June 2025 - RoboCup-nao - lists.robocup.org

🤖 RoboCup SPL 2025 – Newsletter #5
by Caron, Benjamin 30 Jun '25

30 Jun '25

Dear SPL Teams, The RoboCup is just a few days away. In this newsletter, we present the last information you need before the competition. ________________________________ 📘 Final Competition Rules Released The final version of the RoboCup SPL 2025 Rules has now been published. All participating teams are expected to comply with these rules throughout the competition. Please review them carefully and ensure your code and robots are aligned with the latest updates. 📄 <https://spl.robocup.org/downloads/#2025> Rules are available here<https://spl.robocup.org/downloads/#2025> Here is the list of changes that got updated after the prior newsletter: * There are no changes to the main competition. However, in this newsletter, you will find a section that overwrites the rules to accommodate a limited Nao Clinic and to integrate both Challenge Shield and Champion Cup into the same tournament. * Both the KICKin-Rollin Challenge and Leaderboard Challenge received minor updates. These are mostly clarifications, but if you expect to participate, please review them. * Finally, a section has been added to define an overall ranking between the KICKin-Rollin Challenge and Open Research Challenge. ________________________________ 🛠️ Limited Nao Clinic – Temporary Adjustments As announced in the previous newsletter, there will not be a full Nao Clinic as known in past years. However, we can now confirm the presence of a limited Nao Clinic. Repairs will be limited in manpower, spare parts, and diagnostic software. While every effort will be made to support teams, the following measures are in place to minimize robot damage: * All matches until the knockout round will be played with 5 vs. 5 robots. Champions Cup rules still apply for Champions Cup matches. If both teams agree, they can play 7 vs. 7. We expect the knockout round, or at least the final bracket, to be played in 7 vs. 7 for Champions Cup teams. * The pickup rule is loosened. A team may now request a pickup at any time to prevent damage. The head referee can still decline the request if it interferes with play and does not qualify under the regular rule. This flexibility aims to reduce damage, but the rule may be revised if abused. * Assistant referees may catch robots if this does not distract from their primary duties. * Although pushing rules have not changed, everyone, especially head referees, are encouraged to refresh their understanding, as many falls are caused by contact. ________________________________ 🎮 Match Format: Challenge Shield vs. Champions Cup RoboCup 2025 will follow a hybrid match format. When at least one Challenge Shield team is present, Challenge Shield rules apply. Otherwise, Champions Cup rules apply. Key differences for Challenge Shield include: * Team executing a Set Play is sent via the GameController. * The referee must wear red gloves. * All matches are played 5 vs. 5. ________________________________ 🧪 Open Research Challenge – Reminder Teams must submit a brief description of their planned contribution by July 1, 2025 to the Technical Committee (rc-spl-tc(a)lists.robocup.org). Multiple contributions per team are allowed. Each submission should include: * Objective: What the innovation is and why it's relevant. * Expected Impact: How it benefits SPL or improves existing systems. * Implementation Feasibility: Required resources and timeline. After the deadline, participation may still be allowed if the schedule permits. Slots will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. You should still submit your interest even after the deadline. ________________________________ 📊 Leaderboard Challenge – Reminder Teams should also send their intention to participate in one or more Leaderboard Challenges by July 1, 2025 to the Technical Committee (rc-spl-tc(a)lists.robocup.org). Please include the specific challenges you're targeting. As with the Open Research Challenge, late participation may be accepted if scheduling allows. ________________________________ 🏁 KICKin-Rollin Challenge – Optional Pre-Registration This challenge does not require advance registration, but if you express interest before the competition, it will help us plan appropriately. A registration deadline will be announced during the event. ________________________________ 📜 Pre-Qualification Rules for RoboCup 2026 The following pre-qualification criteria will apply for RoboCup 2026: * Top three teams from the main competition (or four, if the top three include a Challenge Shield team) * Highest-ranked Challenge Shield team if not already qualified * Highest-ranked team not already qualified based on combined results from the Open Research and KICKin-Rollin Challenges ________________________________ ⚽ Extra Balls – Request from LOC The local organizing committee (LOC) was unable to acquire official SPL balls in time. Therefore, we kindly ask teams to bring extra balls from their inventory to serve as official game balls. Please inform the OC if you can contribute at rc-spl-oc(a)lists.robocup.org ________________________________ If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re looking forward to seeing your robots on the field in Salvador! The RoboCup SPL Technical Committee & Organizing Committee

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BHumanCode Usage WisTex United
by Adam Labiosa 18 Jun '25

18 Jun '25

Hello all, I’m writing to announce the use of the BHumanCodeRelease (2023) version for the WisTex United team. We consider our codebase to be derived software as we use the BHuman motion control, localization, perception and communication modules. The specific contribution of our work (taken from our SPL 2025 application) is as follows: Our team codebase for the 2025 competition is based upon the \href{https://github.com/bhuman/BHumanCodeRelease/releases/tag/coderelease2023}{BHuman 2023 code release }. As described below, our primary contribution has been to replace the high level behaviors written by BHuman with new, learned behaviors trained with deep reinforcement learning. As discussed below, we believe these changes to be transformative in nature. Thus, as of now, our robots use the perception, state-estimation, low-level motion control and communication modules provided by BHuman. We thank BHuman for making their full software stack available. Additionally, we used the open source library \textbf{\href{https://github.com/DLR-RM/stable-baselines3}{stable-baselines3}} to train our policies, using proximal policy optimization\cite{https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.1707.06347}\cite{stable-ba…. We also note our additions this year are improvements in learned cooperation which substantially changes our code but generally leave the BHuman modules unchanged from their 2023 version. We also will once again release our updated code before the end of the year. Adam

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RedbackBots code announcement
by Timothy Wiley 13 Jun '25

13 Jun '25

Hello SPL Teams, RedbackBots would like to announce the integration of the following contributions from SPL teams as part of our codebase for 2025: * NAO Devils' whistle detection (2024) * Updated to B-Human's vision components (2024) excluding ball detection We thank these teams for their continued and extensive contributions to the Soccer SPL community and look forward to catching up with everyone at competition. Timothy Wiley, on behalf of the RedbackBots team. Dr. Timothy Wiley | Lecturer, School of Computing Technologies | RMIT University Building 14, Level 11 (City Campus) | Homepage<https://timothy-wiley.github.io> | RAIsE Hub | AI Innovation Lab<http://rmit.edu.au/ailab> Executive Committee | RoboCup Soccer Standard Platform League (SPL) SPL Website<https://spl.robocup.org> | RoboCup Federation<https://www.robocup.org>

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🏆 SPL RoboCup 2025 – Updates & Meeting Announcements
by Caron, Benjamin 05 Jun '25

05 Jun '25

Dear SPL Teams, RoboCup 2025 is approaching quickly, and the SPL Technical Committee would like to share a few important updates and reminders: 🤖 SPL-Humanoid Challenge Postponed Due to limited participation from Humanoid League teams, the SPL-Humanoid Challenge “Pass Masters: Bridging the Leagues” has been postponed to 2026. We plan to revisit this initiative at RoboCup and explore ways to increase engagement across leagues. 🛠️ Final Ramp Design Announced The final version of the ramp will follow the RedbackBots design. Teams should expect one extension to be used by default. A second extension may be added at the Technical Committee’s discretion during the competition to compensate for exceptional circumstances, such as unexpectedly high field friction. 🔗 More details and documentation are available here: https://github.com/rmit-computing-technologies/redbackbots-spl-ballramp 🎮 GameController Compatibility Teams are expected to ensure their robots function properly with the latest version of the GameController. 🔗 Download the GameController here: https://github.com/RoboCup-SPL/GameController3 🔧 On-Site Robot Repairs Unfortunately, Aldebaran has confirmed they will not provide a NAO clinic at RoboCup 2025. The competition will proceed as planned, but this may lead to rule adjustments to reduce the risk of robot damage. We are still in discussions with Aldebaran to determine whether limited on-site repairs may be possible. In parallel, the trustees are exploring alternatives such as providing a small pool of spare robots and basic parts to enable self-repairs if needed. The Team Leader Meeting on June 14 (11:00 UTC) will include time to discuss this situation. 🧠 Team Leader Meeting 📅 14 June 2025 – 11:00 UTC 📍 SPL Discord – #referee-meeting channel Agenda: * The current situation with Aldebaran and its impact on the league * Discussion on the next robot platform * Open discussion & updates ⚖️ Referee Meeting 📅 21 June 2025 – 11:00 UTC 📍 SPL Discord – #referee-meeting channel Agenda: * Quick overview of the 2025 rules and key changes from last year * Highlighting the “unpenalize” testing mode * Referee needs and delegation opportunities 🔍 The final version of the rules will be published shortly after this meeting. ________________________________ Thank you, SPL Technical Committee

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