UNIVERSAL ROBOTICS CHALLENGE 2024
Real Robotics Advanced DivisionRulebook
Published April 1 (Mon), 2024
Revised July 8 (Mon), 2024

Table of Contents
Overview ............................................................................................................................................................. 2
1. The Competition............................................................................................................................................ 2
2. The Field ........................................................................................................................................................ 3
3. The Rules ....................................................................................................................................................... 8
4. Scoring.......................................................................................................................................................... 13
5. Preliminary Video Rules ............................................................................................................................. 15
6. Competition Robots .................................................................................................................................... 16
7. Disqualification ........................................................................................................................................... 17
Appendix 1. Building Packages ..................................................................................................................... 18
Appendix 2. Scoring Examples ...................................................................................................................... 22
Appendix 3. ArtecRobo Parts ......................................................................................................................... 25
Appendix 4. Artec Blocks ............................................................................................................................... 26

1

Overview
Transporting Packages
The modern world is full of robots. From robots which help harvest crops on farms toones which move heavy objects on construction sites, they can be a lifesaver when
there aren’t enough people to do the job! In this competition, your goal is to make arobot that can pick up block packages from specific locations on a construction site.
These packages are different shapes and sizes, and the more you move to the Delivery
Area, the higher your score!

1. The Competition〇 Competition Guidelines◇ The Mission
The robot will carry block packages from different points around the field and stackthem in the Delivery Area. You will get points based on how many packages you candeliver within the time limit.

Fig 1. A robot delivering packages

22. The Field〇 Layout and Placement
880 mmDividingLinesPicking
Area (x 8)

DeliveryArea

1030 mmStarting
Area

The Field
Fig 2. Competition Field

3◇ The Starting Area
Start by setting down your robot inside of this light green rectangle. The Starting
Area includes the black Dividing Lines shown inside of the red box in Figure 3.

Fig 3. The Starting Area
◇ The Delivery Area
The Delivery Area is a yellow square on the field.

Fig 4. The Delivery Area4◇ Packages A-F
Packages are made of multiple Artec Block cubes.

PackageYour robot’s job is to transport them from different
points around the field. There are six types ofpackages, and the shape and color of each package isshown in Figure 6. Follow the instructions in Appendix

BlocksFig 5. Packages and Blocks

1 to build these packages.

Package A

Package B

Package C

Yellow-Green

OrangeLight Aqua

8 packages

8 packages

8 packages

Package D

Package E

Package FAqua

Light Pink

Light Purple

8 packages

8 packages

8 packages

Fig 6. Packages
The packages you make for your preliminary video submission can be any single color
you wish, but each package type must be a different color. For example, you could makePackage A pink, Package B gray, Package C red, and so forth.
★ Packages in the World Finals will be the colors shown in Figure 6.

5◇ Picking Areas
Place your packages in the light blue Picking Areas before the round starts. There areeight of these on the field. Picking Areas include the black Dividing Lines shown insideof the red boxes in Figure 7.

Fig 7. Picking Areas◇ Dividing Lines
These lines are used as guides on the competition field.

6◇ The Field
Set your packages and robot on the field.
〇 Placement Rules (Preliminaries)★ Placement in the World Finals will be determined by the judges. Fields made of
official competition material will be sent to participants who advance to theWorld Finals.
1) You can make your field for the preliminaries by printing out the field PDF on 15
sheets of A4 paper.
2) Use any quality of paper to print out the field.
3) Do not place any other robots, walls, or objects which change the height of the fieldon the field. Changes in height caused by overlapping tape or paper are acceptable.
4) The floor beneath the competition field should be perfectly level with no angles thatcause changes in height.
5) You can also lay the field on plywood, styrene, or other material to keep it level.
6) There are multiple ways to deal with white margins caused by printing the course:
・ Proceed with the round leaving the margins intact.
・ Use markers of similar colors to fill in the margins on the Dividing Lines,Starting, Picking, and Delivery Areas and cover the remaining margins withextra paper.
★ There will be no white margins on the fields in the World Finals.

Fig 8. Filling in Margins

7

3. The Rules〇 Before the Round1) Placing Packages
Placing the packages can only be done by one team member. The time limit to do thisis one minute.
The rules for placing packages are as follows:・ Packages you place on the field shouldn’t touch anything besides the Picking
Area.
・ You can place packages on top of one another.
・ Parts of a package which aren’t touching the ground are allowed to stick out of thePicking Area.
・ Packages you place can be a maximum of three blocks higher than the field.
・ Packages must be touching the field completely and not leaning.
・ You don’t have to place every package. Set your leftover packages away from thefield. These packages shouldn’t be used, including for retries.
・ You aren’t allowed to touch pieces after placing them or resetting them for a retry.

8

The below show examples of correct and incorrect placements.
Placing Packages

Correct

Incorrect

Incorrect

Bottom of package is sticking outof the Picking Area.

Packages stacked 4+ blocks
high on the field.

Incorrect
Packages are leaning.
Fig 9. Package Placement

92) Placing the Robot
One participant sets the robot at any point inside of the Starting Area. The robot must
be completely inside of the Starting Area. This includes the parts of the robot nottouching the ground. The time limit to do this is one minute. The same participant canplace the robot and packages.
〇 The Round
1) The flow of the round can be seen below:
Starting the Round
Turn your robot on.
You’re allowed to control your robot using buttons ortouch it to adjust its position as long as it stays in theStarting Area.

Leaving the Starting Area
The robot will move by itself to pick up and stackpackages in the Delivery Area.

Ending the RoundThe round is over once the participant declaresthat the round is over or 180 seconds have passed.
You won’t be allowed to touch your robot or
packages until the judge finishes scoring.

102) Participants aren’t allowed to touch the robot if any part of it is outside of theStarting Area. This includes parts not touching the ground. Touching the robot willcount as a retry and will result in a 40-point deduction each time this happens.
3) The robot is allowed to handle any packages in the Delivery Area.
4) The robot can handle any packages it has already moved.
5) The round will end in the event of any of the following:
・ The participant declares the round over. The time of the declaration will be the time
for the round.
・ 180 seconds have passed.
・ The judges determine that there has been a serious rule violation.

11〇 Retries
1) If a robot malfunctions and stops moving after it leaves or the packages are placedin unexpected ways, participants can declare a retry and move their robot back tothe Starting Area.
2) Each retry will result in a 40-point deduction.
3) The timer for the round will keep running during a retry.
4) Participants must notify the judges when the retry is over.
5) The robot must be completely inside of the Starting Area before the retry is over.
6) Participants are allowed to do the following during a retry:・ Handle their robot.
・ Move the robot back to the Starting Area.
・ Touch the packages and move them to Picking Areas of theirchoosing.
★ This is limited to packages which have already been placedon the field.
7) There is no limit to the number of retries allowed.
〇 Ending the Round
1) The round is over once the participants declare it’s over or 180 seconds havepassed.
2) Judges may handle the robot and packages to determine the final score.
3) Once the round is over, the judge will calculate your final score to determine
rankings.
4) If scoring becomes impossible due to an error on the part of the committee, teams
may retry the round after a consultation with the committee.

124. Scoring
1) Preliminary scores will be calculated by judges based on submitted videos.
2) At the World Finals, the highest score out of two rounds will be your final score.
3) Scores will be calculated at the end of each round.
4) A package is valid and receives points if it satisfies the following conditions:① The package only makes contact with the Delivery Area on the field.
(Parts of a package which aren’t touching the ground are allowed to stick outof the Delivery Area.)② The package is placed on top of another valid package.
5) A package is invalid under the following conditions:① The package makes contact with any other area than the Delivery Area.
② The package is touching the robot.
6) Valid packages are scored according to the following criteria:
・ Each valid package receives 10 points per block in the package.
・ The total for all packages is calculated to get the score.
7) Points will be deducted based on your number of retries to get your final score.

6 blocks total = 60 points

4 blocks total = 40 points

Fig 10. Scoring Packages
You can find more specific examples of stacked packages in Appendix 2. Scoring
Examples.
13

〇 Ranking
Ranks in the competition are determined as follows:
1) The highest-scoring team.
2) In the event of multiple teams with the same score, ranks are determined as follows:
1. The number of packages.
2. The smallest number of retries.
3. The shortest round time.

14

5. Preliminary Video Rules
1) In order to ensure the robot meets the size requirements of the competition,participants must include a clip or images in their video of them measuring thelength, width, and height of the robot using a tape measure or ruler. The camera
must be still for at least three seconds for each dimension.
2) In order to measure the time for the round, include a stopwatch or clock with asecond hand in the video.
3) After the round is over, take a video or image of the Delivery Area that clearly shows
the packages. Include this at the end of the video.
4) You do not need to include the placement of the robot or packages. The video of theround can start with these already placed on the field.
5) There should be no cuts between the start and the end of the round. You should not
move the camera as it films (see Fig. 11).

Video or photo of therobot’s length, width,

End Round

Start

Video or imageof theand height

Round Footage

Delivery Area

You can cut orYou
can’t cut or move theYou can cut ormove the camera

cameraFig 11. Video Content

15

move the camera

6. Competition Robots
1) Only one robot is allowed per team per round.
2) See Appendix 3 and Appendix 4 for the ArtecRobo parts and Artec Blocks
competitors can use to build their robots.
3) Robots may use only one Studuino, Studuino:bit Core Unit, or micro:bit to control
their robot. This limit doesn’t apply to purposes such as the build of the robot orweight adjustments. There are no restrictions on the number of other parts.
4) Any parts from 2) can’t be modified.
5) Participants are not allowed to reinforce their robots using zip ties, rubber bands, oradhesives. You are, however, allowed to bundle cables together.
6) Robots must not exceed 25 cm in width, 30 cm in length, and 25 cm in height atthe start of the round.
7) There are no weight restrictions on robots.
8) While robots are allowed to transform at the start of the round, they must stay in
one piece.
9) Robots should move completely on their own once the round has started. They mustnot be remote controlled.
10) Robots must not use any power sources aside from those recommended inAppendix 3.

16

7. Disqualification
Preliminary submissions will be disqualified in the event:1) It has been determined that the video was fast-forwarded, fabricated, clipped, orotherwise edited.
2) The robot does not meet the specifications in section 6.
3) Participants move or touch the packages outside of a retry.

17Appendix 1. Building Packages

・ Package A
12・ Package B
123418

・ Package C
1234

5

619

・ Package D
12x2

34

・ Package E
1220

34・ Package F
123421

Appendix 2. Scoring Examples
The following section shows example scores.

20 points

20 points

40 points

40 points

Score is the same regardless of how the package faces.

The top of the packages can stick

They can also lean.

out of the area.

6 blocks total＝ 60 points
The green package is placed on top of another valid package.
22

Example) Package is touching area outside of the Delivery Area.

0 blocks = 0 points

0 blocks total = 0 points

This makes the green package
invalid, too.

The package is invalid.

Example) Package is straddling multiple other packages.

5 blocks total = 50 points

Green package is valid because it’s on top of another valid package.

11 blocks total = 110 points
23

Example) Robot is touching the package.

0 blocks = 0 points

No points are given to packages if the robot is still touching them.

0 blocks = 0 points

This makes the green package invalid, too.

3 blocks = 30 points

The orange package makes contact with the Delivery Area on the field.

24

Appendix 3. ArtecRobo Parts
Studuino

LEDStuduino

Battery Box(red, blue, green,Buzzer

Accelerometer

DC Motor

Sensor Connecting

Extension Cablewhite)★ The Studuino may havea face plate sticker
attached

Touch Sensor

DC MotorParts

Studuino:bit Core Unit

Power BankCable

IR Photoreflector

Servomotor

Cable (any type)

Studuino:bit

Robot Expansion Unit

Battery Box

micro:bit Expansion

micro:bit

Board25

for Servomotors

ArtecRobo 2.0 PowerBankAppendix 4. Artec Blocks★ Blocks can be of any color.
Basic Cube

Triangle

Half A

Half B

Half CHalf D

Axle

Wheel

Beam

Disk

Gear (L)Gear (S)Gear Rack

O-ringTire26