Robo One
Encyclopedia
Robo-One is a robot competition
category of bipedal humanoid robots. The first ROBO-ONE contest was held in Japan
in 2002 and consisted of an initial judged autonomous "Demonstration" stage, followed by one-on-one matches. In Japan, ROBO-ONE has spawned a whole series of related competitions including ROBO-ONE J, ROBO-ONE Special, ROBO-ONE Grand Prix, and the ROBO-ONE Technical Conference events. ROBO-ONE type contests have been held in several other countries including South Korea
(official) and the United states
(unofficial held by Robogames
).
The robots are usually built with RC Servos as actuators and mounted together with sheet metal
shapes. The most common frame material is aluminum. However, there have been entries constructed with steel, plastic, and even wood. Different sensors are used by the robot for balance and to perceive its surroundings. A small onboard micro controller or equivalent is used to control the robots movements and if the robot is autonomous it is also programmed to adjust the robots behavior in response to sensor inputs.
There have been fifteen competitions in Japan. ROBO-ONE 13 was held on March 22 and 23, at Korakuen Hall" in Takamatsu
. ROBO-ONE 14 occurred on October 11–12, 2008. ROBO-ONE 14 took place in at the Pacifico Yokohama Exhibition Hall. ROBO-ONE 15 was held in Kawasaki on May 4, 2009. ROBO-ONE 16 was held in Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture, on September 26–27, 2009. The 17th ROBO-ONE tournament took place in Kawasaki on March 21, 2010. A ROBO-ONE Festival was held May 22 at the Kawasaki City Industrial Promotion Hall. The festival included both ROBO-ONE Soccer and ROBO-ONE Light events. The 18th ROBO-ONE event was held in Shibata
, Niigata Prefecture
on August 28–29, 2010. The ROBO-ONE 19 the competitions scheduled for March 19th/20th in Kawasaki
have been canceled due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
.
With ROBO-ONE 11 (March, 2007), the concept of weight classifications was introduced.
ROBO-ONE type competitions in other countries typically follow the same general format and rules, but with modifications appropriate for the participants skill and ability levels.
Robot competition
A robotic competition is an event where robots have to accomplish a given task. Usually they have to beat other robots in order to become the best one.Most competitions are for schools but as time goes by, several professional competitions are arising....
category of bipedal humanoid robots. The first ROBO-ONE contest was held in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 2002 and consisted of an initial judged autonomous "Demonstration" stage, followed by one-on-one matches. In Japan, ROBO-ONE has spawned a whole series of related competitions including ROBO-ONE J, ROBO-ONE Special, ROBO-ONE Grand Prix, and the ROBO-ONE Technical Conference events. ROBO-ONE type contests have been held in several other countries including South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
(official) and the United states
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(unofficial held by Robogames
RoboGames
RoboGames is an annual robot contest held in San Mateo, California. The most recent RoboGames was held April 15–17, 2011.RoboGames is the world's largest open robot competition...
).
The robots are usually built with RC Servos as actuators and mounted together with sheet metal
Sheet metal
Sheet metal is simply metal formed into thin and flat pieces. It is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking, and can be cut and bent into a variety of different shapes. Countless everyday objects are constructed of the material...
shapes. The most common frame material is aluminum. However, there have been entries constructed with steel, plastic, and even wood. Different sensors are used by the robot for balance and to perceive its surroundings. A small onboard micro controller or equivalent is used to control the robots movements and if the robot is autonomous it is also programmed to adjust the robots behavior in response to sensor inputs.
There have been fifteen competitions in Japan. ROBO-ONE 13 was held on March 22 and 23, at Korakuen Hall" in Takamatsu
Takamatsu, Kagawa
is a city located in central Kagawa Prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan, and is the seat of the prefectural government. It is designated a core city by the Japanese Government. It is a port city located on the Seto Inland Sea, and is the closest port to Honshu from Shikoku island...
. ROBO-ONE 14 occurred on October 11–12, 2008. ROBO-ONE 14 took place in at the Pacifico Yokohama Exhibition Hall. ROBO-ONE 15 was held in Kawasaki on May 4, 2009. ROBO-ONE 16 was held in Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture, on September 26–27, 2009. The 17th ROBO-ONE tournament took place in Kawasaki on March 21, 2010. A ROBO-ONE Festival was held May 22 at the Kawasaki City Industrial Promotion Hall. The festival included both ROBO-ONE Soccer and ROBO-ONE Light events. The 18th ROBO-ONE event was held in Shibata
Shibata, Niigata
is a city located in Niigata, Japan.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 103,101 and the density of 194 persons per km². The total area is 532.82 km².The city was founded on January 1, 1947....
, Niigata Prefecture
Niigata Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Honshū on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The capital is the city of Niigata. The name "Niigata" literally means "new lagoon".- History :...
on August 28–29, 2010. The ROBO-ONE 19 the competitions scheduled for March 19th/20th in Kawasaki
Kawasaki, Kanagawa
is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, between Tokyo and Yokohama. It is the 9th most populated city in Japan and one of the main cities forming the Greater Tokyo Area and Keihin Industrial Area....
have been canceled due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
.
ROBO-ONE Events
- ROBO-ONE: The primary ROBO-ONE competitions take place twice a year, with the odd numbered competitions scheduled in the TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
area and the even numbered competitions staged in more remote locations to increase visibility and encourage participation in the sport.
The first day begins with pre-screening tests that insure the entries are capable of taking a number of steps (10 steps within 10 seconds), and rising from both a supineSupine positionThe supine position is a position of the body: lying down with the face up, as opposed to the prone position, which is face down, sometimes with the hands behind the head or neck. When used in surgical procedures, it allows access to the peritoneal, thoracic and pericardial regions; as well as the...
and prone positionProne positionThe term means to lie on bed or ground in a position with chest downwards and back upwards.-Etymology :The word "prone," meaning "naturally inclined to something, apt, liable," has been recorded in English since 1382; the meaning "lying face-down" was first recorded in 1578, but is also referred to...
s. This is followed by a 2 minute autononmous demonstration judged by a panel of experts - typically the key members of the ROBO-ONE organizing committee. The specific details of the scoring system used have never been publicly disclosed. Only the top scoring entries win the right to return for the second days matches.
The matches held on the second day are roughly based on K-1K-1K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...
boxing events with each robot trying to knock its opponent down, or out of the ring.
- ROBO-ONE J: A 'junior' level ROBO-ONE competition that usually featured smaller robots, and gave special emphasis to family participation. As of ROBO-ONE 11 (March, 2007) the ROBO-ONE J themes were combined into the primary ROBO-ONE competitions and ROBO-ONE J events were no longer staged.
- ROBO-ONE Special: Annual one day competitions featuring a set of 'special' challenges including a timed Dash, a ball toss, climbing a set of stairs, opening a door, and an obstacle course. As of August, 2006 the stair climbing and door opening challenges were combined into the obstacle course portion of the competition.
- ROBO-ONE Grand Prix: Each Winter eight to twelve of the top ROBO-ONE competitors participate in a series of matches held in different locations around Japan over a period of six to eight weeks. Points are awarded according to the win/loss records of each entry during the series.
- ROBO-ONE Technical Conference: An annual one day conference, typically held in Kawasaki, Japan, focused on sharing information and promoting the sport. Presentations include design lectures by the top builders as well as product and technology sessions from key manufacturers.
- ROBO-ONE In The Space: A special project officially announced by the ROBO-ONE committee at ROBO-ONE 9 (March, 2006) to stage ROBO-ONE competitions in low earth orbit by October, 2010.
- ROBO-ONE Soccer: A ROBO-ONE Soccer match was staged as a preliminary demonstration at the August, 2006 ROBO-ONE Special competition, and also during the September, 2006 ROBO-ONE 10 event in NagaiNagai, Yamagatais a city located in Yamagata prefecture, Japan.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 29,959 and the density of 140 persons per km². The total area is 214.69 km².The city was founded on November 15, 1954...
in Japan. The ROBO-ONE committee has scheduled the first official ROBO-ONE Soccer competition for August, 2007 at the Panasonic Center facility in Tokyo.
Specifications
Early ROBO-ONE specifications were deliberately minimal to encourage as much participation as possible. As the robots' performance has improved, the specifications have been tightened to keep the focus on 'humanoid robotics'. For example, the foot/sole size in relation to the robots overall size has been incrementally decreased for recent competitions.With ROBO-ONE 11 (March, 2007), the concept of weight classifications was introduced.
Rules
Competition rules vary based on the specific event, and have evolved over time as the robots ability has improved. The ROBO-ONE committee publishes the official rules in Japanese for each competition roughly two months in advance.ROBO-ONE type competitions in other countries typically follow the same general format and rules, but with modifications appropriate for the participants skill and ability levels.
Robo-One Kits
Competition level ROBO-ONE entries are typically custom designs, but have often been based in part on commercially available kits.- Bioloid by Robotis
- KHR-1KHR-1The KHR-1 is a programmable, bipedal humanoid robot introduced in June 2004 by a Japanese company Kondo Kagaku. At the time of its introduction it was one of the least expensive programmable bipedal robots . The robot is 34 cm high and has 17 degrees of freedom...
and KHR-2 by Kondo Kagaku - Robonova-1 by HitecHitecHitec is a company based in South Korea that manufactures radio control devices, including transmitters, receivers, servos, electronics and model aircraft. Later products include robotics, servos with Karbonite gears and the Robonova--a humanoid robot accepted in the Robo one robot competition....
- Manoi AT01 and Manoi PF01 by KyoshoKyoshois a model car company based in Tokyo, Japan. The brand operates internationally under the name KYOSHO. The company's main office is located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and the production headquarters are located in Atsugi, Kanagawa....
External links
- Biggest collection of Robot Fight Videos
- Official ROBO-ONE Japanese page (In Japanese) (Translated into english with google)
- Official ROBO-ONE Korea page (In english)
- Unofficial ROBO-ONE rules (Translated by Duncan Lowne) - covers the ROBO-ONE rules as of September, 2006
- RoboSavvy ROBO-ONE Community (English)
- Robots Dreams robotics blog from Japan that features ROBO-ONE reports and videos (English)
- RoboGames US competition held annually in San Francisco with some ROBO-ONE type events