Call for Additional Participants
RoboCup 2021 Standard Platform League
spl.robocup.org
22nd June through 28th June 2021 (Virtual)
2021.robocup.org
RoboCup is an international initiative that fosters research and education in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence through a variety of competitions (RoboCupSoccer, RoboCupRescue, RoboCup@Home, RoboCupJunior) involving mostly multi-robot systems. RoboCup currently includes a number of different robot soccer leagues that focus on different research challenges.
The Standard Platform League (SPL) is characterized by all the teams using an identical robot platform. Participating researchers focus on algorithmic development for fully autonomous robots, i.e., robots that operate with no external control. The SPL at RoboCup 2021 will use V6, V5 or older versions of the NAO humanoid robot manufactured by SoftBank Robotics.
The Soccer SPL 2021 competition will be held virtually, and features 4 technical challenges, that a divided into local and remote challenges:
- In the local challenges, teams compete in their own institutes on a suitable soccer field. Teams must demonstrate technical proficiency in the local challenges, such as passing and team co-ordination. Teams are ranked against all teams participating in the same challenge. Local challenges do not have any direct team-to-team competition.
- In the remote challenges, teams will deploy their software to robots at a host venue and directly compete against other teams. These challenges encourage teams to develop capabilities for remote code deployment, automatic calibration, and gameplay for a scaled-down form of SPL soccer.
All challenges are detailed in SPL 2021 rules document published on the SPL website.
To assist in adoption of V6 Robots source code examples and documentation regarding V6 robots were published on the SPL website. One can also find example code working with V6 Robots in the code released by participating teams. These examples allow teams to adapt their competition code from recent years more easily to encourage use of V6 Robots. If you need access to the RoboCup NAOqi Image and the specific documentation, please write an email (mentioning your team affiliation) to rc-spl-tc@lists.robocup.org.
Additional Participants for 2021
The Soccer Standard Platform League is seeking additional participants intereted in competing in the 2021 virtual competition. Limited places have recently become available in the competition which are open to be filled by interested teams.
Teams that have already qualified for 2021 do not need to re-apply.
Qualification
All interested teams must submit an original qualification document. For the qualification document to be considered, it must (1) be no longer than 6 pages and (2) include all the following information in sections with the specified headings:
- Team Information: the team name, the team leader(s), and the university/company affiliation(s) of the team
- Code Usage: acknowledge the team’s use of any other team’s code (1) previously from 2016 to present and (2) anticipated at RoboCup 2021. If code is used from other teams, is this code integrated into a code base that is mainly designed by the applying team? Describe in detail the ‘research publishable’ significant advancements to a module the applying team has made in accordance with the league’s qualification procedure. If the applying team does not use any other team’s code, state so. For further details, please have a look into the rule book, section A.1.
- Past History: provide game results in RoboCup Open competitions as well as main RoboCup competitions from 2018 onward. Include opponents and game scores from each competition in a table. State if the team plans to participate in any RoboCup Open competitions or friendlies prior to RoboCup 2021.
- Impact: What is the impact of the team’s participation and research in RoboCup on (1) the SPL, (2) the team’s university/community?
- Other: present any other information that you believe supports your application
If possible, applications are encouraged to complement the written material by a link to a video (maximum 5 minutes long, uploaded on the team’s web site or on some video server) that demonstrates the status of the team. The TC uses the video to determine the readiness of the team to compete effectively, and hence should focus on the team’s ability to play soccer. If robots from multiple teams are active in the footage (e.g. game footage), please include a textual overlay or additional document denoting which robots belong to the applying team for every scene.
Submission and Evaluation
All applications material must be submitted by Friday April 9th 2021, by email to rc-spl-tc@lists.robocup.org.
Applications must not be sent to personal SPL TC/OC email addresses and must not contain video attachments.
Note that applying serves as a statement of commitment to participate in the RoboCup 2021 Soccer SPL. If you have doubts regarding the ability of your team to participate (due to funding, visas, etc.), please apply by the deadline but note this in your application. Declining to participate in any competition after the official early registration period has opened may negatively affect future applications (the later you decline, the worse it will affect future applications).
Applications will be evaluated to consider a variety of components including:
- Potential to play competitive games at RoboCup 2021 (demonstrated ability to play soccer, previous results, etc.)
- Contributions (and potential contributions) to league (code releases/papers, active in organization, developing own code, etc.)
- Diversity (region, team make-up, unique characteristics, etc.)
Qualification decisions, including alternate lists, will be announced by May 1st 2021.