CIRC 2020 Rules and Guidelines

All participation in the 2020 Canadian International Rover Challenge is subject to the following rules. The set of rules posted on this page is the sole official rule set and is subject to change. Any issues not covered by these published rule sets will be addressed on a case-by-case basis by the CIRC Organizing Committee. Questions may be submitted to [email protected].

Competition Rules

General

TIME AND PLACE
1. The 2020 Canadian International Rover Challenge (CIRC 2020) will commence on August 7, 2020 at the Badlands Community Facility in Drumheller, Alberta.
2. Teams should arrive and register with competition organizers between 10:00 and 17:00 MDT.
3. The first competition tasks will begin at approximately 21:00. CIRC 2020 will conclude during the afternoon of August 10, 2020.
INVITATION
1. Entry into CIRC 2020 is limited and subject to the approval of the organizing committee.
2. Interested teams should submit a formal expression of interest using a form available on the CIRC website (circ.cstag.ca) in order to be considered.
3. Invited teams must pay the non-refundable registration fee of $350 CAD to confirm entry into the competition.
VISAS
1. All international teams requiring visas for entry into Canada should have submitted visa applications by March 1, 2020.
2. Teams requiring letters of invitation from CIRC must pay in advance for expedited or tracked delivery if requested.
TEAM CLASSIFICATION
1. Participating teams will be classified as either “competition” teams or “exhibition” teams.
2. Competition teams consist of secondary or post-secondary students, optionally accompanied by non-student advisors who may not directly participate in rover design, construction, or operation.
3. Exhibition teams are not required to be composed of students, are not scored, and are exempt from several of the rules below.
4. Competition teams will retain priority access to event facilities and task sites.
5. Competition teams may elect to reclassify as exhibition teams at any time subject to organizer approval.
FACILITY USAGE
1. During the competition teams should store, work on, and test their rovers at the Badlands Community Facility.
2. The facility will be supervised and open to teams 24 hours per day.
3. The facility will be open to the public during normal business hours.
4. Teams are encouraged to interact with each other and the public, and must behave in a fashion which reflects well upon their institution and the competition.
5. Guidelines will be released in advance of the competition regarding building services, including food preparation in the building.
6. See the team resources page for more information about the facility.
CUSTOMS
1. International teams are responsible for ensuring that all team members and rover components are admissible into Canada.
2. Information regarding border crossings can be found on the Canadian Border Services Agency website (http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/menu-eng.html).
3. If in doubt, teams should contact CBSA in advance or plan on purchasing parts in Canada before the event begins.
AIRCRAFT
1. No aircraft may communicate with the rover or rover operators, or be used to aid completion of rover tasks.
2. Pilots must remain outside of the base station during competition tasks.
3. Any person operating an aircraft must understand and comply with all Canadian aviation regulations and local laws.
4. While CIRC takes no responsibility for teams’ use of aircraft, an informational guideline is available on the CIRC website.

Rover

MASS
1. Competition teams must attempt competition tasks using a single, self-contained, ground-based rover, which should have a mass below 50kg.
2. The rover should be transportable by two team members without the use of a wheeled cart.
3. Each full kilogram rovers are below 50 kg at the beginning of each task results in a 1% score bonus for that task; for each full kilogram above 50 kg, a 1% penalty will be applied.
4. Rovers weighing over 70kg will not be permitted to operate at task sites due to safety and environmental concerns.
TIME
1. Competition team rovers should be able to operate continuously for at least one hour (typical task duration).
2. Task durations may vary between 45 minutes and 4 hours. Servicing of the rover or swapping batteries is permitted during interventions.
3. At least one hour of downtime will be provided between tasks.
CONDITIONS
1. Competition team rovers must be capable of operating within the terrain and weather conditions which may naturally occur during a competition task, including rain, mud, darkness, etc.
2. In the event of rain, at the judge’s discretion a rain shelter may be carried by team members to protect the rover during tasks.
3. Tasks may be postponed due to inclement weather at judge’s discretion. In some circumstances rescheduling of tasks may not be possible due to time constraints.
4. A team that has not completed a task and cannot be rescheduled will receive 0 points for that task.
5. Site terrains vary between naturally compacted soil and loose ground. Some sites may include vegetation.
DESIGN
1. Rovers must be substantially designed, built, and programmed by team members. The use of complex off-the-shelf modules is discouraged.
2. Competition team rover systems must be conceptually suitable for operation on Mars.
3. Rover components are not required to be space-grade.
SAFETY
1. The construction and operation of all rovers must comply with the CIRC Rover Safety Requirements unless an exemption has been granted.
2. Exemptions may be granted on a case-by-case basis by submitting a request to [email protected], including the problematic requirement and proposed alternative.
3. Rovers will be subject to safety compliance inspections by organizers whenever the rover is operational. Teams must resolve any issues to the satisfaction of the inspecting organizer before continuing operation.
4. All rovers will be required to pass an initial safety compliance inspection at some point between registration and the start of their first competition task.
5. Sufficient evidence (such as schematics, datasheets, calculations) of safety compliance must be provided to competition organizers by June 8th.
6. Teams may submit partial or full documentation at any time before the deadline to be reviewed for compliance.
COMMUNICATIONS
1. All rover communications systems and use thereof must comply with all applicable Industry Canada Regulations (http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/h_sf06128.html).
2. Any team found to be operating equipment in contravention of these regulations, or in a manner which maliciously interferes with other teams’ activities, will be disqualified.
3. Teams must submit a communications report describing their wireless communications hardware by June 8th, 2020. Teams must operate within frequency assignments specified by CIRC organizers which will be provided at the beginning of the competition.
  1. Teams operating in the 900Mz band must be able to restrict transmission to a single one of the three following bands: 902-910MHz, 911-919MHz, 920-928MHz.
  2. Teams operating in the 2.4GHz band must be able to restrict transmission to a single 20MHz band corresponding to Wi-Fi channel 1, 6, or 11.
  3. Teams operating in the 5.8GHz band must be able to restrict transmission to a 20MHz or 40MHz band corresponding to Wi-Fi channels 52-144.
4. The use of interference-tolerating protocols and cooperation between teams is strongly encouraged.
5. We will reserve some channels in the 5.8GHz band for use of competition related infrastructure. Teams are not to operate in these channels without prior approval from the organizers.

AUTONOMY
1. Rovers are not required to operate autonomously.
2. Tasks may award additional points based on the degree of autonomy demonstrated.
3. Autonomous operation is defined as the rover fully completing a scored task requirement without any input from a rover operator.
4. A guideline document outlining GPS and machine vision markers expectations will be released soon.

Task Participation

JUDGING
1. Task site judges are the final authority on task rules and procedure, and may impose penalties for flagrant or repeated violations.
SCORING
1. Each competition team will be scored for each task according to a rubric available from the competition website: CIRC 2020 Scoring Rubric (pending).
2. Final task scores will be rounded to the nearest whole number.
3. The lowest achievable score for each task is zero.
4. Teams may submit written appeals regarding task scores to [email protected] within one hour of receiving formal notification of their score.
5. The competition team with the highest total score after all tasks are over and all appeals are resolved shall be declared the winner of CIRC 2020.
SETUP AND TAKEDOWN
1. Teams will have 15 minutes of setup time to prepare their rover and base station at each task site.
2. Teams may not unload equipment at the task site until a task judge has indicated that setup time has begun.
3. Teams’ task time begins when the setup time expires, and will not be delayed if setup is ongoing.
4. After the task is over, teams will have 10 minutes of takedown time to clear all of their equipment from the task site.
5. Teams which have not cleared the task site by the end of their takedown time may be penalized at a rate of 1 point per minute.
BASE STATIONS
1. A Base Station will be provided at each task site which will consist of a partially enclosed trailer or tent.
2. Base stations will be supplied with electrical power (120V 60Hz nominal, 850W max).
3. Competition teams must operate their rovers from within the base station at all times during tasks such that the rover is not visible to the operators.
ANTENNA SITES
1. A location for the placement of team radio equipment at each task site will be designated within 25m of the base station.
2. All competition team equipment used for rover operation must be set up either within the base station or at the antenna site.
3. Sufficient 14 AWG power extension cord will be provided to connect the base station to the antenna site, and teams may supply additional cabling if required.
4. A simple antenna mast will be provided at this location, and its specifications may be found on the competition website at the links below. Teams may substitute their own antenna mast, but its height must not exceed 4m.
  1. Antenna Stand Assembly
  2. Antenna Mount
SITE ACCESS
1. Only two team members will be permitted to accompany CIRC organizers into the task area during task time.
2. Team members following the rover should maintain a 5m following distance and refrain from any action which could be interpreted as communication with the rover operators.
3. Additional team members should remain within the base station or spectate from outside the task area as defined by the judges.
4. Rover operators must not communicate with spectators.
INTERVENTIONS
1. An intervention allows competition teams to repair the rover during task time, or judges to interrupt problematic behaviour.
2. Competition teams may not touch or interfere with the rover during a task except during an intervention.
3. Any judge or team member at the task site may call an intervention, at which point the rover’s kill switch will be pushed and it will be carried back to the task starting area.
4. During an intervention, team members may freely repair or test the rover, but must not discuss any details of the task or task area which could aid rover operators.
5. If judges feel that inappropriate communication has taken place during an intervention, a 20% score penalty will be applied.
6. If any interventions are called during the task, a single 10% penalty will be applied to the final task score.

Autonomy Guidelines

All tasks will require some autonomous operation to achieve full points.
No tasks will require autonomous operation for completion. Each task can be completed only through manual operation, but a full score will not be awarded.
Teams must declare when they are entering autonomous mode for any actions taken autonomously to receive full points.
During autonomous operation, no team member may touch the rover controls or operations computers. After doing so no actions will be considered autonomous until autonomous operation has been stopped and restarts.
1. This includes any form of input to the controls or operations computers, even if they do not have an effect on the rover’s operation (eg. adjusting antenna steering, switching cameras, or mission planning).
2. A separate computer not controlling the rover is allowed to be used during autonomous operations for mission planning or similar tasks. This should be identified to the judge in the operations tent before the task begins.
The operators should notify the judge whenever a period of autonomous operation is ending. Otherwise rule 4 will be used.
For tasks requiring rovers to travel to a waypoint, the waypoint will be provided as GPS coordinates using the WGS 84 datum. Coordinates will be provided at the start of the tasks.
For tasks requiring fine waypoint accuracy, identification of objects, or interaction with objects, the waypoint or object will be designated using an Aruco machine vision marker.
1. The size, location, dictionary, and identification number of these markers will be posted along with the detailed task drawings.
2. Each marker ID number will appear only once in the competition.
3. The marker locations will be included in detailed task drawings such that their relative to positioning to important mechanical features is clear.
You may be asked to read off a status message autonomously from a screen. In this case, the status will be visible in a human-readable format, in addition to being visible as a QR code.
Examples of actions that can be completed autonomously may include but are not limited to:
1. Travel to within 3m of the waypoint at provided GPS coordinates.
2. Travel to within 1m of the tower labeled with Aruco marker #3, located at approximately these GPS coordinates.
3. Deposit the screwdriver into the bin underneath Aruco marker #4.
4. Connect to the trailer hitch, located 3 inches from Aruco marker #5 as shown on the trailer mechanical drawing.

Safety Guidelines

The purpose of this document is to define and enforce a minimum standard of rover design for all CIRC participants. This standard is intended to reduce the likelihood of rovers creating safety hazards or environmental damage. Rovers which do not comply with this document may be excluded from CIRC until all issues are resolved. Any questions or requests for exemptions should be directed to [email protected].

Definitions

The word “should” indicates a suggestion which may become a requirement in future competitions.
A Circuit is one or more electricity-consuming devices (and the connections between them) which draw current from a single power source through a common circuit protection element.
The Current Rating of a component is the manufacturer-published value indicating the maximum acceptable amperage consumed by the device in normal conditions. The current rating of circuit protection is the amperage above which it is designed to interrupt current flow.
Circuit Protection is a fuse or electromechanical circuit breaker which reliably interrupts excessive current flows through a connected circuit. Software-based solutions are insufficient. Motor controllers, power supplies, or other devices with current limiting capabilities are not sufficient for use as current protection.
A Kill Switch is a physical switch mounted on a rover which, when pressed down, causes the interruption of power to all rover systems until the switch is manually reset.

Requirements

Rovers must not include any flammable, environmentally damaging, or otherwise hazardous liquids or gases, except:
1. Within a permanently sealed component such as a battery;
2. Commercially-available lubricants as required by mechanical assemblies, where care is taken to avoid overuse and contamination.
Each rover must be equipped with at least one kill switch.
1. The pressable area of the kill switch must be at least 10 cm2 and red in color. Levers or toggle switches are not acceptable.
2. Kill switches must not be obstructed by a cover or sleeve which extends above the pressable surface, and must be mounted such that it will not be obstructed by other components during rover operation.
3. The kill switch should be mounted as near to the top of the rover as practical so it is easily accessible to nearby persons.
4. The circuit including the kill switch must include appropriate circuit protection, and the “break” or “disconnect” current rating of the kill switch must exceed the current rating of the circuit protection.
5. The function of the kill switch must not depend on the integrity of any power source or computerized system. Indirect switching by relays or similar devices is permitted as long as these are driven by the kill switch, and reliably turn off when their control line is disconnected.
6. The function of the kill switch must not depend on the integrity of any particular wiring connection; for example, physically tearing the kill switch of off the rover should produce the same effect as pressing it.
7. The function of the kill switch must not be disabled or bypassed by any means.
Each battery must include or be installed with a single circuit protection element which protects all circuits supplied by the battery.
1. The current rating of this protection must not exceed the lesser of:
  1. The current rating of the battery;
  2. 150% of the sum of the current ratings of all connected circuits.
2. This circuit protection must be installed as close as possible to the battery.
3. All wiring and connecting hardware between the battery and circuit protection must be fully secured and insulated such that no reasonable impact, vibration,loose object, or liquid could possibly create an unprotected short circuit.
4. If multiple batteries are used, each must have its own fuse according to these requirements. You may not connect multiple batteries without a circuit protection element per battery.
Each circuit must include separate circuit protection.
1. The current rating of this protection must not exceed the lesser of:
  1. The current rating of the circuit, or 2 Amps for lower-current circuits;
  2. The safe current-carrying capacity of connectors and conductors in the circuit. Use this document as an approximate guide for continuous current.
  3. The connections between your battery and any distribution board/panel are a circuit, and must be protected as such. Off the shelf battery management systems (BMSs) are allowable here, and are the only exception to the ban on protection systems that rely on software.
Ventilation and heat dissipation concerns should be considered when installing power sources, high-current devices, and high-current wiring. For electrical systems not inside waterproof containers, insulation and drainage should be considered.
Precautions against short circuits and electric shocks must be observed:
1. Each battery must be securely mounted to a suitable structural element of the rover, and should be protected against collisions during rover operation.
2. All electrical wiring and connections must be insulated, taped over, or securely mounted within enclosed rover bodywork.
3. All conductive objects within enclosed rover bodywork must be securely mounted to avoid contact with electrical connections.
4. Structural and mechanical elements of the rover should not be used as part of any electrical circuit.
5. All power sources should be disconnected before servicing rover electrical systems.
Sufficient documentation must be provided to prove the safety of your rover before you will be allowed to compete.
1. You may submit partial or full documentation at any time for review and approval by the organizers. We recommend submitting potential designs early in the process if you have any concerns about whether they are compliant.
2. You must submit a full copy of your documentation by June 8th, 2020 for review and approval. If your design is not compliant for this deadline, you will be allowed to revise and resubmit before a second deadline, to be determined on a case-by-case basis.
3. Upon arrival at the competition you will be required to submit a final hard-copy of your documentation, and your rover will be inspected for compliance to the requirements and consistency with the submitted documentation.
A complete circuit diagram (block-level schematic) of the rover, including all power sources, circuit protection, and power-consuming devices, must be presented at CIRC sign-in.
1. The documentation diagram should be updated to reflect ongoing changes during CIRC.
2. The A current hard copy of your documentation the diagram should must accompany the rover to CIRC tasks.
3. Related low-current devices on the same circuit may be grouped into black-box subsystems to reduce the complexity of the diagram.
4. Each power source, circuit protection element, circuit, and device/device group in your documentation on the diagram must be identified annotated with a short name and current rating.
5. Evidence of claimed current ratings must be provided in the documentation package. Acceptable evidence includes datasheets, industry standards, or test reports. Product pages or website screenshots are not acceptable. should be accessible to judges.
6. A block-level schematic must be included in the documentation, and The the layout of the schematic circuit diagram should reflect the physical layout of the rover wiring harness where possible.
7. Related low-current devices on the same circuit may be grouped into black-box subsystems to reduce the complexity of the diagram.
8. Each power source, circuit protection element, circuit, and device/device group in your documentation on the diagram must be identified annotated with a short name and current rating.
9. Evidence of claimed current ratings must be provided in the documentation package. Acceptable evidence includes datasheets, industry standards, or test reports. Product pages or website screenshots are not acceptable. should be accessible to judges.

Changes Since Last Year

Based on feedback and what we’ve learned from the 2019 competition, we’ve made a number of changes again this year:

We’ve clarified that rovers must be able to operate in the rain, and we don’t promise any accommodations due to weather. It is impossible to adjust scheduling around weather as the competition grows, and providing alternative tasks cannot be made fair from a scoring perspective.
We’ve brought forward our safety reporting deadlines and clarified that you can request a partial evaluation at any time.
The penalty for being over the mass limit has been reduced to align with the bonus for being under mass. A hard limit of 70kg still applies.
We’re introducing the first cooperative task this year, and so that we can mitigate communications interference we have added additional rules regarding configurability of rover communication infrastructure. Having multiple teams competing at once allows us to extend the task length, so we’ve added rulings on changing out batteries mid-task with an intervention.
Our livestream is expanding this year to cover all of our tasks. Expect your team to be filmed and streamed while at CIRC Central, in the field at tasks, and in the operations trailers. We have reserved additional channels of the 5GHz Wi-Fi spectrum to accommodate this expansion.