RoboCup@Home is one of the many Robotics Competitions that is part of the RoboCup games that use robot games as a way to promote science and technology. Other leagues feature robot soccer and robot rescue competitions.
The RoboCup@Home competition is an international robotics event consisting of benchmark tests that evaluate how well competing robots perform in a realistic home or public environment.
The robots are given tests to solve in an environment similar to a home or public setting. These tests are designed to challenge robots on the following criteria:
RoboCup@Home started in 2006. For a few years, the testing environment consisted solely of a mock living room and kitchen. As the technology advanced, the competition moved on to more complex environments.
As an example of a more complex environment, RoboCup@Home was once set in a public grocery store. The robots were asked to navigate past the many distractions and shop amongst human beings. Competitors were only told which specific grocery store would be used the night before the test, so there was no time for participants to gain an advantage by taking measurements of the store before the competition. The robots were on their own.
For future competitions, RoboCup@Home hopes to use more difficult settings such as parks, gardens, and public streets.
2 of the tests in RoboCup@Home are open demonstrations. In these tests, robot designers have their robot display a unique ability of their own choosing. A jury of team leaders decides on the scores given to open demonstration competitors.
It is important to keep in mind that the intent of the RoboCup competitions is to inspire innovation. The open demonstrations offer designers a chance to showcase their creativity more than the standardized benchmark tests.
RoboCup Federation
Robocup 2013
RoboCup 2014
