[RoboCup-worldwide] RoboCup 2022 SPL Call for Participation

16 Dec 2021


      Call for Applications for Participation
RoboCup 2022 Standard Platform League
spl.robocup.org http://spl.robocup.org/
Monday 11th July through Sunday 17th July 2022 Bangkok, Thailand
2022.robocup.org https://2022.robocup.org
RoboCup https://www.robocup.org/ 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 2022 will use V6, 
V5 or older versions of the NAO humanoid robot manufactured by SoftBank 
Robotics https://www.softbankrobotics.com/emea/en/nao. The SPL robot 
soccer team competition games at RoboCup 2022 will be played indoor and 
outdoor between teams of five robots on a 6m x 9m playing surface. Teams 
should be able to play on a randomly assigned indoor or outdoor field 
within one hour.
The RoboCup 2022 SPL will host:
* A 5 vs. 5 team competition as the main competition of the event.
  * A 7 vs. 7 competition.
  * A visual referee technical challenge.
  * A dynamic ball handling technical challenge.
  * A video analysis and statistics open research challenge.
The 5 vs. 5 team competition will consist of a similar number of games 
for most teams compared to recent years. The structure from 2019 will be 
used to allow all teams to play games against teams with similar skill 
levels. See Appendix A.4 of the preliminary rulebook 
https://spl.robocup.org/downloads/ for more details. The teams 
participating in the team competition should also compete in some of the 
additional technical challenges.
The 7 vs. 7 side competition extends the ideas from the mixed team 
competition, and 1 vs. 1 remote challenge from RoboCup 2021 to a 
standardized 7 vs. 7 NAO V6 on-site competition. Its goal is to 
encourage more collaborative game play and offer a chance for teams to 
work together more closely. Participating in 7 vs. 7 is recognized as 
participation in a technical challenge.
Additional technical challenges offered at the competition are the 
visual referee challenge and the dynamic ball handling challenge.
The open research challenge aims to provide the SPL with long term 
performance statistics based on video analysis. Please note that the 
open research challenge comes with additional deadlines as mentioned in 
the rulebook. All challenges will be detailed further with the release 
of the SPL rules document.
To assist in adoption of V6 Robots source code examples and 
documentation regarding V6 robots were published on the SPL website 
https://spl.robocup.org/v6-support/. 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 r*******c@lists.robocup.org.
Survey
The RoboCup Federation is committed to supporting an in-person event in 
Thailand from July 11th-17th, as long as the LOC in Thailand decides it 
is possible. For this purpose, the RoboCup Federation plans to send a 
survey to all teams considering to apply for RoboCup 2022. If you are 
considering to apply for participation this year, please send an email 
stating your interest in RoboCup SPL to r*******c@lists.robocup.org by 
12th of January 2022 in addition to your regular application.
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*:
1. *Team Information:* the team name, the team leader(s), and the
    university/company affiliation(s) of the team
 2. *Code Usage:* Acknowledge the team’s use of any other team’s code
    (1) previously from 2017 to present and (2) anticipated at RoboCup
    2022. If code is used from other teams, is this code integrated into
    a code base that is mainly designed by the applying team? 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
    https://spl.robocup.org/downloads/.
 3. *Own Contribution:* Describe in detail the ‘research publishable’
    significant advancements the applying team has made and is going to
    use at RoboCup 2022, in accordance with the rule book, section A.1
    https://spl.robocup.org/downloads/.
 4. *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 2022.
 5. *Impact:* What is the impact of the team’s participation and
    research in RoboCup on (1) the SPL, (2) the team’s university/community?
 6. *Video presentation:* Include 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 organizing committees use
    the video to determine the readiness of the team to compete
    effectively, and hence should focus on the team’s ability to play
    soccer. Teams who did not participate in the team competition at
    RoboCup 2019 or any challenge at RoboCup 2021 *must* include footage
    of at least one robot attempting to kick off and score (this footage
    must be captured as a single wide shot with no cuts). 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. Videos of
    simulation contributions will also be accepted, but only when a real
    robot is unavailable. Preference will be given to teams that use
    real robots to show soccer skills in their video.
 7. *Other:* Present any other information that you believe supports
    your application.
If your application mentions more than one e-mail address, please 
specify which one should be used to contact your team regarding your 
application.
Pre-Qualification
Teams are given the chance to pre-qualify based on their performance at 
RoboCup 2019 and 2021. Teams will be pre-qualified for RoboCup 2022, if 
they submit the following original qualification document. Teams able to 
pre-qualify include:
* B-Human
  * UNISABANA Herons SPL
  * rUNSWift
  * HULKs
  * Bembelbots
  * Berlin United- Nao TH
  * Nao Devils
  * HTWK Robots
  * UT Austin Villa
The original qualification document must include:
1. *Team Information:* the team name, the team leader(s), and the
    university/company affiliation(s) of the team
 2. *Code Usage:* Acknowledge the team’s use of any other team’s code
    (1) previously from 2017 to present and (2) anticipated at RoboCup
    2020. If code is used from other teams, is this code integrated into
    a code base that is mainly designed by the applying team? 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
    https://spl.robocup.org/downloads/.
 3. *Own Contribution:* Describe in detail the ‘research publishable’
    significant advancements the applying team has made and is going to
    use at RoboCup 2022, in accordance with the rule book, section A.1
    https://spl.robocup.org/downloads/.
 4. *TRR:* a link to a team research report describing their work for
    RoboCup 2019 or 2021 or both (which must be published in a publicly
    available location)
 5. *Code Release:* a link to a public code release as detailed in the
    2019 SPL rulebook
If a joint 2019 team splits, only one team can be pre-qualified for 2022 
(please, indicate which one).
Qualification for Regional Opens Only
Teams may also submit a short intent to participate in a regional open 
if they do not wish to participate in the 2022 RoboCup competition. 
Although teams may participate in regional opens without submitting this 
intent to participate, teams who submit an intent to participate and 
become qualified will be eligible for future special robot pricing. 
Special robot pricing for team competing in RoboCup Events are still 
being discussed. Updates about special prices will be announced as soon 
as offers and conditions are finalized.
Teams must submit the following information by 15th of February 2022: 
(1) The team name, leader(s), and the university/company affiliation(s) 
of the team and (2) a short statement describing the status/progress of 
the team. A link to a short video showing robot soccer behaviours and/or 
game play (using robots or in simulation) may be included if available.
Submission and Evaluation
All applications with the (pre-)qualification material must be submitted 
by *15th of February 2022*, by email to r*******c@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 2022 SPL.
The organizing committees are aware of the ongoing COVID situation and 
assume that all applications are subject to withdrawal due to COVID. 
Applications are not required to mention uncertainties related to COVID 
to avoid negative effects on future applications. We would rather 
encourage teams to plan optimistically and sign up with the possibility 
of withdrawing if situation requires it.
For situations other than COVID: 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).
Teams are encouraged to consider joint participation. Joint proposals 
will be judged on combined merit.
Applications will be evaluated to consider a variety of components 
including:
1. Potential to play competitive games at RoboCup 2022 (demonstrated
    ability to play soccer, previous results, etc.)
 2. Contributions (and potential contributions) to league (code
    releases/papers, active in organization, developing own code, etc.)
 3. Diversity (region, team make-up, unique characteristics, etc.)
Qualification decisions, including alternate lists, will be announced by 
29th of February 2022.
Robot Acquisition
Teams who submit an intent to participate and become qualified will be 
eligible for potential future special robot pricing. Special robot 
pricing for team competing in RoboCup Events are still being discussed. 
Updates about special prices will be announced if offers and conditions 
are finalized.
/RoboCup 2022 Standard Platform League Technical and Organizing Committees/