On Human Interaction with Robot

Hi everyone

I have looked through various topics on human interaction and I came across this line: “Teams are required to create a robot that operates programmatically in a defined environment, instead of a robot that human beings must keep operating.” (Clarification on Rule 2.8.1 - Human contact during performance).

First of all, I would like to ask for the direction of Onstage Robot. Is the purpose of the competition to develop better autonomous robot to better perform or better, clever implementation of robot that complement human in order to make a good performance? I understand that the spotlight is on the robot but it also takes human to make a great performance.

Secondly, to follow up with the above question, I understand that there should be no physical interaction between human and robot. However, what if I have to physically touch it to make a good performance. The robot is autonomous and it “operates programmatically in a defined environment”. This human interaction is by no mean to avoid go off boundary, to prevent failure, to operate the robot but rather to create changes in the environment for the robot to react. Moreover, to further distance the performer from being seen as controlling the robot, what if the robot is stuck on a board and human interaction is just hands holding that board.

Assuming that it is still not possible, if we declare that there will be such interaction will we get a fixed penalty ( like minus 5 points right at the start and that’s it) or will it be a variable penalty ( like minus 1 points every 10 seconds of interaction ). If it is a fixed penalty, I think it is a bet we might be willing to take to make a good performance.

This video probably sums up our implementation of the robot:

I am sorry for packing many questions in one topic but I hope to see your replies and inputs.
Thank you very much!