Welcome to the Virtual Rescue Robots Wiki!

RoboCup Rescue Simulation League and Virtual Robot Competition

The RoboCup Rescue Simulation League is a socially relevant part of the RoboCup event. Its main purpose is to provide emergency decision support by integration of disaster information, prediction, planning, and human interface.

The purpose of this competition is to provide a common benchmark to demonstrate scientific progress in the application of robotics to Urban Search and Rescue. The rules of this competition are loosely inspired by the rules of the RoboCup Rescue Robot League and of the Agent Competition of the RoboCup Rescue Simulation League. As in the Rescue Robot League, a devastated area has to be explored for victims by a team of robots controlled by an operator. Compared to the Rescue Robot League, the focus is on exploring larger areas with multiple robots rather than the mobility of individual robots. As in the Agent Competition, the disaster situation is not known before a competition run. The main difference between the two simulation competitions is our focus on realistic sensory and actuation in addition to planning.This year, technical challenges will be started. These challenges are entry competitions for the step uppers from RoboCup Junior to Major competition.

As in the Rescue Robot League, a devastated area has to be explored for victims by a team of robots controlled by an operator. Compared to the Rescue Robot League, the focus is on exploring larger areas with multiple robots rather than the mobility of individual robots. As in the Agent Competition, the disaster situation is not known before a competition run. The main difference between the two simulation competitions is our focus on realistic sensory and actuation in addition to planning.

The Virtual Robot Competition is based on ROS/Gazebo, an advanced robot simulator in which users can simulate multiple agents whose capabilities closely mirror those of real robots. ROS/Gazebo currently features several ground and air robots, as well as a wide range of sensors and actuators. Moreover, by exploiting ROS, users can easily develop their robot systems integrating standard modules.

Currently addressed research topics include but are not limited to

  • Human-robot interfaces
  • Autonomous navigation
  • Sensor fusion
  • Image processing
  • Speech processing
  • 2D and 3D mapping
  • Distributed planning
  • Distributed learning

Purpose

In this wiki is intended to be a step by step guide for learning how to work with virtual rescue robots. First, the features you need to set up your PC are discussed. Then you can go through the step to step quick guide to see how to operate the robots. Furthermore, you will see how to bring up the map, start navigation and exploration.

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