Football

The competition

Two robots compete on one field at the same time. There are 10 balls on the field. The aim is to kick as many balls as possible into the opponent’s goal. There are at least 2 rounds in the competition between the two robots. The robots have to change sides after each round. The robot that has defeated its opponent in 2 rounds will make it through to the next stage. The duration of one round is 90 seconds during which the teams cannot interfere in the actions of the robots without the permission of the referee. The robots will come to a stop using a turn-off switch or a timer.
The tournament system used is double-elimination. It means that the winner will continue in winners bracket and the loser will compete again in the losers bracket at the according level. Defeat in the losers bracket will not enable to compete any longer in the competition. The winner of the losers bracket will compete against the winner of the winners bracket.
The team members have 60 seconds to change sides. During that time, the team places their robot on the other side of the field and they are allowed to make necessary changes (fasten wires that have come loose etc.).
In case of a draw between the competing robots after the two rounds, third round with duration of 30 seconds is held. In the third and the following rounds, the referee orders the team members to stop the robots after 30 seconds.
If it is still a draw after the third round, the penalty round will determine the winner. The fastest robot will win i.e. the robot that first gets the ball into opponent’s goal. There is only one ball on the field and it is located in the middle of the field.

Balls

The balls are white golf balls that are located on the field at predetermined places. The referees who randomly throw a coin on the field mark the initial location of the balls. Before each round the balls are put back at their initial places. The initial location of the balls is not known until the beginning of the competition.
The balls are in regular size: ~43 mm in diameter and ~46 g in weight. Both measures can vary within 10%.

The robot

The robot is a fully autonomous machine that carries its own power source, motion mechanisms, and its own control-systems. Remote controlling of any kind is prohibited. The measurements of the robot must fit in a cylinder with the diameter of 35 cm and the height of 35 cm during the whole competition. In case of the parts being detached from the robot accidentally, the referee may allow the robot to continue.

1. The robot can physically deal with only one ball at a time. It is forbidden to gather the balls. It means that if the robot has found a ball, it must get rid of it (shoot the ball) before it starts moving the next ball. Accidental hit of several balls is permitted.
2. The ball must not totally fit into the robot, under the robot or top of the robot. At least by the radius of the ball (22.5 mm) it must be visible when looking at the robot from front, top, left and right side. See figure 3 for examples
3. The robot may not attach the ball to itself with greater force than ball’s gravitation. It means that the ball should drop free when lifting the robot.
4. It is forbidden for the robot to take the balls out of the goal.
5. The robot is not allowed to contain parts that may cause damage or otherwise endanger the field, the balls, other robots or spectators.
6. The robot is not allowed to contain an algorithm that may damage the field, the balls or the other robot.
7. The robot may defend its goal against the balls of the opponent, the robot may take the ball from its opponent and it can do other tactical movements, but it is forbidden to do it by attacking the other robot physically, by blinding its sensors or by disrupting it any other unsporting way.
8. The robot is not allowed to visually cheat the opponent. For example it is forbidden to paint the robot green with white spots on it.
9. At the request of the referee, the team must show and explain the original source code of the robot’s program.
10. If light sources are used, the intensity of them should not be dangerous to the human eye or they must be shielded from direct observation. If lasers are used, their output power must be less than 1mW.
11. The robot must not extend over the walls or the goals of the field.
12. The robot will start from the right corner of the field where its goal is located. It has to touch both walls that form the corner.
13. The robot must have a start and stop switch(es) that are easily accessible.
14. The team members activate and deactivate the robot themselves.
15. The robot that does not meet the requirements will not be able compete at the competition.
16. Since there are two robots at a time on the field, it is recommended that the robots have a bumper with a cushioning material. The bumper should be at least 2 cm wide and fastened to robot at the height of 5 cm.

The field

The measurements of the field are 2x3 m with thickness of 1,6 cm. The field is surrounded by wall, 10 cm high. The walls and the floor are green (green as grass) and made of chipboards or stronger material. The goals are located in the middle of shorter walls and they are 70 cm wide and 20 cm high from the inside. The goalposts are made of grey 20 mm aluminium profile and the vertical posts reach the surface of the field. To stop the balls from rolling out of the goal, the field ends behind the goalposts and the balls will fall onto the carpet surrounding the field. There is a white net at the depth of 20 cm behind the goals.
To make it easier finding the goals, there is an infrared emitter attached above (in the middle) the goals. The protocol of the TV remote control RC5 (the protocol of Phillips) is in use. One goal sends a message “channel 1” and the other “channel 2”. If there are two fields, the channels 3 and 4 are in use on the other field. The robot that uses the infrared accessory equipment must have a quick method to determine the channel.
All measurements of the field are given with the accuracy of 5 %.

Keeping score

Points will be counted after the end of a round. Each ball that is in the opponent’s goal touching the ground under the goal will give one point. The robot that gathers the most points is determined as a winner.

Additional notes

The number of members per team is limited to five.
In case of discovering contradictions in the rules, the organizer have right to make corrections to the rules.

Allowed ball positions

The field

The gate

Forbidden ball positions