The setup will be quite similar – we’ll still use Webots and the robots will be programmed in Python – but the code of the simulator will most probably change a bit, so that the matches are at least a bit closer to what the RoboCuJunior Soccer looks like in the real world (i.e. it’ll be close to the Lightweight league). You can see a sneak peak of what it may look like in the end at How to program your robot - RCJ Soccer Sim
Although no dates have been set yet, we tentatively plan this event for January 2022 and as always, we are inviting all RCJ Soccer teams with members under the RCJ age limit around the world to participate!
Do let us know if you plan to join us in the form below – it will have direct impact on whether we’d actually do it (you know how it is…).
As always, should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to send them here to this forum thread.
This will still be a Demo competition, one in which we’ll try out the simulator’s environment that we would most probably use in the Summer, should the situation warrant it.
Absolutely, this being a Demo competition, we do not have any specific limits with regards to the other leagues.
There are no concrete plans for that yet but since sharing is very much part of the culture around RoboCupJunior competitions, I do think we would lean towards sharing it.
I would say we will not share demo source codes before the actual RCJ championship in July (of course if SoccerSim league will be part of the competition), similarly to last year.
We are wondering that as there are more limits added to the robot (robots are no longer able to get the coordinate of the ball) if there is a possibility to add an arc at the front of the robot (like in the physical competition) so that robots are able to manipulate the ball more and if additional sensors like a distance sensor can be added.
…if additional sensors like a distance sensor can be added.
Currently, all robots are equipped with GPS sensor, which basically provides the exact coordinates like you would read before from supervisor - that’s why the distance sensor is not necessary.
We have tried to experiment with Lidar sensor but unfortunately, it decreases Webots performance significantly and it is not possible to run the simulation in fast mode (at least on my computer). However, we might experiment with Distance sensors of type “sonar” and “laser”. If such sensor works, we will consider changing GPS with distance sensors.
…if there is a possibility to add an arc at the front of the robot
This year we focused mainly on implementing sensors, so the shape of the robots stayed the same. But your suggestion seems reasonable. Have you experimented with the arc (or generally the shape) in Webots? If you have some design ready, feel free to notify us here or directly at GitHub.
Thank you for the reply. We will try to look into designing a robot with an arc in Webots if we have time before the demo competition and tell you how it goes on this forum (if we do end up working on it).
Additionally, we would also like to ask whether there is a possibility for teams to know the locations of their opponent’s robots. After experimenting with this year’s new rules, it seems as though there are certain limits with the IR sensors that make it pretty difficult for robots to detect the ball (if a robot’s angle to the ball is blocked, it would completely not be able to see the ball). Without having additional distance sensors (in addition to the GPS sensor) or the ability to know the opponent’s location, when the opponent’s robots cover the ball, the ball would completely go undetected. This would make it even more difficult for robots to detect the ball compared to the physical leagues as robots are typically able to detect the IR ball in Lightweight and extra sensors can be used to somewhat get the location or proximity of the opponent’s robots in Open League (if in the case that the ball is covered or blocked).
We highly suggest making it slightly “easier” for robots to detect the ball. However, if there is no way for additional sensors to be added or the location of the opponent’s robots to be known, that is still fine as it would be an interesting challenge for teams.
Finally, as we have begun to prepare for the demo competition, we would like to know whether or not the demo competition is going to happen (or if you foresee the demo competition happening) and if so, around what week or day of January the demo competition would happen.
I’ll try to implement the sonar/laser distance sensors and see if that works in terms of performance. Will let you know about the result of my experiments.
Thanks for your great contributions! We really appreciate it.
The demo competition will most probably happen during the beginning of the next year. We haven’t set the exact dates yet, but will certainly announce it in advance.
As we would like to try to experiment with the arc and the shape of the robot, are there any hardware restrictions that we should be aware of? These hardware restrictions can include the number of motors that we are allowed to implement and the positioning of those motors.
Additionally, if a design was to be made, how should we send it?
@thomastseng0380, I’m just curious, have you managed to experiment with the arc / shape of the robot? If so, do not hesitate to let us know about the results. Thanks
Sorry, we have not completed a new design yet and are still trying to test things out (as we have mainly been preparing for the Demo Competition lately). If we do end up coming up with something, we will inform you on this forum immediately.
Additionally, is there a predicted date for when the Demo Competition will happen?
Hello
I had some questions about competitions
1- Will the teams receive a quota for the RoboCup World Cup if they win this match?
2- What are the quotas for Iranian teams?
As the name suggests, this Demo competition is essentially a demo of the competition that we plan to hold later in the year, close to the World Cup that will take place in July. Hence, these are completely different competitions – the World Cup will have a separate qualification process.
