RoboCup Rescue Agent Simulation World Competition 2026 Otsu, Japan - April 24-27, 2026 Held as part of RoboCup JapanOpen2026 https://www.robocup.or.jp/JapanOpen2026/english.html

Beginning in 2026, the RoboCup Rescue Agent Simulation League will organize its official World Competition independently from the RoboCup World Championship (RoboCup 2026 Incheon).

In 2026, the official World Competition of the RoboCup Rescue Agent Simulation League will be held as part of RoboCup JapanOpen 2026 in Otsu, Japan.

This event will bring together teams from around the world to advance research in large-scale disaster response, multi-agent coordination, and decision-making systems for urban search and rescue scenarios.

Teams from all countries are warmly invited to participate in this global competition.

On-site participation is strongly encouraged in order to foster active engagement and collaboration within the RoboCup Rescue community. However, teams facing unavoidable travel constraints may request remote participation. Such requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis and must be discussed in advance with the Organizing Committee.

* IMPORTANT DATES * Pre-Registration................................: March 20, 2026 (23:55 UTC) Teams requiring a visa to enter Japan are strongly encouraged to contact the Organizing Committee as early as possible.

Team Registration Deadline............................: March 27, 2026 (23:55 UTC) Member Registration & Optional TDP Submission Deadline: April 3, 2026 (23:55 UTC) Notification of TDP Review Results (if applicable)....: April 17, 2026 Camera-ready TDP Submission (if applicable)...........: April 23, 2026 (23:55 UTC)

Registration Fee Payment Deadline (Japan-based teams only): April 3, 2026 Overseas teams: Registration fee must be paid in cash at the venue during the competition.

Overseas teams requesting remote participation: Please contact the Organizing Committee regarding registration fees and participation arrangements.

Tournament Dates.....................................: April 24-27, 2026 Team setup day : 24 April, 2026 Competition days: 25-27 April, 2026

* AGENT SIMULATION COMPETITION *

The RoboCup Rescue Agent Simulation Competition promotes research in Artificial Intelligence for large-scale disaster response, focusing on teamwork coordination and decision-making in post-disaster urban environments.

The league maintains a computer-based simulation platform capable of realistically representing natural disaster scenarios. Within this environment, Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) strategies can be designed, tested, and evaluated. The simulation serves as a comprehensive testbed for:

- Coordination strategies of USAR teams - Coalition formation among heterogeneous agents - Large-scale exploration under limited resources - Civilian search and rescue planning - Disaster response policy evaluation

The competition evaluates the performance of teams of autonomous agents based on their distributed coordination and planning algorithms in earthquake scenarios. Specifically, the effectiveness of Ambulance Team, Police Force, and Fire Brigade agents is assessed in terms of civilian rescue, fire suppression, and infrastructure management.

** Research Challenges **

Participants may address, among others, the following research challenges:

- Decision-making algorithms - Task allocation and resource management - Multi-agent coordination and team formation - Path planning and navigation - Search and exploration strategies

* GETTING STARTED GUIDE *

The following resources may help teams get started with agent development:

** Development Frameworks **

- ADF (Java) Documentation: https://roborescue.github.io/adf-sample-agent-java/ Quick Start Example: https://github.com/roborescue/adf-sample-agent-java

- ADF (Python) Documentation: https://roborescue.github.io/adf-core-python/ Quick Start Example: https://github.com/adf-python/adf-sample-agent-python

Java ADF modules can be reused within the Python ADF framework. Teams are strongly encouraged to develop new modules using the Python-based ADF to leverage modern machine learning libraries and tools.

- Docker Environment (Optional) Repository: https://github.com/roborescue/rcrs-docker Docker usage is optional and provides a pre-configured development environment for teams who prefer a standardized setup.

* PRE-REGISTRATION (Intent to Participate) *

Teams intending to participate in the RoboCup Rescue Agent Simulation World Competition 2026 are requested to complete a brief pre-registration form: https://forms.gle/W9ydHVomZZ4xMeTd6

Pre-Registration Deadline: March 20, 2026 (23:55 UTC)

Pre-registration is non-binding and is intended to: - Estimate the expected number of participating teams - Identify teams requiring a confirmation letter for visa application purposes - Identify teams considering remote participation

Teams requiring a visa to enter Japan are strongly encouraged to complete the pre-registration as early as possible and contact the Organizing Committee to request a confirmation letter.

Please note that the Organizing Committee can issue only a confirmation letter. All other visa application procedures and required documents must be arranged by the respective teams.

If access to Google Forms is restricted in your country or region, please contact the Organizing Committee directly at:

r*****6@maslab.aitech.ac.jp

Pre-registration does not replace the official Team Registration and Member Registration procedures described below.

* REGISTRATION (TBA) *

Teams wishing to participate in the RoboCup Rescue Agent Simulation World Competition 2026 must complete the registration procedure through the official RoboCup JapanOpen 2026 registration system:

https://www.robocup.or.jp/JapanOpen2026/english.html (Registration site details will be announced)

The registration process consists of two steps:

1. Team Registration

Deadline: March 27, 2026 (23:55 UTC)

During Team Registration, teams must provide: - Participating league name (RoboCup Rescue Agent Simulation) - Team name - Institution - Preliminary list of team members - Contact information of the team leader

2. Member Registration

Deadline: April 3, 2026 (23:55 UTC)

All team members must complete Member Registration to confirm their participation. The final team roster will be determined based on the completed Member Registration.

Both steps must be completed by the respective deadlines in order to participate.

In principle, all registered teams will be accepted to participate. However, in the unlikely event that the number of teams exceeds the capacity of the venue, participation may be limited at the discretion of the Organizing Committee.

** Registration Site (Peatix) **

All on-site participants must obtain a ticket via the Peatix registration system:

https://robocupjapanopen2026.peatix.com/view (Under construction)

On-site participants must select the free ticket option. No payment should be made through Peatix.

Teams approved for remote participation must contact the Organizing Committee at:

r*****6@maslab.aitech.ac.jp

and follow the payment procedures provided.

Japanese teams should follow the payment instructions provided separately by the Organizing Committee.

** Registration Fee **

- Faculty, Advisors, Mentors, and General participants 30,000 JPY - Students (18 years old and older) 20,000 JPY - Students (under 18 years old) 15,000 JPY

** Payment Method **

- Japanese domestic teams: Registration fees must be paid by bank transfer no later than April 3, 2026. Payment instructions will be provided by the Organizing Committee.

- Overseas teams (on-site participation): Registration fees must be paid in cash at the competition desk during the event.

- Teams approved for remote participation: The registration fee is the same as for on-site participants. Payment procedures will be communicated directly by the Organizing Committee after participation approval.

** Team Description Paper Submission (Optional) **

In previous editions of the RoboCup Rescue Agent Simulation Competition, submission of a Team Description Paper (TDP) was mandatory for participation.

For the 2026 edition, TDP submission will be optional. Teams may participate in the competition without submitting a TDP.

Submitted TDPs will undergo a review process and, if accepted, will be published on the official RoboCup Rescue Simulation League website.

In addition, we are considering recommending selected outstanding TDPs for oral presentation at an international conference.

*** How to submit your TDP ***

TDPs must be submitted by email to: r*****6@maslab.aitech.ac.jp Email subject: RRS2026 TDP submission File format: PDF File name: Agent_[TeamName].pdf where [TeamName] should be replaced with the official team name.

The submission deadline is April 3, 2026 (23:55 UTC).

*** Formatting Requirements ***

TDPs must follow the IEEE Conference Publishing Services (CPS) format: https://www.ieee.org/conferences/publishing/templates The paper length must be 6–8 pages, including figures and references.

*** Review Process ***

Submitted TDPs will undergo a review process by members of the Rescue Simulation Committee.

- Notification of review results: April 17, 2026 - Camera-ready submission deadline: April 23, 2026

Revised (camera-ready) versions must be submitted by email to the same address.

Accepted TDPs will be published on the official RoboCup Rescue Simulation League website.

Selected outstanding TDPs may be recommended for oral presentation at an affiliated international conference (subject to confirmation).

** Presentation **

Teams submitting a TDP are expected to give an approximately 15-minute presentation during the competition.

** References **

Previous TDPs can be found at: https://rescuesim.robocup.org/past-events/past-competitions/

For inquiries, please contact: r*****6@maslab.aitech.ac.jp

* RULES *

The RoboCup Rescue Agent Simulation World Competition 2026 will follow the official RoboCup Rescue Agent Simulation Rules (2025 version).

All teams must comply with the rules specified in the following document: https://roborescue.github.io/rcrs-rules/rcrs-agent-rules.pdf

* ABOUT THE ROBOCUP RESCUE AGENT SIMULATION LEAGUE *

Natural disasters cause significant economic, human, and environmental losses worldwide. Their unpredictable and complex nature requires effective disaster management strategies to mitigate their impact and support coordinated response efforts.

The mission of the RoboCup Rescue Agent Simulation League is to advance research and development in intelligent systems for large-scale disaster response, with a particular focus on multi-agent coordination and decision support.

To achieve this mission, the league pursues three primary objectives:

1. To provide a realistic simulation platform capable of modeling urban disaster scenarios in which rescue strategies can be designed and evaluated. 2. To establish evaluation benchmarks for disaster response plans and coordination strategies. 3. To promote innovation and knowledge exchange by organizing international competitions that bring together researchers and practitioners.

Through these activities, the league contributes to the development of more robust, scalable, and formalized approaches to disaster response, ultimately aiming to reduce the societal impact of large-scale emergencies.

Best Regards Nobuhiro Ito and Kazunori Iwata on behalf of RoboCup Rescue Simulation League Local Organizing Committee E-mail: r*****6@maslab.aitech.ac.jp

Rescue Simulation League International Committee