Hello RoboCupJunior Community!
We’re happy to announce that the 2027 RCJ Rescue Maze Draft Rules have now been published and are available for review.
We invite teams, mentors, referees, and organizers to share their feedback, questions, and suggestions on the proposed changes.
An open meeting to discuss the changes will be announced soon.
We look forward to your feedback and discussion!
Hello @Alex98
Thank you for publishing the 2027 RCJ Rescue Maze Draft Rules. I have read through the rules, and I have some questions.
Rule 5.6.6 describes Successful Blue Tile Visits (SBV). It states that 30 points are awarded for visiting a blue tile, but it is not clear at which point the score is awarded.
Q1
Could you please clarify at which point the robot receives the 30 points: A), B), or C) in the illustration below?
Q2
If a robot that cannot recognize blue tiles enters a blue tile and then moves onto another tile without stopping, will it receive the 30 points before a Lack of Progress (LoP) is declared? Or will it receive no points and then be subject to a Lack of Progress?
Rule 5.6.6 simply states “for visiting a blue tile,” which seems to indicate that the robot receives the points simply by visiting the blue tile. However, Rule 3.2.5 states:
3.2.5.b. If a robot visits a blue tile, it has to stop for 5 consequent seconds before visiting another tile.
Therefore, the robot is required to stop on the blue tile before moving onto another tile.
Q3
I was told by someone who participated as a staff member at RoboCup 2026 Incheon that, during the judge training, it was explained that the robot receives the points when it stops on the blue tile for 5 seconds.
Could you please clarify how this was actually judged during the RoboCup 2026 Incheon competition?
I would like the rules to be designed so that robots that can correctly recognize blue tiles can gain an advantage in scoring.
Best regards,
MASA
Hello @Alex98
Thank you for publishing the 2027 RCJ Rescue Maze Draft Rules. I have read through the rules, and I have some questions.
Rule 5.6.10 describes Successful Up or Down Stair Navigation.
“Successful navigation means the robot moves from the bottom to the top of the stairs (or vice-versa) and is entirely within the horizontal tile without toppling over.”
I understand that stair navigation is considered successful when the robot has completely entered the horizontal tile at the end of the stairs. However, if the length of the horizontal tile at the end of the stairs is 15 cm (Rule 3.4.6), the robot may not be able to fit entirely within the 15 cm tile.
In this case, it is not clear whether the robot should receive the points for successful stair navigation.
Could you please clarify at which position shown in the illustration below the robot would receive the points for successful stair navigation?
I asked the same question on the Forum last year, but I did not receive a clear answer.
I was told by someone who participated as a staff member at RoboCup 2026 Incheon that, during the judge training, it was explained that when a robot goes up the stairs, it receives the points at position C).
Could you please clarify how this was judged during the RoboCup 2026 Incheon competition?
Similarly, for downward stair navigation, could you please clarify at which position shown in the illustration below the robot would receive the points?
I would like the rules to be written clearly and unambiguously so that everyone can interpret and judge them in the same way.
Best regards,
MASA
Dear Technical Committee,
Thank you for sharing the 2027 draft rules. We would like to ask for clarification on the proposed reduction of the minimum wall height from 15 cm to 12.5 cm. Could you explain the reason behind this change?
We are concerned that this lower limit may prevent teams from implementing innovative and interesting technical solutions that have been developed under the current specifications. A reduced wall height could unnecessarily restrict creative approaches to maze navigation without a clear benefit to the competition.
We kindly ask you to reconsider this modification or provide further justification so teams can better understand its impact.
Best regards,
.jonson
Hello @Alex98
Thank you for publishing the 2027 RCJ Rescue Maze Draft Rules.
I have listed below the points in the rules that I found unclear or had questions about while reading them. I would appreciate it if you could take another look at them.
(A) the illustration of the entire field after the “Scenario” section
(B)
3.1.2. A Tile is a space of 28 cm x 28 cm
Has the tile size been changed from 30 cm × 30 cm to 28 cm × 28 cm?
If so, this would contradict Rule 3.3.3, which states:
“the pathway between two opposite walls is 28 cm wide.”
I do not understand the reason for the change in the wording of Rule 3.1.2. Could you please clarify what this rule is intended to indicate?
If the tile size has not changed, I would like to ask you to state clearly that “the tile size is 30 cm × 30 cm.”
(C)
3.1.3. Walls used to create the maze shall be at least 12.5 cm high from any floor,
The wall height has been changed from 15 cm to 12.5 cm. Could you please explain the reason for changing it to 12.5 cm?
I think changing the wall height is a good idea, but 12.5 cm seems like an unusual value. If the wall height is going to be changed, I think it would be better to make it 10 cm instead. This would make the wall height the same as in Rescue Line, allowing the same wall components to be used for both competitions.
(D)
3.5.5. The debris is not fixed to the floor and has a maximum height of 1 cm inside the dangerous zone.
There is not enough information about Debris. I think it would be better to include a description of Debris similar to Rule 3.5.3 in Rescue Line.
(E) the illustration below Rule 3.5.8
The illustration explaining the Dangerous Zone is not correct. The victims shown are based on the previous rules and do not match the 2027 rules. Please revise the illustration so that it complies with the 2027 rules.
(F) 3.7. Rescue Kits
The statement about the maximum number of rescue kits that can be carried by the robot has been removed. Does this mean that there is no longer a limit on the number of rescue kits that the robot can carry?
(G)
5.3.7. Before a scoring run begins, the referee will roll a standard 6-sided dice or another method of randomization set by the organizers to determine the location of the black, blue, red and silver tiles.
This rule states that the locations of the red tiles are determined by rolling dice. However, I understand that the locations of the red tiles are determined by the course design, so I do not think their locations can be changed by rolling dice.
Could you please clarify whether the locations of the red tiles are also intended to be randomized?
(H)
5.6.1. To successfully identify a victim, the robot must stop within 15 cm of a victim and blink with the specific LED or Display
I think it would be clearer and more consistent to use the term “Identification Light,” as defined in Rule 4.2.11, instead of “specific LED or Display.”
(I)
5.6.6. Successful blue tile visits (SBV). 30 points are awarded for visiting a blue tile once.
5.6.7 (RELIABILITY BONUS) = (SVI) × 10 + (SRD) × 10 + (SBV) × 10 − (LoP) × 15
Could you please clarify what value should be used for SBV?
Rule 5.6.6 seems to state that 30 points are awarded for a Successful Blue Tile Visit. However, if SBV = 30, then the calculation of the RELIABILITY BONUS in Rule 5.6.7 would add 30 × 10 = 300 points.
I believe that SBV refers to the number of blue tiles that are worth 30 points . .
Could you please clarify in Rule 5.6.6 what value SBV represents?
I would like the rules to be written clearly and unambiguously so that everyone can interpret and judge them in the same way.
Best regards,
MASA
Hello @Alex98
Thank you for publishing the 2027 RCJ Rescue Line Draft Rules and Maze Draft Rules.
I have listed below the points in the rules that I found unclear or had questions about while reading them. I would appreciate it if you could take another look at them.
The following rules are supposed to have the same content in Rescue Line and Rescue Maze, but they are worded differently. Could you please clarify why the wording is different?
(A)
Rescue Line
3.11.1. The environmental conditions at a tournament may differ from those at home.
Rescue Maze
3.8.1. The environmental conditions at a tournament may differ from those at home practice fields.
(B)
Rescue LIne
5.3.2. Calibration is taking sensor readings and modifying the robot’s programming to accommodate such sensor readings.
Rescue Maze
5.3.2. Calibration is defined as taking sensor readings and modifying a robot’s program to accommodate such sensor readings.
(C)
Rescue LIne
5.4.3. Any parts the robot loses intentionally or unintentionally will be left in the field until the run is over.
Rescue Maze
5.4.2. Any parts the robot loses intentionally or unintentionally will be left on the field until the game ends.
(D)
Rescue LIne
5.5.1.a. a team captain declares a lack of progress.
Rescue Maze
5.5.1.a. the team captain declares a lack of progress.
(E)
Rescue Line
5.5.2. If a lack of progress occurs, the robot must be positioned on the previous checkpoint tile facing the path towards the goal tile and checked by the referee.
Rescue Maze
5.5.2. In the event of a lack of progress, the robot must return to the last visited checkpoint (or the start tile if it never reached a checkpoint).
I would appreciate it if rules with the same meaning could use the same wording for consistency.
Best regards,
MASA
Hello @Alex98
Thank you for publishing the 2027 RCJ Maze Draft Rules.
However, could you kindly specify what you mean by the following statement, describing the new victims?
3.6.4. “…The smiley victims
will be in a distinguishable color from the wall [10]”
Awaiting your kind response.
Thanks a lot
Hi,
Both of your victims would be valid, there is no defined colors that the victims could be they could be any color as long as it is different from the wall it is put up on.
Hi,
The reason for the change is to make interchange of map building material between line and maze easier, the maximum height for the robot is still the same so it should not restrict creativity. Do you have any specific concern?
Thank you for bringing these to our attention.
Hi,
(A), (E): Thank you for bringing these to our attention.
(B), (C): The reason for the changes is to make interchange of map building material between line and maze easier, the new height of the walls are calculated to be for 1 ramp of 25°
(D): We will consider adding some example of possible debris.
(F): Yes, the only limit for the robots is the physical size.
(G): The red tile might be randomized to make pre-mapping harder.
(H): We will be adding a glossary, for terms to make this more consistent.
(I): These are 2 different scoring opportunities 5.6.6 refers to the score you get for simply navigation the tiles while 5.6.7 is the extra score you get for a successful exit.
Q1: It is scenario A.
Q2: It would still get the points.
Q3: It should be judged like above, but we will look into clarifying it in the rules.
For the first case it would be A) and for second case it would be B) we will look into making the rules clearer.
