RoboCup 2019: Rule Changes (June 2019)

Announcements
Hi teams, this year's RoboCup will be played with an entirely new set of rules. We've got some very valuable feedback from you that we incorporate to make the RoboCup games as enjoyable as possible for everyone. We're aware that there's only 3 weeks left until the RoboCup begins, so we try to keep the impact on strategies to a minimum. The most significant change is about the pushing rule. There were two offenses that count as pushing: 1. pushing a defender inside its own defense area 2. pushing any robot for more than 0.2 meters While the AutoRefs are capable of detecting the first one reliably, there have been a lot of false positives regarding the second offense. Additionally, 0.2 meters are quite a lot and some unsporting actions…
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RoboCup 2019: Preparation of league software

Announcements
Hi teams, its only a month till RoboCup and the preparation of the leagues software is slowing getting to a final state. I have two requests to you all: 1. Please check if your robot height is correctly defined in ssl-vision: https://github.com/RoboCup-SSL/ssl-vision/blob/master/robocup-ssl-teams.xml If not, write me your Robot Height until June 23. 2. This year, there will be large screens on each field with a status-board again. Please check, if your team logo is present and up-to-date: https://github.com/RoboCup-SSL/ssl-status-board/tree/master/src/assets/logos The logo must have a size of 512x512px. The status-board looks like this: https://tigers-mannheim.de/status-board/#/referee (though there is an updated version already). As you probably know already, we introduce a replacement for the refbox this year: The ssl-game-controller: https://github.com/RoboCup-SSL/ssl-game-controller At least one or two of your team members will get in touch with…
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RoboCup 2019 Qualification (3)

Announcements
First, all the qualification-related deadlines are now online: https://ssl.robocup.org/robocup-2019-qualification/. The registration dates have not been set yet. We will keep you up to date. Second, instead of oral ETDP presentations, every division A team must (and every division B team may) bring along a poster that illustrates the content of the paper. The poster must have a size of roughly one square meter (A0) and will be hung up in the RoboCup venue. Posters allow every participant to learn about other teams' ideas at any given time during the RoboCup, for example during lunch breaks, without having to sacrifice a lot of time.
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RoboCup 2019 Qualification (2)

Announcements
Just a quick reminder that the qualification material submission deadline is in less than three weeks, on the 29th of January anywhere on earth. The quality of the ETDP (division A) or TDP (division B) is an important factor when qualifying for the RoboCup SSL tournament. Please make sure that your submission contains information that is new and relevant for other teamsis understandable and explains the algorithms, decisions and thought processes in a comprehensible and descriptive waydescribes your approaches in a detailed manner to allow others to reproduce the results Details about what and how to submit the qualification material can be found on the SSL website: https://ssl.robocup.org/robocup-2019-qualification/ After the qualification material has been submitted, every team has to review three other (E)TDPs in a single blind peer review process.…
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RoboCup 2019 Qualification

Announcements, RoboCup 2019
We've got some information about the qualification process for the RoboCup 2019 in Sydney to share with you. First, the deadline for submitting the qualification material is the 29th of January 2019 anywhere on earth. Please make sure that you submit the material in time as no late submissions will be accepted. If you happen to need more time because of justified reasons, please ask for an extension before the 29th of January. Teams that do not submit in time won't attend the RoboCup in Sydney as a participant in the SSL. Second, all teams intending to participate in division A need to submit an ETDP, regardless of the placement in past RoboCup events. Division B teams only need to submit a regular TDP. Please make sure that the (E)TDP contains useful information for other…
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October 2018 Updates

Announcements
Yes, it's that time of year again. We, the members of the TC and OC have a lot to announce for the upcoming RoboCup in Sydney. First up, we've decided that we will adapt the so-called tick-tock model in the SSL. This means that there will be significant changes every second year, followed up by quality-of-life improvements the year after. Since 2018 has been a year with a ton of changes (especially for division A), 2019 will be a lot more tame. That said, what can you expect from this season? Discord There is a Discord server for the SSL. Some of you are already using it, but for those who missed it or forgot about it, here is the link: https://discord.gg/t724m8c. This Discord server is a communication platform for everyone in the…
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Rule Changes for RoboCup 2019

Announcements
In this second post, I'll talk about some of the rule changes this year. Like I mentioned in the first email, the changes are mostly minor. The focus for the RoboCup 2019 lies on making the game quicker and more streamlined while fixing some inconsistent rules. For reference, the rules can be found here on the Rules page. Hardware Changes Chapter 3.2.3: Dribbling devices that transfer a non-horizontal spin to the ball are permitted.Rationale: This rule intended to prevent curved shots. Since curved shots are possible even with horizontal spin axes and the past two RoboCup events have shown that curved shots are not unfairly strong but rather a technique worth exploring, this restriction is lifted. Robot Handler Chapter 4.2.1: The robot handler is responsible for the game preparation (coin toss,…
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July 2018 Update and League Roadmap

Announcements
The next RoboCup in Sydney is right around the corner, well, almost. So we've already met up to talk about the major changes for the upcoming RoboCup. A lot of these changes have already been discussed in the Open TC/OC meeting in Montreal, so you should already be prepared for what is going to come to the SSL. Discord We will use Discord as a form of communication in the SSL. If you have anything to share, discuss or ask, feel free to do so. To our knowledge, Discord is still available in all countries except for the UAE, so it's a more eligible alternative to the current Telegram group. All important information will still be sent via email. https://discord.gg/t724m8c(The invite link is permanent and also published in the SSL-Wiki: http://wiki.robocup.org/Small_Size_League)…
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