SCOPE

It is always a challenging task to compare approaches and methods in the field of (outdoor) robotics. In most cases results are reported only for a specific robotic system, problems are often solved in a specially defined environment, making the results difficult to evaluate. As one possible solution, robotic competitions have become a common method of assessing the performance of robotic techniques. They provide a context in which participants can evaluate their techniques under equivalent conditions. In particular, outdoor robotic contests with realistic scenarios add important elements to the evaluation of robotic systems, compared to artificially designed indoor competitions or standard laboratory tests. However, performance evaluation schemes must be carefully developed to avoid purely domain-specific tests. Thereby, the scheme still has to deliver an unbiased, consistent and objective assessment of a team’s performance. In addition, it is important to maximize the understanding and outcomes not only for researchers and technologists, but also for potential users. This session is aimed, especially, at professionally organized outdoor ground robot contests and should present lessons learned from large events like the DARPA Grand Challenges, the Australian MAGIC or the European ELROB trials. Relevant topics may include substantial technical and scientific outcomes of such competitions, benchmarking and evaluation issues, educational aspects, and future developments and improvements.

• Scientific outcomes gained from robot competitions
• Benchmarking and evaluation issues
• Educational aspects of robot competitions
• Important future developments for outdoor robot contests

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