[robocup-humanoid] V-HSC Newsletter 3

[Ludovic Hofer]

Dear Humanoid Teams,

This is the third Humanoid league newsletter which contains a large
number of updates.

It will present the following topics:

- Submission system opened
- Update of the GameController
- Simulator API and AutoReferee
- 3rd draft of the rule book
- 2nd draft of the specifications for the robot model
- 2nd draft of the API for communication with the simulator
- 1st version of the infrastructure specifications
- Extension of the TC

# Submission system opened
==========================

The submission system for the Virtual Soccer Competition is now open and
you can already register at <https://submission.robocuphumanoid.com>.

The schedule is the following:

- Registration deadline: *April 12th*
  - Teams are only required to register basic information at this point.
- Teams receive the registration code for the official registration to
RoboCup 2021 after the submission deadline has passed.
- Upload of custom models: April 23rd
  - Teams who want to play with a custom robot model will need to upload
a first version of their model by then.

# Update of the GameController
==============================

The GameController of the Humanoid League is being updated to include a
version controllable via TCP/IP messages rather than by operating the
graphical interface.

You can test the current implementation on
<https://github.com/RoboCup-Humanoid-TC/GameController/pull/104>. While
there are still some advanced features that need to be added (e.g.,
yellow cards and free kicks), you can already test the preliminary basic
implementation.

In case you notice a problem, please open an issue on the official
repository.

# Simulator API and AutoReferee
===============================

Cyberbotics implemented a first version of the API which allows your
robot to connect to the simulator and receive sensor messages and send
control commands to the motors:
<https://github.com/cyberbotics/webots/pull/2888>

This version implements all the possible ways of communicating between
the robot except the JPEG compression for images. We expect it to be
stable so feel free to start integrating it into your software.

The development of the AutoReferee has also been started. In combination
with the new GameController it is now possible to start a game
automatically. While advanced features such as free-kicks are not ready
yet, the ball is already brought back to the field automatically and you
can start scoring goals.

Instructions on how to test this environment and get started are
available on the Webots repository:
<https://github.com/cyberbotics/webots/blob/feature-robocup-controllers/projects/samples/contests/robocup/README.md>


# 3rd draft of the rule book
============================

The 3rd draft of the rule book has been prepared and is now published on
<https://humanoid.robocup.org/materials/rules/>. It features the
following modifications:

- A forceful contact detection based on Simulation3D and adapted to take
into account some aspects of our league has been proposed
- Dropped ball was reintroduced to make sure games cannot get stuck. It
will be triggered if the ball has not been touched for the last 2 minutes.
- When robots touch the ball with their hand or their arm, it will
result in a removal penalty rather than a direct free kick.

Only minor adjustments are expected for the final version on April 19th.

# 2nd draft of the specifications for the robot model
=====================================================

The second draft of the specifications for the robot model is now
available at
<https://cdn.robocup.org/hl/wp/2021/04/v-hsc_model_specification_draft2.pdf>.

The document has significantly changed. It contains much more detailed
information and many examples to make understanding of the
specifications easier.

You will also find updated guidelines on how to create your robot model
along with some tools to make it simpler.

We expect to release the next update of this document with more details
on what files to upload during the submission process and how the robot
models will be reviewed on April 12th to allow teams to adapt to the
latest changes.

# 2nd draft of the API for communication with the simulator
===========================================================

The second draft of the API allowing the robot controller software to
interact with the robot models in the simulator is now available at
<https://cdn.robocup.org/hl/wp/2021/04/v-hsc_simulator_api_draft2.pdf>.

It now links toward the protobuf3 implementation of the protocol and
describes more in depth some of the elements, especially with respect to
the configuration file that should be provided by teams. An example of a
configuration file is also provided now.

The next version of this document is planned for April 19th and will
contain updates on the bandwidth limitations and update frequency based
on the performances of the chosen server infrastructure.

# 1st version of the infrastructure specifications
==================================================

We are now releasing a first version of the server specifications for
the virtual soccer competition:
<https://cdn.robocup.org/hl/wp/2021/04/v-hsc_server_specification_draft1.pdf>

This document describes the overall procedure that will be used to run
the games based on the robot models, configuration files and docker
images you need to provide to run the robot control software. It also
presents how you will be able to download the logs your control software
wrote during the games.

The next update planned for April 19th will include the choice of the
platform that we will use to run the competition. This will allow us to
update the specifications with more accurate description of the hardware
used to run the competition.

# Extension of the TC
=====================

Given the amount of work required to prepare and run the competition,
the trustees have allowed us to add an additional member to the TC. We
are particularly happy to welcome Alessandra Rossi from team Bold Hearts
in the Technical Committee.


We welcome all your questions and comments on the Discord channel and
the Forum.

Cheers,

Ludovic (for the Humanoid League Organizing Committee)



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