a speed bump.

8. Failed attempts at navigating hazards in the field are defined as a Lack of Progress (see 4.5).
9. When a robot reaches a checkpoint tile, it will earn points for each tile it has passed since the previous checkpoint. The points per tile depending on how many attempts the robot has made to reach the checkpoint:

◦         1st attempt = 5 points/tile

◦         2nd attempt = 3 points/tile

◦         3rd attempt = 1 point/tile

◦         Beyond the 3rd attempt = 0 points/tile

10. Each gap, speed bump, intersection, dead end, ramp, obstacle, and seesaw can only be scored once per intended direction through the course. Points are not awarded for subsequent attempts through the course.
11. Final Score will be calculated as following:
12. Normalized Robot Score  = your Team Robot Score / Highest Robot  score from all teams.
13. Normalized Rubrics Score for TDP, Engineering Journal (TDJ) =  Your Team’s TDJ’s score / Highest TDJ score from all teams.
14. Final Score = Normalized Robot Score * 0.8 + Normalized TDJ score * 0.2
15. Ties in scoring will be resolved based on the game time.

4.7.    End of Game

1. A team may elect to stop the round early at any time. In this case, the team captain must indicate the team’s desire to terminate the game to the referee. The team will be awarded all points earned up to the call at the end of the round.
2. The round ends when:
3. The time expires.
4. The team captain calls the end of the game
5. The Robot sends an 'exit' command to the game manage

 5.    Open  Technical  Evaluation

5.1.    Description

1.      The organizers will evaluate your technical innovation during a dedicated time frame. All teams need to prepare for an open display during this time frame.

2.  The Open Technical Evaluation’s main objective is to emphasize the innovation’s ingenuity. Innovative may mean technical advances compared to existing knowledge or an out-of-the-ordinary, simple but clever solution to existing tasks.

5.2.    Evaluation Aspects

1. A standardized rubric system will be used, focusing on:

• creativity
• cleverness
• simplicity
• functionality

2. Your 'work' can include (but is not limited to) one of the following aspects: ◦ creation of a new software algorithm for a solution
3. Teams must provide documents that explain their work. Each invention must be supported by concise but clear documentation. The documents must show precise steps towards the creation of the invention.
4. Documents must include one Technical Description Paper (TDP), one poster and one Engineering
5. Engineering Journals should demonstrate your best practices in the development process. A guide for the Engineering Journal format and rubrics are available on the RoboCupJunior Official website.

5.3.        Sharing

• Teams are encouraged to review others' TDPs and presentations.
• Teams awarded certificates must post their documents and presentation online when the RoboCupJunior Rescue Committee asks.

6.    Conflict Resolution

6.1.    Referee and Referee Assistant

1. All decisions during gameplay are made by the referee or the referee assistant, who are in charge of the field, persons, and objects surrounding them.
2. During gameplay, the decisions made by the referee or the referee assistant are final.

6.2.    Rule Clarification

If any rule clarification is needed, please post questions at RCJ/USA Sim Discord Server .  Teams are encouraged to conduct technical discussions using this media.

Teams are encouraged to subscribe  the RCJ/USA mailing list to receive notifications for future announcements and workshops.

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