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Nuclear Cleanup

RoboHack 2025

Table of Contents

  1. Game Rules
  2. Regulations
  3. Specifications
  4. Competition Structure

Game Rules

  1. The objective of the game, called Nuclear Cleanup, is to ???.
  2. Before a match begins, participating teams must:
    • Present their robot in the staging area, adjacent to the arena, before the scheduled close of staging time. The staging area will be clearly marked on the day.
    • Attach a robot flag. Robot flags will be provided by marshals in the staging area.
    • Place their robot in the starting area that they are assigned. The robot must be placed such that it is entirely within this starting area, with no parts overhanging its boundary. Its orientation does not matter.
    • Follow the directions of the match officials.
    Teams that fail to comply with these rules - such as by arriving late - may forfeit the match, at the discretion of the judge.
  3. The game is played between two robots.
  4. Each match lasts for 150 seconds.
  5. Robots will be started by, or at the direction of, match officials.
  6. Game points will be awarded as follows:
    1. ???
  7. At the end of the match the robot with the most points wins.
  8. The arena is a square of the design specified in the specifications section.

Regulations

  1. All robots must be safe.
  2. The judge's decision is final.
  3. Teams must conduct themselves within the principles of good sporting conduct.
  4. Any assistance from volunteers is provided without guarantees.
  5. No remote control systems or radio transmitters or receivers are permitted.
  6. While accidental bumps and scrapes are inevitable, the sport is non-contact.
  7. Robots must pass a safety inspection before they can compete.
  8. Robots must have a mass of less than 10kg.
  9. Robots must not intentionally damage anything inside the arena. At the discretion of the judge, teams who deliberately engage in collisions or take insufficient precautions against collisions may be penalised, including disqualification from rounds and deduction of league points.
  10. Robots must fit within a 600mm ⨉ 600mm ⨉ 600mm cube at the start of each match.
  11. Robots must fit within a 900mm ⨉ 900mm ⨉ 900mm cube, at all times during each match.
  12. Robots must not deliberately drop any part of themselves onto the arena.
  13. Robots must have all electronics securely mounted and easily removable.
  14. Robots must provide adequate protection to the batteries they use, including protection from mechanical damage.
  15. Robots must not have any devices designed to produce noise except where included in the SourceBots kit.
  16. Robots must not have any fiducial markers visible to other robots.
  17. Robots must have a spare USB slot accessible to match officials.
  18. Robots must have a power switch, obvious and on top, which will completely immobilise the robot.
  19. Robots must not have any sharp edges or points.
  20. Robots must have a flag mounting.

Violations of these regulations will result in penalties, including deductions of points or outright disqualification.

Specifications

Markers

The arena is labelled with fiducial markers. Each marker pattern encodes a number. Each marker number is associated with a particular feature within the arena, and also has an associated size.

ItemMarker NumbersMarker Size (mm)

The markers can be printed on a black-and-white printer.

Wall markers are placed such that the bottom of the marker is 20 ±5mm from the arena floor.

Arena

  1. The above figure represents, to scale, a birds eye view of the arena. The arena is 5.4m square.
  2. The floor of the arena is covered with a closed-loop, short pile carpet.
  3. The perimeter of the arena floor is delimited by the arena wall, which has a minimum height of 100mm.
  4. Starting zones are 1000 ±50mm squares and will be marked by tape which is considered part of the starting zone.
  5. Starting zone 0 is on the left of the arena diagram, and zone 1 is on the right.
  6. The green boxes denote a robot in their start locations, shown in yellow. Robots may start anywhere inside their starting area facing any direction.
  7. The inner walls of the arena have a minimum height of 170mm.
  8. SRO reserves the right to have match officials in the arena during games.

Robot flags

Robot flag
  1. A "robot flag" is a removable identifier that will be attached to a robot throughout a match. It allows spectators to easily associate a robot with its starting area.
  2. Flags are not counted when considering the starting size of the robot.
  3. The identifying part of the robot flag must be visible when attached to the mount.
  4. The mounting cylinder must be permanently affixed to the main chassis of a robot, and vertical when the robot is in its typical stopped position.

Cans

  1. Cans are cylindrical metallic containers weighing 350g ±20g.
  2. Cans are 67mm ±3mm in diameter with a height of 100mm ±5mm.
  3. Cans will be arranged as shown in the arena specification.
  4. Cans are electrically conductive and ferromagnetic.

Competition Structure

The competition is structured in two phases: the main league and the knockout.

Matches

  1. At the end of a game, league points will be awarded as follows:
    • The team with the most game points will be awarded 8 points towards the competition league.
    • The team with the second most will be awarded 6.
    • Teams whose robot was not entered into the round, or who were disqualified from the round, will be awarded no points.
  2. If a match ends in a tie, robots will be awarded the average of the points that their combined positions would be awarded, in this case 7 (since this is (8 + 6) ÷ 2).
  3. At the end of the leagues, positions in the leagues are used to seed a knockout. This will be used to determine the final 1st, 2nd and 3rd awards.
  4. In the event of a tie in a knockout match, the team that ranked highest in the league will go through.