3.4 Competition Sequence of Events
This section outlines the sequence of events for the Autonomy Challenge. The competition allows for days of practice, qualifying, semi-final, and finals runs.
3.4.1 OPTIONAL Pre-Qualification Attempt
Prior to the on-site competition, teams may attempt to pre-qualify their vehicle. The vehicle used to pre-qualify must also be the vehicle that is entered into the competition. A team that successfully passes the pre-qualification will automatically qualify for Semi-Finals and is not required to qualify on-site during the practice days of the competition. A team that chooses not to attempt pre-qualification or does not successfully pre-qualify, is required to complete a qualification run on-site (see Qualification Runs below).
3.4.1.1 How to Build Pre-Qualification Course
The approved pre-qualification course consists of:
Horizontal gate
Vertical marker.
The Gate is 6.6 ft (2 m) in length and is positioned 3.3 ft (1 m) below the surface of the water. The Gate can be any diameter and any color the team chooses. The Gate can be anchored to the floor by any means necessary (ex. using PVC elbows to create two vertical legs, with a line on each end to moor the Gate to the floor, etc.). The vertical Marker can be any diameter and any color the team chooses. It must be positioned 33 ft (10 m) beyond the Gate and must touch the floor and break the surface of the water. This makes it easy to verify the vehicle has maneuvered around the marker.
If a team is unable to build a course to meet these specifications, notify RoboNation for alternative instructions to attempt pre-qualification.
3.4.1.2 Pre-Qualification Maneuver
In a fully autonomous run, the vehicle must
submerge and start 9.8 ft (3m) behind the Gate,
pass through the Gate,
circle around the Marker, and
pass back through the Gate.
Everything attached to the vehicle must submerge with the vehicle (nothing floating on the surface). The maneuver is successful if this is all accomplished without breaching the surface. The entire run must be recorded from start to finish with no breaks in the video.
3.4.1.3 Submit Pre-Qualification Attempt Video
Teams can submit pre-qualification video attempts at the following link: robosub.org/pre-qual. This video is submitted to RoboNation for evaluation. Once evaluated, the team is notified of the results. If a team’s attempt is denied and the deadline for submissions has not passed, they may submit another attempt.
3.4.2 Practice Runs
Practice time slots are scheduled on an ad-hoc basis by the TD team during the practice days. Teams are provided as much practice time as the venue setup allows. Each vehicle must be cleared by the TD team with a mandatory safety inspection before it can enter a practice course. Teams can sign up for one 30-minute practice timeslot at a time. Once their timeslot has completed, the team is permitted to sign up for the next available timeslot for that practice day.
3.4.3 Qualification Runs
To advance in the competition, teams are required to complete a qualification run. On practice days, a team may request that their run be observed as a qualification run anytime during a team’s practice time. In order to successfully qualify, the vehicle must pass through the gate autonomously with everything attached to the vehicle submerging with the vehicle. Qualification allows the team to have two (2) time slots during the semi-finals days, one on the first day and one on the second day.
3.4.3.1 Wild Card Slots
For any team that has not qualified during the practice days, wild card slots may be available during the semi-finals days. Teams must first qualify (pass through the gate) before they are able to choose the next available wild card slot. Only one slot per day can be used by a non-qualified team.
3.4.4 Semi-Finals Round
There are two semi-finals days. Each qualified team is assigned one time slot on each day to perform the mission. Two of the practice courses are converted into semi-finals courses. Qualified teams are required to conduct a run in each of the two courses across the two semi-finals days. Twenty minutes before the beginning of their time slot, the team may enter the staging area near the launch site. At the beginning of their time slot, the team may move to the launch site.
3.4.4.1 Semi-Finals Timeslot
A team will have 20 minutes for their semi-finals timeslot. The first 5 minutes are for preparation (preparation time). During this period, the vehicle may not be deployed in the water. When the 5-minute limit has expired for the preparation time (or the team has waived the balance of the preparation time), officials begin the performance time clock once the vehicle is in the starting position. These competition minutes are for the vehicle to perform the mission. Once this period has begun, the team may ask to have their vehicle placed in the water to begin its run.
3.4.4.2 Vehicle Recovery / End of Run
The run continues until the performance time limit has expired, the team lead requests the end of the run, the judges order the termination of the run, or the vehicle breaches the surface. The judges may order termination of the run at their discretion. Once the judges order the end of the run, no further points may be scored. The judges’ decisions on the termination of the run are final. As long as a vehicle has passed through the gate, the performance time is stopped during the retrieval of the vehicle. The performance time resumes when the vehicle is back at the starting location. There are modifications to this for teams with multiple vehicles.
3.4.5 Finals Round
After the semi-finals round, the judges rank-order the teams based on the semi-finals scores and select the top teams to compete in the finals round. The point totals and ranking from the teams not selected for the finals are frozen. For the finals round, all point totals are set to zero.
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