Rules & Regulations

The tournament is divided into a number of categories. These categories are defined based on the design and complexities involved in the implementation of the hockey robotics systems.

Category A (Novice League)
Category B (Expert League)
Category C (Simulation League)

Category A

A1: In this category, each team has only one robot which is placed on the smallest sized air-hockey table.


  • The robot size should be confined to 10cmX10cmX10cm volume.
  • The robot should be able to translate and rotate in any directions on the table.
  • The robot should have a shooting mechanism for aiming and hitting the puck across the table.
  • The control action is through tethered connection through a manual hand controller.
  • The game is for each robot to carry and hit the puck across to the opponent’s side.
  • The robot is not allowed to cross the half way mark for scoring.
  • The initial puck procession is determined by flipping a coin.
  • The winning are based on the scores within a given time frame or the total possession/play of the team.
  • Human intervention is allowed through the recommendation of the referee.

A2: This category is similar to A1 with the only difference is that each robot should also be equipped with the puck retrieving mechanism. This mechanism should enable the robot to fetch the puck from places where shooter is unable to hit the puck and requires the player’s intervention.

A3: This category is similar to A2 with the following added features:

  • Each team has two robots.
  • Each robot is controlled through a wired hand-controller (total of 3 human operator on each team).
  • The scoring must be done through passing.
  • The robots should not cross the half-way mark.

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Category B

B1: This category is similar to Category B1 with the following added features:

  • Each two robots are controlled through single hand-controller (one human operator for each team).
  • Hand controller transmitting information to the robots through wireless communication link.
  • The robot can cross the half-way mark.

B3: This category is similar to Category B1 with the following added features:

  • Each team should have access to over-head camera(s).
  • Each robot should have uniform color patterns based on some pre-selected template.
  • Each team control strategies are implemented through the wireless communication link.
  • The game strategies are defined by processing the information obtained through the camera(s).

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Category C

C1: This category is similar to B2 except it is implemented in the mechanics-based graphical engine and usage of standard gaming joy-stick. Each team should design an interactive game where the virtual hockey game environment will be judge by the usability and realism of the physics involve in such game. Each team is controlled through one human operator. (Human vs. Human)

C2: This category is similar to C1 except the game should be played against an automated game engine on the opponent’s side. The human operator should be able to control up-to three robots through a single game controller. (Human vs. CPU (competitive AI))

C3: This category is similar to C2 except players on both sides can play in cooperation with the automated game strategies. The automated game engine should cooperate with the user control action of the robots for placing and coordinating other team-mates for possible offensive or defensive plays. (Human + CPU vs. Human + CPU (cooperative & competitive AI).

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