RoboSoccer proved to be quite an enjoyable opportunity for robotics enthusiasts over the years. More and more contenders are jumping at the chance to participate in the game. Here are the basic rules that past candidates have followed and new ones must abide by.
Regarding the size of the robot, first of all it must have a total floor area of no more than 220 square centimeters. The height has to be less than 22cm and it must fit inside a cylinder with a diameter of 22cm, having all parts extended to the maximum if it has the option of extending. The robot will be examined before the contest starts by the referees.
A robot has to be built in full by the participating students. Commercial kits are allowed but only if they have been considerably modified before or when integrating into the robotized model. Every participating team will be asked to describe the construction and programming of the robot to prove that their own work went into building it.
The playing field has an area of 122x183 cm. The field will be a flat and level floor covered with a printed gray-scale. The field will have 14 cm high walls placed all around it, including the area behind the goals. The goals will have a total width of 45 cm. All student teams must have their robots ready for calibration to handle lighting conditions at the venue accordingly.
At the beginning of the game tournament, all teams will draw numbers out of a hat. The field on which each teams plays is determined by the referee before the first half of the game by flipping a coin. The team having the smallest number that was drawn from the hat before will get to call heads or tails when the coin in in the air. No matter which side a team lands on at first, at the beginning of the second half of the game the two playing teas change sides to offer an equal advantage. The whole game has 25 minutes, with 10 minutes reserved for every half and a 5 minute break in between.
At the beginning of each round of the game, all robots will be placed on their own sides of the field in a paused mode. Each half of the game will begin with a kick-off. If the ball does not go forward, the kick-off will be repeated. If by any chance this happens three times in a row, the ball is passed to the other team. Only a free rolling ball is considered when counting the score. After every goal made by any of the teams, the referee calls the goal; afterwards the ball will be placed back at the center of the playing field and the game resumes.
There are no penalty kicks, no timeouts and no offside rules usually in RoboSoccer, but the game does have three types of fouls defined. The lack of progress by a robot on the field, along with non-moving of a robot are considered fouls. A third fault is defense by multiple robots. If any of these happen, the game will be stopped by the referee. To restart the game, a free kick will be made from the point where the foul was committed.
The game is very strict when it comes to human interference with the robots and game play. Team members are not allowed to touch or move the robots in any manner. It is also forbidden for teams to replace their robots. Two and only two robots are allowed per team that are fully inspected at the beginning of the tournament and are allowed in the game only by passing the inspection. Students must not interfere with robots manually, unless specifically instructed by the referee in cases when the robots get stuck. In this case the game is stopped and one team member or the referee himself is allowed to reposition the robot only far enough to as free it.
If a robot sustains damages in the playing field, the referee may grant permission to one of the team members to remove the robot that has fallen apart. The robot has to be fixed by the team very quickly and then repositioned by the referee in its former spot. Removal of any robots will not stop the game itself and the playing continues. However it is possible to stop the game for one minute during removal and replacement to dodge possible interference with other robots still remaining on the field.