[robocup-small] RoboCup 2019: Rule Changes

[Christian Lobmeier]

Hey everyone,

In this second mail I'll talk about some of the rule changes this year.
Like I mentioned in the first email, the changes are mostly minor. The
focus for the RoboCup 2019 lies on making the game quicker and more
streamlined while fixing some inconsistent rules. For reference, the rules
can be found here: https://robocup-ssl.github.io/ssl-rules/sslrules.html

*Hardware Changes:*
Chapter 3.2.3: Dribbling devices that transfer a non-horizontal spin to the
ball are permitted.
Rationale: This rule intended to prevent curved shots. Since curved shots
are possible even with horizontal spin axes and the past two RoboCup events
have shown that curved shots are not unfairly strong but rather a technique
worth exploring, this restriction is lifted.

*Robot Handler:*
Chapter 4.2.1: The robot handler is responsible for the game preparation
(coin toss, choosing keeper id, ...) and signs the game result sheet.
Rationale: Having only one contact person per team and match makes it
easier for the referee.

*General Game Structure:*
Chapter 4.4.1: Playing times in overtimes are adjusted.
Rationale: We forgot it this year and we are sorry about that.

Chapter 4.4.3: The 10-0 early termination rule changes from a 10 goal
advantage to 10 goals shot.
Rationale: Ending the game 11-1 was more advantageous in group stage
matches than a 10-0, thus scoring own goals was a valid strategy.

*Free Kicks:*
Chapter 5.2.3: The distance to field lines is doubled for all free kick
positions.
Rationale: The distance to the field lines has to be larger than the
tolerance radius of the automatic ball placement.

Chapter 5.2.4: Scoring a goal from a indirect free kick requires a second
ball contact of an attacking robot.
Rationale: Direct goal shots from indirect free kicks won't count as a goal
any more even if the ball touches the keeper before entering the goal.

*Penalty:*
Chapter 5.2.6: The match continues after a penalty shot.
Rationale: The previous rules would have intended a dropped ball instead if
the ball does not cross one of the field lines.

*Automatic Ball Placement:*
Chapter 5.4.1: The process got reworked.
Rationale: The goal is to make the ball placement procedure a lot faster by
cutting out waiting times.

Chapter 5.4.1: The stop speed limit does not apply to automatic ball
placement any more.
Rationale: This allows for faster placement procedures. Since the ball
speed limit is in place to protect the human referee, it is not necessary
here.

*Offenses:*
*Note: All offenses are categorized into 3 groups to make it more
consistent: Minor offenses, Fouls and Unsporting Behavior*.* This
inevitably means that the sanction of some offenses changed. Please read
chapter 8 of the rules for a complete list of offenses and the resulting
sanctions.*

Chapter 8.1.1: The aimless kick rule is no longer applied in division A.
Rationale: Because of the increased field size and the reduced ball speed,
stray balls are easier to catch for division A teams. Also, placing the
ball after aimless kicks automatically took a lot of time.

Chapter 8.1.2: Lack of progress: Not shooting the free kick in time now
results in an indirect free kick for the other team instead of a force
start.
Rationale: All rule infringements related to being unable to bring the ball
into play (lack of progress, double touch, ...) are sanctioned equally.

Chapter 8.1.2: The maximum allowed time to bring the ball into play is
reduced to 10 seconds for division B and 5 seconds for division A. (It was
15 seconds)
Rationale: This reduces the time wasted while the ball is out of play.
Also, in division A, everyone knows which team will be allowed to shoot the
next free kick because of the automatic ball placement. So complex move
patterns and positional changes are still possible, as long as they don't
interfere with the ball placement.

Not in the rules any more: Touching an opponent inside the own defense area
no longer results in a penalty
Rationale: This rule is not relevant since the attacking robot is not
allowed to touch the ball in the defense area any more

Chapter 8.2: Every third foul will result in a yellow card. There is a
single counter that increases whenever a team commits a foul regardless of
the type of foul.
Rationale: This makes it a lot easier to remember, understand and keep
track of during a match. The "every third' is the same as the yellow card
to penalty escalation rule.

Chapter 8.2.1: The minimum 0.2m distance to the opponent defense area also
applies to stop.
Rationale: This ensures that the defenders have enough time to set up a
defense

Chapter 8.2.3: The match continues when robots crash with similar speed.
Rationale: It's not necessary to stop the game and continue it with forced
start. The foul counter of both teams will still be increased.

Chapter 8.2.4: Pushing is independent of the ball
Rationale: Although most pushing offenses occur in duel situations, the
ball does not necessarily have to be between the robots for pushing to
happen.

Chapter 8.2.6: Tipping over or dropping parts now counts as a foul
Rationale: It's easily avoidable and it's a safety issue. Note that the
human referee has to call this foul since the AutoRef cannot detect it.

Chapter 8.3.3: Showing lack of respect is defined as unsporting behavior
Rationale: The robot handler is the only one that is allowed to talk to the
referee. The referee is encouraged to punish the team if other people annoy
or try to start discussing with people holding impartial roles.

Chapter 8.4: If an offense happens while the ball is out of play, the free
kick type and position will not be overridden.
Rationale: Imagine the following example: Team A will shoot a corner kick.
A robot of team B crashes into the defense of team A. According to the old
rules, the corner kick would have been cancelled and a direct free kick
would be awarded for team A at the point the collision happened. To render
such exploits impossible, this rule is introduced.

*Robot Substitution*
Chapter 9: Robot substitution is refactored
Rationale: It now incorporates the new Game Controller and the optional
team protocol

Chapter 9: Robot substitution requires the match to be halted.
Rationale: Halt no longer is an emergency-only referee command. Halt will
be used whenever humans have to interfere with the robots on the field (the
vision needs to be recalibrated, a robot tips over, drops parts or has to
be exchanged).



Please note that even though a lot of work has already gone into the rules,
there's still a lot of time left until the RoboCup in Sydney. So some of
the rules may still change until then. If you have any kind of feedback or
suggestions or you find some of the rules inconsistent, misleading or
unclear, please let us know!

Best,
Christian
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