RoboMission
Junior Game Rules
Season 2023

CONNECTING THE WORLDUNDERWATER INFRASTRUCTURE
Official Game Rules for the WRO International Final. Version: January 15th 2023
(Note: Rules for local WRO events may vary!)

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WRO 2023 – RoboMission – Junior

Table of Contents
1.

Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 32.

Game Field ................................................................................................................................... 33.

Game Objects, Positioning, Randomization ....................................................................... 4

4.

Robot Missions ........................................................................................................................... 8
4.1

Underwater deployment ................................................................................................... 8

4.2

Find broken cable............................................................................................................... 8

4.3

Activate offshore solar farm ............................................................................................ 8

4.4

Bonus points ....................................................................................................................... 8

4.5Park the robot ...................................................................................................................... 8

5.

Scoring .......................................................................................................................................... 96.

Local, regional, and international events .......................................................................... 15

Information on how to use these game rules in countries:
We deliberately have a mix of simple and more difficult tasks in the game rules. These rules
are also used for the WRO International Final, where we expect to see many teams thatcan solve all missions. At a local, regional or national level however, there will be many
teams that do not have the experience, knowledge or time to solve everything. This isintentional. By offering simple and more complicated tasks all teams will be able to solve
parts of the challenge and can keep trying to improve their work. (Also see chapter 6)

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1. Introduction
After the invention of the telegraph, it was suddenly possible to send long distance messages
in a much faster way than ever before but sending a telegraph requires cables and, initially,
sending a message to overseas still needed to be done by boat. This changed when the firsttelegraph cable was laid on the bottom of the sea between England and France in 1850. Plans
were made soon to install a cable that would cross the full Atlantic Ocean. After many setbacks
the submarine cables became a great success, and more were installed all over the world.
You might think that submarine cables are no longer necessary, with modern day satellites
and Wi-Fi, but they are still crucial for communication, and they are the backbone of theinternet. Modern fiber-optic cables can transmit data much faster than satellite connections.
Sending a signal across the Atlantic Ocean by cable is around eight times faster than sending
it by satellite*. A place where submarine cables interconnect with each other is called asubmarine cable hub. Panama is one of these hubs, where cables from the Caribbean Sea
and Pacific Oceans connect. Underwater vessels and robots can help maintaining thisinfrastructure and help with new technical solutions at sea such as offshore solar farms andeven submarine data centres.
* Source: https://www.submarinecablesystems.com/history
On the Junior game field, the robot will help to install and repair submarine cables,
install submarine server farms, and activate offshore solar panels.

2. Game Field
The following graphic shows the game field with the different areas.

If the table is larger than the game mat, place the two sides of the start area against the walls.
For more information about the table and game mat specifications, please take a lookat WRO RoboMission General Rules, chapter 6.
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3. Game Objects, Positioning, Randomization
Submarine Cables (2x white, 1x red)In every round there are three submarine cables on the game field:- Two white submarine cables are placed on the two positions in the shipyard.
- The red ‘broken’ submarine cable is randomly placed on any of the four connection
slots in the Caribbean hub

White cable (2x)

Red Cable (1x)Start position in the two marked areasin the shipyard

One possible start position in one of thefour connection slots in the Caribbean hub

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WRO 2023 – RoboMission – JuniorServer objects (2x)There are two black objects that represent materials that are needed to setup an underwaterserver farm. At the beginning, these objects are placed on the two positions in the shipyard.

Server object (2x)Marked start position in the shipyard

Marking blocks (2x white, 2x black)
The marking blocks are placed in the ship information centre. They are used to determine theplacement where the robot should bring the server objects (black marking blocks) andsubmarine cables (white marking blocks).. One white and one black marking block are
randomly placed on the little areas marked 1.- 4. on the Pacific side.
The other white and black marking block are randomly placed on the little areas marked 1.- 4.
on the Caribbean side.

Marking blocks (2x black, 2x white)

One possible placementof the marking blocks

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Solar panels (2x)There are two game objects that represent solar panels for an offshore solar farm. These
objects need to be fixed on the game field (see General Rules, chapter 6) and are placed in
the yellow offshore solar farm areas (one in each)

Solar panels (2x)Placement of the solar panels in theoffshore solar farm areas.

Barriers (2x)There are two barriers on the field that divide the field into the Caribbean and Pacific area,
both barriers are not allowed to be moved or damaged.

Barriers (2x)Placement of the barriers at the beginningof each round, they are placed with the blue
part looking towards the centre of the field.

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Summary randomization
On this field, the following objects are randomly placed in each round:•••

One white and one black marking block on the 1-4 area on the Pacific side.
One white and one black marking block on the 1-4 area on the Caribbean side.
Red ‘broken’ cable on one of the 4 connection slots in the Caribbean hub

One possible randomization you can see here:• White marking block Pacific No. 3, Black marking block Pacific No. 1• White marking block Caribbean No. 4, Black marking block Caribbean No. 1• Red ‘broken’ cable on connection slot No. 2 on the Caribbean side

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4. Robot Missions
For greater clarity, the missions will be explained in multiple sections. The team candecide which parts of the missions they will do and in which order. Final scoring will bebased on the situation on the field at the end of the run.

4.1 Underwater deployment
The robot should help to install underwater infrastructure for the world-wide internet data
network. For that, the robot should transport the submarine cables and server objects from the
shipyard to the connection slots.
The connection slots are determined by the marking blocks in the ship information centres for
the Caribbean and Pacific side, for example: a white marking block on Pacific no. 1 and a
black marking block is placed on Pacific no. 3 means that a submarine cable should be placedin the connection slot no. 1 and the server object on connection slot no. 3.
Full points are awarded if an object is completely inside one connection slot. Extra points areawarded if both objects on one side (Caribbean or Pacific) are installed.

4.2 Find broken cable
The existing submarine infrastructure must be maintained, and an underwater robot vessel
should help identifying broken and old elements (the red object). In this case, the robot shouldfind the red object and bring it to the repair facility that is above the water. There it can be
repaired or recycled.
Full points are awarded if the broken element is completely inside the repair facility (blue area).

4.3 Activate offshore solar farm
IT infrastructure, if underwater or on land, requires a lot of energy. And worldwide we use more
and more digital tools and IT infrastructure. Therefore, it is important to have a sustainableapproach when it comes to energy usage. Offshore solar farms can help with this.
The robot should help to setup offshore solar farms and activate the first solar panels of thisfarm. Full points are awarded if the level of the model is pulled and the solar panels are
standing upright.

4.4 Bonus points
Bonus points will be awarded for not moving or damaging the barriers on the field.

4.5 Park the robot
The mission is complete when the robot returns to the Start & Finish area, stops, and the
projection of the robot is partly (top-view) within the Start & Finish area.

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5. Scoring
Definitions for the scoring“Completely” means that the game object is only touching the corresponding area (notincluding the black lines).
Please note that there is a new rule about damaged game objects in the RoboMission
General Rules (Rule 6.8).
Tasks

Each

Max.

Submarine cable is completely inside the correct connection slot

1224

Submarine cable is touching the correct connection slot

7Server object is completely inside the correct connection slot

12Server object is touching the correct connection slot

7Server object or Submarine cable is touching or inside wrong theconnection slot (max. one object per connection slot)

4

Additional: Both the submarine cable and the server object of the
Caribbean and/or Pacific side are completely inside the correct slot

6

Underwater deployment

24

12Find broken cable
Broken cable completely inside the repair facility

13

Broken cable touching the repair facility

9

Activate offshore solar farm
Solar panel of solar farm is activated

11

22

6

12

Get bonus points
Island barrier is not moved or damaged
Park the robot
Projection of the robot is partly in the Start & Finish Area
(only if other points, not bonus, are assigned)

13

Maximum Score

120

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Scoring Interpretation
Please note: The scoring interpretation for the cables and server objects follow therandomization of marking blocks from page 7 as an example!
Submarine cable is completely inside correct connection slot è 12 points
Submarine cable is touching correct connection slot è 7 points

12 points (completely inside)

12 points (completely inside,
white line counts as inside)

7 points (only touching)

0 points (object damaged)

7 points (only touching)Server object is completely inside correct connection slot. è 12 points
Server object is touching correct connection slot è 7 points

12 points (completely inside)

12 points (completely inside)

7 points (only touching)

0 points (object damaged)

12 points (completely inside)

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WRO 2023 – RoboMission – JuniorServer object or Submarine cable is touching or inside wrong connection slot è 4 points.

4 points

Note: This example follows
the randomization on page 7
where the cable should be
brought in connection slot
no. 4. That means that aplacement in connection slot
no. 3 needs to beconsidered as a wrong slot.

No, no, no 😉
$ only one#"
object per connection slot
counts, 4 points.

Additional: Both the submarine cable and the server object of the Caribbean and/or Pacificside are completely inside the correct slot. è 6 points.

Note: This example follows
the randomization on page 7
where the cable should be
brought in connection slot
no. 4 and the server object
in connection slot no. 1.

Broken cable completely inside the repair facility è 13 points.
Broken cable touching the repair facility è 9 points.
Please note: The repair facility is considered to be the blue area only.

13 points (completely inside)

13 points (completely inside)

9 points (touching)

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9 points (touching)

0 points (object damaged)

Solar panel of solar farm is activated. è 11 points.

Start position (not activated)

11 points(activated, the lever of the model is pulled)

Island barrier is not moved or damaged. è 6 points.
Please note: The barrier is considered to be moved if it is moved outside of the white area,
it is considered as damaged if even just one brick has come loose.

6 points, OK, still in whitearea.

0 points, not OK, moved
outside white area.

0 points, not OK, damaged.

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Projection of the robot is partly in the Start & Finish Area
(only if other points, not bonus, are assigned) è 13 points
Please note: The blue line surrounding the area does not belong to the area, the project
has to be over the white inner area. Cables only do not count for the projection of the robot.

The projection of the robot is
not in the area, 0 points.

The projection of the robot ispartly in the area, 15 points.

The projection of the robot iscompletely in the area, 15
points.

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Scoring SheetTeam name: _______________________
Tasks

Round: ______
Each

Max.

Submarine cable is completely inside the correctconnection slot

1224

Submarine cable is touching the correct connection
slot

7Server object is completely inside the correctconnection slot

12Server object is touching the correct connection
slot

7Server object or Submarine cable is touching or
inside the wrong connection slot (max. one object
per connection slot)

4

Additional: Both the submarine cable and theserver object of the Caribbean and/or Pacific side
are completely inside the correct slot

6

#

Total

Underwater deployment

24

12Find broken cable
Broken cable completely inside the repair facility

13

Broken cable touching the repair facility

9

Activate offshore solar farm
Solar panel of solar farm is activated

11

22

6

12

Get bonus points
Island barrier is not moved or damaged
Park the robot
Projection of the robot is partly in the Start & Finish
Area(only if other points, not bonus, are assigned)

13

Maximum Score

120
Surprise Rule
Total Score in this run
Time in full seconds

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6. Local, regional, and international events
WRO competitions take place in around 90 countries, and we know that teams in each country
expect a different level of complexity. The challenge as described in this document will be
used for international WRO events. This is the last stage of the competition, where the teams
with the best solutions participate. That is why the game rules are challenging.
WRO feels that all participants need to be able to have a good experience in the competition.
Teams with less experience should also be able to score points and succeed. This builds
confidence in their ability to master technical skills, which is important for their future choices
in education.
We deliberately have a mix of simple and more difficult tasks in the game rules. This meansthat all teams will be able to solve parts of the challenge and can keep trying to improve theirwork.
WRO Association recommend that our National Organizers consider the situation in
their country. They can adapt the rules for events in their country even further. They
can decide to make the challenges easier for local, regional, and national events, sothat all participants have a positive experience.
All National Organizers can make their own choices, so each competition fits their
specific situation and ideas. Here we provide some ideas to make the challenges easier.

Ideas for simplifications:••••Have the randomization only for one part (Pacific or Caribbean).
Have no randomization and place the marking blocks always in the same positionin the ship information centres.
Have a fixed position for the red cable in one of the connection slots.
Take out one or both barriers (in this case adjust the scoring for bonus points)

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