Safe operations are a priority for the RoboBoat staff. All considerations to maintain safety for operators and the surrounding environment must be made. These guidelines are the minimum requirements for all teams and their vehicles during the competition.
All Radio Frequency (RF) equipment must be operated within the rules and regulations of the host country. This includes, but is not limited to, frequency, transmitting power, antenna height, etc.
ASV power systems must follow the safety rules and regulations of the host country as well as the team’s home country.
RoboBoat staff may suspend team operations at any time for safety considerations. The staff is not required to advise the team prior to the decision to terminate the run attempt. In all matters of safety, the decisions of the RoboBoat staff are final.
Before operating in the water, all systems must pass a safety inspection. This includes, but is not limited to:
A Safety Inspector completes a safety checklist, verifying successful operation of all safety features at each unmanned system launch.
Teams demonstrate compliance with all the requirements, to include identifying all actuators, and moving parts and their associated protection mechanisms (shrouds, etc.).
Verification of both kill switches’ operation (remote and physical). This is repeated each time a team enters the water.
Demonstrate On-board Kill Switch
Demonstrate Remote Kill Switch
Vehicle killed when transmitter loses link?
Teams are required to understand and follow battery safety best practices on the battery chemistry selected by the team. Lithium-ion chemistry batteries may become damaged and create a hazard if misused/abused, representing the greatest risk to people, facilities, and the environment. The following safety rules and requirements must be followed:
Teams will be required to attend a mandatory battery safety briefing prior to the start of the competition.
Teams must submit battery specifications, Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), and proper disposal procedures, sourced from the battery manufacturer for all batteries.
Teams must keep a hard copy of the battery safety documentation for all batteries in Team Village (onsite) at all times, for reference.
The ASV must comply with the kill switch requirements detailed below. The ASV must have two emergency stop systems, also known as ‘kill switches’ or ‘E-Stops’.
On-Board: A hard-wired, on-board, emergency stop system.
Off-Board: A wireless remote emergency stop, located off-board and on its own frequency and link.
Both systems must operate in a failsafe fashion (if any part of the system fails, the battery dies or is removed, the system must enter emergency stop) and upon activation of either system (on-board or off-board), the switch must instantaneously disconnect power from the vehicle’s thruster units. An example of how to implement this is shown in Figure 11. System should be designed such that power, to the thrusters, cannot be restored until the emergency switch is reset. Designs that do not remove power, but simply command the thrusters or thruster controllers to a stop state will not be approved.
The Technical team will conduct a detailed engineering and safety inspection including a team demonstration of the proper operation of all emergency systems. This includes the removal of the remote kill switch battery to prove it fails safe. Teams must be prepared to discuss the design and implementation of their fail-safe systems in detail.
All ASVs must have an onboard emergency stop capable of being actuated by personnel from a support craft. For personnel safety, the switch may be triggered from a distance by a wooden or plastic pole/paddle. Keeping this in mind, teams should select rugged and reliable components for their safety system.
A large, red button should be installed in such a way that safety personnel, from the support craft can easily actuate the button. The engage/disengage button should be red in color and have a ‘press to activate and twist/pull to reset’ feature. This button, momentary contact switch or not, should cut power to the thrusters immediately on actuation. The thrusters must remain in a powered-down state until the judge gives permission for the team to reinitialize the system. An example of a suitable button is shown in Figure 12 and can be found at .
All ASVs must be equipped with a portable, handheld, Wireless Emergency Stop controller. This controller must immediately (less than 2 seconds) disconnect power to the vehicle’s thruster units when activated or when power/battery is removed from the transmitter. This system must also meet the host country RF guidelines for frequency and transmit power. If the battery in the transmitter is removed, the system must also remove power from the thrusters automatically.
Vehicle have forward and/or aft tow line?
Any safety issues related to the propellers?
Any potentially dangerous protrusions?
Is everything properly secured to the system?
Is system properly protected from rain? (recommended)
Li-Po (Lithium Polymer) battery packs need cell level safety and balancing circuits.
Batteries must be shipped according to required shipping regulations based on battery weight/type. Note that most batteries are considered HAZMAT and must be shipped using HAZMAT regulations.
Each team must understand and follow their own country’s regulations as well as those of the host nation.
All batteries must be stored, used, and maintained in accordance with manufacturer guidelines.
Teams are required to inspect their batteries daily for signs of swelling, heat, leaking, venting, burning or any other irregularities.
Lithium batteries that become too warm during use or have become swollen or malformed must be removed from use and reported to the Technical Director.
Lithium batteries that do not hold a charge must be removed from use and reported to the Technical Director.
A team member must be present at all times to monitor charging batteries.
At the competition site, if any of the above battery conditions are observed, students must immediately notify the Technical Director or RoboBoat staff and provide the battery specifications and safety information.
At the hotel, if a battery irregularity occurs at any time, students must notify RoboNation’s Senior Events Manager, Cheri Koch immediately by phone at 850.642.0536 and provide the battery specifications and safety information.
Failed or failing Lithium-ion batteries must be handled in accordance with manufacturer’s safety and disposal guidelines. In the absence of specific guidelines, batteries must be placed in a LiPo safe bag, which must then be placed in a bucket, covered with sand, and placed in a designated safety zone.
Teams cannot change or replace batteries when ASV is in the water or while standing on floating docks.
The following is a list of minimal requirements for a vehicle to be permitted access to a course. Teams that arrive at the competition failing to meet the vehicle requirements will not be permitted on the course until the vehicle is modified to meet all requirements.
Autonomy: Vehicle shall be fully autonomous and shall have all autonomy decisions made onboard the ASV.
Buoyancy: The vehicle shall be positively buoyant.
Communication: The vehicle cannot send or receive any control information while in autonomous mode (to and from Operators Control Station).
Towable: The vehicle must have a multi-point tow harness installed at all times to allow staff to attach a rope and tow the vehicle through the water. Underslung harnesses will NOT be permitted.
Energy source: The vehicle must be battery powered. All batteries must be sealed to reduce the hazard from acid or caustic electrolytes. The open circuit voltage of any battery (or battery system) may not exceed 60Vdc.
Kill Switch: The vehicle must have at least one 1.5 inch diameter red button located on the vehicle that, when actuated, must instantaneously disconnect power from all motors and actuators. ()
Wireless Kill Switch: In addition to the physical kill-switch, the vehicle must have at least one remote kill switch that, when actuated, must instantaneously disconnect power from all motors and actuators. If the remote kill switch system is powered off or battery removed, vehicle must default to a state in which power is disconnected from all motors and actuators. ()
Propulsion: Any propulsion system may be used (thruster, paddle, etc.). However, all moving parts must have protection. For instance, a propeller must be shrouded.
Remote-controllable: The vehicle must be remote-controllable (tele-operated) to be brought back to the dock. If the remote controller is turned off (or power is interrupted), vehicle must default to a state in which all motors and actuators are automatically commanded to 0% thrust or an off state. Driving the vehicle through a laptop is STRONGLY discouraged.
Safety: All sharp, pointy, moving or sensitive parts must be covered and marked.
Size: The vehicle must fit within a six feet, by three feet, by three feet "box". (Any extensions from the hull can exceed these dimensions during a run.)
Surface: The vehicle must float or use ground effect of the water. Mostly submerged/flying vehicles are forbidden for use as primary autonomous platform.
Weight: The entire maritime system shall weigh less than 140 lbs.
A team may enter up to two vehicles into the competition. Along with the, teams who enter multiple vehicles must follow these specifications as outlined in this section.
Weight and Size: Each vehicle must adhere to the weight and size requirements. The thrust and weight of each vehicle is measured separately, and the scores are calculated per vehicle then combined for total score ().
Gate: At the start of a run, each vehicle must pass through the entry gate first before heading off for its desired task.
Run Time: A team may elect to kill one vehicle and bring it back to the shore. If one (or more) vehicles are still out on the course, the competition time continues to count down (think of them as a swarm). Any vehicle that has been killed is returned to the start location and can be redeployed at any time.
Time Stop: The competition timer is only stopped when the last vehicle out on the course is under remote control and returning to the shore. The timer starts again once this last vehicle has returned to the shore, or the first vehicle leaves the shore (starting its new run).
Inter-Vehicle Communication: Teams wishing to have communication between each vehicle are asked to post their method and frequencies on the RoboBoat Discord’s rb-technical-forum channel. Inter-vehicle communication and cueing of one vehicle by another is an advanced behavior that merits special points. If such behavior is executed, teams are required to present post-run supporting documentation (e.g., vehicle logs) to the judges.
Code of Conduct: All team members must abide by the RoboNation Code of Conduct while participating in the Competition. Failure to abide by this Code of Conduct at any point during the competition season may result in the disqualification of the team and/or participants from the Competition, components of the competition, the full competition, and/or future competitions. (Section 1.7: RoboNation Code of Conduct)
Vehicle Entry: Teams must build an ASV to compete and may enter up to two vehicles in the competition. (Section 5.3: Vehicle Requirements)
Rookie Teams: First-year teams are eligible to participate in RoboBoat without an ASV. These teams are expected to participate in Design Documentation and send representation on-site at the event as a learning experience. First-year teams must indicate this option in their registration form.
Vehicle Requirements: Teams that arrive at the competition failing to meet the vehicle requirements will not be permitted on the course, until the vehicle is modified to meet all requirements.
OCU Connection: During any Semi-Finals or Finals run the ASV and OCU computers must not connect or be open to connections from any source of communication from the internet or anywhere onsite other than equipment stationed in the course operating tents. This includes any LTE corrections used for communications or GPS corrections.
No Combustion: No combustion engines of any type may be used on the ASV.
ASV Safety: Prior to entering the Autonomy Challenge courses, teams must demonstrate the ability to operate their ASV safely.
Team Composition: Teams must be comprised of 75% or more full-time students. ()
Team Lead: One student member of the team must be designated as the “team lead”. The team lead must be conversationally fluent in English. The team lead, and only the team lead, will speak for the team during competition runs.
Attendance: Teams must have at least one representative present onsite at the competition venue during the competition hours (8:00 am – 5:30 pm) to be eligible for prizes. If teams cannot be onsite, they must notify RoboNation staff in a timely manner.
Orientation Attendance: Teams must have at least one representative present for the team orientation. Teams who miss orientation will not be permitted to deploy their ASV.
Daily Team Meetings: Team leads are required to attend daily team meetings conducted by the Technical Director.
Potential Damage: RoboNation is not responsible for any damage to a team’s ASV as a consequence of participating in the competition.
Competition Suspended: The officials may suspend the competition at any time they deem that it is required (i.e. for safety or security reasons).
Award Money: Only the student component of each team is eligible for award money.
Judge Decisions: All decisions of the judges are final. ()
Course Entry: Unless otherwise specified, no team member is allowed to enter the course at any time (this includes wading, swimming and diving as well as floats, boats, etc.) Competition officials are responsible for recovering lost vehicles. Officials make all reasonable efforts to recover a lost vehicle but cannot guarantee that they will be able to do so. All teams recognize that by entering the competition, they risk damage to or the loss of their vehicle. The judges, officials, hosts, and sponsors can take no responsibility for such damage or loss.
Course Boundaries: An Autonomy Challenge run will be terminated if the ASV interferes with course elements or crosses a course boundary through to a different course. This includes entangling, dragging, pushing, or damaging course elements or landscape.
The ability to avoid obstacles is a core capability for unmanned systems. Each buoy on the course represents an object to be avoided or approached in some way. In addition, obstacle buoys may be placed throughout the operating areas in an effort to provide a more representative real-world challenge.
This section includes detailed rules and requirements for the system developed to enter into the competition.
