FreeKick

Tackle, control, aim, line up and score!

If you think the action-packed sequence is limited to the likings of only footballers and soccer-maniacs, just drop in at Techfest's very own football field to see creatively engineered robots apply the most unimaginable tactics to outperform their opposition. With the ambitious project of having an android soccer team by 2050 attracting many to the field of image processing based robotics, Techfest guarantees you the experience to make you believe that the future is indeed here..

"It is not whether you win or lose, but how much you learn that counts!"

1.1 Problem Statement

Build a team of two computer controlled navigators, which can/would move balls of a specific color into the opponent's goal post with the help of an overhead/on board camera.

» Download the PDF version of the Problem statement.

Prizes worth INR 48,000 to be won.

Register here for FreeKick

View the Arena »

For further queries contact:

2.1 Arena Specifications

2.1.1 The Playing Field
The arena consists of a rectangular table top of inner dimension 2000 mm x 1500 mm, colored 'green' (the playing surface is green felt mat or carpet). The floor under the carpet is level, flat and hard. The table will have a boundary of height 50 mm of top color white and side color green, same as that of the arena. Solid 7 cm x 7 cm isosceles triangles are to be fixed at the four corners of the playground to avoid the ball getting cornered.

2.1.2 Field Markings
The field of play shall be marked as shown in Figure 1. The field of play is divided into two halves by a halfway line. All lines and markings will be white in color and 25mm thick.
However, the markings of starting zones will not be done on the arena.

2.1.3 The Goal Post and Goal Area
The goal posts are of dimension 400 mm x 150 mm (L x H); one pair would be red in color and the other would be blue in color and contains a net attached.
The goal post is a 3-D structure with its two surfaces of dimension 400 mm x 150 mm open. Rest all the sides will be of blue or red color.The goal areas shall comprise of the area contained by the rectangle sized 400 mm x 100 mm in front of the goal post and are colored red and blue respectively.

2.1.4 The Penalty Area
The penalty areas shall comprise of areas contained by the rectangle sized 900 mm x 400 mm in front of the goal. The penalty area contains the goal area.

2.1.5 The Balls
The specification of the balls will be uploaded soon. The balls will be placed randomly in the arena.

Figure 1	Figure 2
Figure 3	Figure 4

2.1.6 The Orientation Tags and Balls
These are the pictures of the orientation tags.
They measure 180 mm x 180 mm. There will be 4 balls of the colour shown in the picture. They have a diameter of about 4.3 cm and weigh about 50 gm.

Figure 5	Figure 6	Figure 6
Figure 7	Figure 8	Figure 9

2.2 The Competition Setup

2.2.1 Overall System

1. There would be two overhead cameras above the arena; one for each team. A stand will be provided to the participants for mounting the overhead camera in the centre of the arena (Figure 5).
2. It is recommended that the participants use the camera provided by the organizers. If not so, please intimate the organizers beforehand through email about the camera details (resolution, model number and company). Please cooperate with the organizers in this regard to ensure that the camera has no problems with the mounting system provided.
3. In case a team brings its own camera and stand then it should be such that it does not disturb the line of vision of the other web camera.
4. The details of the camera provided by the organizers will be put up soon.

A monitor (CRT), keyboard, CPU and mouse (USB 2.0) will be provided at the competition venue. Participants can also bring their own CPUs which they can connect to this system. We will provide a computer with Windows XP as the operating system and Matlab 7.0 (R14) installed in it. Also, all the participants are requested to bring in their codes and any other software if required in virus free pen drives; no CDs would be allowed.

Figure 10

2.2.2. The Camera Mounting System

1. Participants have to build a mounting system for their camera. Refer Figure 6 for the details of the design for mounting plate.
2. The height of the camera will be put up soon.
3. For the clamping of the hanging plate to the mounting plate there will be 4 screws of 2 inch length (50 mm) and 5 mm diameter inserted and bolted on the mounting plate.
4. Participants should keep a clearance of 40 mm for the screws and bolt to fit in.
5. Materials suggested:
   Plywood - 6 mm
   Acrylic - 4 mm to 8 mm
   Aluminum - 2 mm onwards

Figure 11	Figure 12

Note:

1. The colors of the arena and the goal posts are subjected to change. However, any changes made would be specified in bold on the site. So, you are advised to visit the site regularly for such changes.
2. Teams must come to tournaments being prepared to calibrate their robots based on the lighting conditions at the venue. Every effort will be made by organizers to place the fields in a way that the influence by external infrared light is as low as possible.

View the Navigator Specifications »

3.1 Navigator Specifications

1. Each team is allowed to have only two navigators/bots. None of the navigators can act as a Goalkeeper.
2. The navigator has to use an onboard power supply. No external power supply will be allowed.
3. Four Square shaped, identification tags will be provided to the participants during the competition. The identification tags details will be uploaded soon. Each team is required to place it on their machine at all times during their run.
   A team's identification tags will change from game to game.
4. For the purpose of sticking the identification tag to the bots participants are requested to provide a flat surface at the top of their bot, onto which the orientation tag would be stuck by the organizers.
5. At any point of time, during the match, the navigator can extend itself beyond the initial dimensions. However, no part of the machine should be visible from the top. At any point of the time, the machine should not be bigger than 180 mm x 180 mm. Maximum height of the bot cannot exceed 300 mm.
6. The ball in possession of a navigator should be always visible (more than half) from the top.
7. Each of the robots can only Kick, Push, or dribble the ball but they must comply with the size restrictions even after the appendages are fully expanded.
8. Each robot must be fully independent, with powering and motoring mechanisms self contained. The navigator should communicate with the computer using wireless data transfer only.
9. The robotic equipment is to be fully autonomous. Human operators are not permitted to enter any information into the equipment during a match, except at half time. The human operator should not directly control the motion of their robots with a joystick or by keyboard commands under any circumstances.
10. Each of the teams should have a provision for pausing the game and the motion of their navigators when called for by the referee.
11. It will be the participant's responsibility if there is any data misinterpretation of the arena image taken by the overhead camera due to the body of the machine.
12. Machine cannot be constructed using ready made Lego kits or any ready made mechanism. But you can make use of ready made gear assemblies and ready made wireless modules. Violating this clause will lead to the disqualification of the machine.
13. All the navigators have to work on the principle of image processing. Any sort of ambiguity will lead to immediate disqualification. Please confirm with the organizers about the validity of your procedure beforehand, via email.
14. Robots must be designed and programmed such that they avoid interference concerning the operation of communication devices. The participants must use multiple non interfering channels and these communication channels must be configurational.

Note: Teams should avoid using any kind of shiny material for robot surfaces. The organizers may exclude robots that do not conform this clause.

View the Rules »

4.1 Gameplay

4.1.1 Pre Game Setup
The participants will get 20 minutes of setup time for calibration and testing prior to the competition and according to a schedule that will be made available at the start of the event. In the setup time participants need to mount the camera, boot their computer and have the program ready for execution.

4.1.2 Game Procedure and Duration
This competition is a one on one match with two teams competing with each other at the same time.

1. The match will be divided into two halves of 3 minutes each with a 2 minute half-time break. Time duration of the total match will be 8 minutes. The half would end as soon as 3 minutes are over or if all the balls have been pushed into the goals.
2. The robots will be placed at the start zones as shown in the Figure 1, in the beginning of each half.
3. None of the two navigators can enter in its penalty area (the enclosed area near the opponent's scoring goal post) at any point of time.
4. A robot is considered to be inside the penalty area if any part of it overlaps or goes beyond the penalty area line.
5. Any navigator must not enter its scoring goal area while shooting or kicking the ball.
6. During a half, the ball scored will not be replaced inside the arena.
7. Any ball which stops inside the goal area at either side will be considered as dead and will be replaced randomly inside the arena.
8. Any ball that is in the possession of a machine at the end of the first half would be placed randomly in the arena for the second half. At the end of first half, all the 4 balls will be randomly placed inside the arena.
9. At any point of time the navigator can take feedback from the overhead or on-board camera of the machine for navigation. However, it is advisable to use the overhead camera.

Note: The actual colors on the arena may be slightly different from the ones specified, due to ambient light and texture of materials. Time slots, prior to the day of competition, would be given to the participants to calibrate their machines to the available light conditions in the arena.

4.1.3 Time Out

1. If, due to some unintentional reason, the two machines collide with each other and are unable tomove any further, then the run time would be paused and the machines would be placed at their respective reset zone.
2. No time outs are allowed during the run. All the changes (if any) should be made during the 2 minutes break (half time break.

4.1.4 Disqualification

1. Any machine deliberately trying to harm or block the other machine will result in the disqualification of the team for that half. In such cases, a yellow card (a warning) and then finally a red card (disqualification) would be given to the team in accordance with the severity of the foul committed. The judges' and the organizer's decision shall be final in such cases.
2. Robots that cause damage to the field or the ball during normal game play can be disqualified.
3. Any team that cause deliberate interference with robots or damage to the field or the ball can be disqualified.
4. It is expected that the aim of all teams is to play a fair and clean game.
5. In case a team gets disqualified then it would be removed from the arena for that half and the other team would get a clear run for the rest of the time left in that half. The balls in the possession of the bots at the time of disqualification of the first team can be placed anywhere in the arena in accordance with the wish of the second team. The positions of the second team's bots will be the same as that just before the first team was disqualified.

4.1.5 Penalty

1. If any of the navigator enters the penalty area of its defending side, the referee will call for a defending foul and the violating machine will be replaced to the nearest starting zone with a penalty of 5 points. The game would remain paused for this procedure and the position of other navigators will remain the same. The balls which were in possession of other navigators will be restored to the respective navigators.
2. If any of the navigators commits defending foul twice in a half, it will be disqualified for that half and will be removed from the arena.

4.2 Scoring System

1. A goal shall be scored when the ball crosses the goal post.
2. There would be four balls of same dimensions and colour each carrying 10 points.
3. If a team scores a self goal (team puts the ball in the wrong goalpost) then 5 points penalty (5 points will be deducted from the final score of the team which scores a self goal) will be imposed on the team and the ball will not be replaced.

4.3 Advancement to the Next Round

1. Only the best teams, in terms of points, will be short listed from the first round for the next round. The rounds thereafter will be based on knockout pattern.
2. A team should score at least one goal in the first round to advance to the next round.
3. In case of odd number of teams, the team left out would have a match with the last team (in terms of points) shortlisted for the next round to decide the team that would eventually advance to the next round.
4. In case of a tie in terms of points, the team which would have scored its respective last goal earlier would be the winner. For example, if the final score is 20-20, then the team that reached to 20, before the other team, would be the winner.

4.4 General Rules

Organizers will be not responsible for any minor scratches left by the previous machines on the arena.

1. Any team that is not ready at the time specified will be removed from the competition automatically.
2. The machines would be checked for their safety before the run and would be discarded if found unsafe for other participants and spectators.
3. Participants should not dismantle their robots before the completion of the whole competition as the machines might need to be verified by the judges at a later stage to ensure that the participants have not violated any of the rules.
4. Judges' decision shall be treated as final and binding on all.
5. The organizers reserve the right to change any or all of the above rules as they deem fit. Change in rules, if any, will be highlighted on the website and notified to the registered participants.
6. Teams that intend to use computers provided by the organizers are requested to bring virus free pen drives; CD's won't be allowed. Failure to bring virus free storage device may lead in disqualification of that particular team.

4.5 Team Specification

A team may consist of a maximum of 4 members. Students from different educational institutes can form a team.

4.6 Eligibility

All students with a valid identity card of their respective educational institutes are eligible to participate in FREEKICK at Techfest 2010.

4.7 Certificate Policy

1. Certificate of Excellence will be awarded to all winners.
2. Certificates of Participation will be given to all the teams that are able to score at least one goal in this competition at Techfest 2010. The teams which get disqualified due to disobeying any of the competition rules, will not be considered for the certificate.

4.8 Accommodation

1. Due to the limited accommodation facilities, teams will be short listed for accommodation based on the following abstract provided by the team. Please note that even if your abstract does not get short listed, you are still eligible to participate in the competition.
2. All participants who want accommodation at IIT Bombay during Techfest should fill the abstract form and rename the .doc file as "<Team_no>.doc" and email the form to freekick[at]techfest[dot]org. The abstract should reach us latest by 2359 hrs on 25th December 2009. No more requests for accommodation will be entertained thereafter.
3. Click here to download the abstract format.

Register here for FreeKick

5.1 Resources

To view the tutorial for FreeKick click here

This competition will require the computer to talk to two bots wirelessly. We recommend you look at the modules available here

.