czech english

FAQ

frequently asked questions

The Robotour 2010 contest registration dead-line is very soon (31st of July 2010), so we will try to answer some question which appeared during the year…

Where exactly will contest take place?

The botanic garden was selected from three options. The botanic garden has good position in the center of Bratislava and is also near the organizing faculty. Disadvantage is entry charge (3 Euros) for visitors, charge for participants is currently negotiated. The team base will be in hotel across the street + there will be probably also „tent of organizers” directly on adjacent parking lot.

How is it with category WagonOpen?

We decided to cancel category WagonOpen. First of all there was not enough interest and what is more important, it does not fulfill goal of Robotour for beginners. On the other hand new contest Robot go straight, which will be held annualy in city Písek, fits to this goal perfectly.

Are accompanying robots allowed?

Accompanying robots are allowed (in the original rules they were prohibited) — we decided to change it after cancellation of WagonOpen category. Note, that the team won't gain any extra points! Only the robot marked as main will be judged. For increase of spectators attractivity it is even allowed to have __accompanying__ autonomous flying robots.

Is there any restriction on team origin and members?

There is basically no restriction on the team except one: there should be at least one person more than 18 years old, who will be the responsible person.

Is it completely prohibited to go to the botanic garden and map it? Or it is possible to go there, map it, but only if collected data are shared with others?

It is allowed to go to Botanic Garden, test there and map the environment, but during the contest the robot can use only data shared on server OpenStreetMap.org. If you for example use vector data of roads it is necessary to put it also on the server (e.g. via JOSM editor). You can also map other features commonly used in OSM like width of the road, type of surface, placement of benches or significant trees… Overview of used attributes is on web page http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Map_Features.

There was a discussion last year that barrels are mandatory (at least empty). There is nothing about it in rules, so should I prepare some holder?

Yes, the empty barrel is necessary, so that the other robots have chance to recognize your robot. It is also mentioned in the rules: "Every robot must be able to carry 5l barrel of beer (at least empty). "

I have a question about multiple robots cooperation. Is there the same rule as last year, i.e. max 2m distance, leaving the road means end of the trial etc.? Or is it possible to compete with two robots independently, and possibly "sacrifice" one on the crossing?

If the accompanying robot carries full barrel (the main robot has to carry at least empty one) then to get extra points for load (this is an extension to original rules) the robot has to satisfy 2m distance limit. All robots have to move on roads, with exception of flying robots, cannot stay on one place longer than one minute or intentionally block the road to other robots. Organizers reserve the right to remove the extra robots in case of problems.

Are the roads for Robotour in OSM maps specially marked by some unique identifier, from which I can tell if this is the right contest road?

No, we do not plan any special tag for OSM contest roads. Robot should use existing tags like highway (typically with value footway). Useful could be also tag width describing width of the road in meters or surface, with values (paved / unpaved / asphalt / concrete / paving_stones / cobblestone / metal / wood / grass_paver / gravel / pebblestone / grass / ground / earth / dirt / mud / sand / ice_road) possibly smoothness, with values (excellent / good / intermediate / bad / very_bad / horrible / very_horrible / impassable).
We recommend wiki page Map_Features. for overview of commonly used tags.

How exactly will get robot the map this year? In the rules is written that it will be OSM map, but will we get is on flash disk before the contest? Or some other way? Is it filtered? For example without buildings?

Robot will compete with a map which will get from the team. The team can get it directly from the OSM server anytime before the contest (or rather cut with data of Botanic Garden). If you want some filtering you have to do it yourself.

How will be the destination specified? Is it going to be a part of the map?

The goal will be specified by coordinates and it won't be part of the map.

Do we have to implement routing in OSM map? Or operator can enter route segments?

Robot does not have to be able to compute route itself this year. So option with operator who uses OSM map and only selects segments for given round is allowed.
The last update September 8th 2010

If you have any other questions please ask.