The RoboCup Challenge 97
RoboCup offers a set of short term challenge tasks
in order to further promote research activities of RoboCup participants.
Although RoboCup envisons longer range challenges which takes
few decades to accomplish, there are a set of middle range, as well as
short range goals which researchers can measure their accomplishment
in 1 - 2 years.
Defining a set of tasks and their evaluations, as the RoboCup Challenge,
compliments well with the competition based evaluations of proposed
architecutre, algorithms, theories, and implementations.
While playing games against each other can evalute an overall performance
of the team, it does not necessary provide us with a rigid set of
evaluation criteria on specific technical issues.
Since RoboCup was initiated as a long range research program, not as
an entertainment events, the introduction of the scheme which can be a test
of scientific and engineering achievements is cirticallly important.
Therefore, we will create the RoboCup Challenge Committee to
organize the Challenges.
As the first set of challenges,
we will announce a draft proposal of the tasks, which we proposed to be
a set of challenges during the period from 1997 to 1999.
Toward the RoboCup-97, we will discuss detailed task definitions and
evaluations criteira, and other issues to carry out this challenge.
The result of discussions will be announced at the RoboCup-97 / IJCAI-97.
A series of RoboCup international and local meetings will be organized during
1997 -1999, and the final assessment of the challenge will be made
in Summer 1999. Most likely during IJCAI-99 Stockholm.
Challenge Procedures
In order to facilitate technical progress based on the RoboCup
challenge, we offer basic resources and opportunities.
- The RoboCup Challenge Committee:
The RoboCup Challenge Committee will be formed to execute the
challenge initiative. The commitee will include members of the
international executive committee for RoboCup and distinguished
researchers not directly involved in the RoboCup.
The committee will create specific tasks and criteria for evaluation,
as well as providing technical advises for the challengers.
- Resources:
In the RoboCup home page, basic software resources
and technical information can be obtained.
(http://www.robocup.org/RoboCup)
Software includes the Soccer
Server system, which is a server system for the simulation track, and
various sample teams. In addition, sample test sequences
will be provided. The home page also provides a set of papers and
technical documents related to RoboCup.
- Competitions:
A series of RoboCup competitions are planned to
provide opportunities to test ideas. As international events, we are
planning to have RoboCup-98 in Paris, RoboCup-98 Victoria
(as a part of IROS-98 conference), and RoboCup-98 Singapore
(as a part of PRICAI-98 Conference). Several
local competitions will be organized by local committee in each
region. The final evaluation and exhibit of the results will be made
at IJCAI-99.
- Workshops:
Workshops will be organized at major international conferences, as
well as at local workshops, in order to faciliate exchange of
information, to have technical discussions, and to get feedback on the
status of the challengers in relation to the overall framework of the
challenge.
Tentative Schedule
- Now -- until August, 97 (IJCAI-97)
Discussions on details of Challenge tasks, evaluation, and
overall administrative procedure.
Preliminary evaluation will be carried out.
- IJCAI-97
Finalize and announce details of tasks, evaluations, and
administrative procedures.
Some experiments will be done during RoboCup-97 to verify the proposed tasks and
evaluation procedures are workable.
- After IJCAI-97 - The end of 1998
A series of international and local competitions and workshops will
be organized to evaluate progress.
- January, 1998 -- July 1999
Research and evaluations continues, but more emphasis on assessment of
results obtained during the challenge period.
- IJCAI-99
- Final reports by challengers, and overall assessment by the committee.
- Announcement of RoboCup Challenge 99
RoboCup Challenge Evaluation Sequence