Opportunity brief
ROBO OCEANA 2027 – Amphibious Rescue & Recovery
Event Overview
Robo Oceana 2027 challenges participants to design and operate a self-powered hovercraft capable of navigating land and water to complete a simulated flood-rescue mission. Teams must retrieve rescue payloads, overcome obstacles, and transport them safely to designated evacuation zones within the allotted time.
Competition Structure
Round 0 – Demonstration
Teams must showcase their hovercraft's design and demonstrate its ability to maintain stability, navigate, and handle rescue payloads. Further submission guidelines will be announced by the organisers.
Round 1 – Main Event
Teams will operate their hovercraft in the physical arena to complete the rescue mission through the following stages:
- Land Navigation: Traverse smooth and rough surfaces and enter the water arena through one of two routes.
- Water Navigation: Avoid floating obstacles and navigate simulated currents while maintaining stability and control.
- Rescue & Recovery: Collect standard payloads (table tennis balls) and heavy payloads (golf balls).
- Evacuation: Return to land and deposit each payload in its designated rescue zone.
Arena Specifications
- Land zone with smooth and rough surfaces.
- Sloped land-to-water transitions.
- Water zone with floating obstacles and simulated currents.
- Two entry routes: a short, narrow route with bonus points and a long, broad route.
- Designated payload collection and evacuation zones.
- Access gates that gradually close after a fixed duration.
Technical Requirements
- Maximum dimensions: 50 × 40 × 40 cm
- Maximum weight: 4.5 kg
- Power: Completely self-powered.
- Battery: Insulated and securely enclosed.
- Control: RC operation permitted; physical tethers and external steering assistance prohibited.
Rules & Penalties
- Follow all vehicle specifications and arena constraints.
- Deposit payloads into their respective rescue zones.
- Collisions, incorrect sorting, payloads falling outside designated zones, excessive instability, and exceeding payload limits may attract penalties.
The team with the highest overall score in the main event will be declared the winner. In case of a tie, rescue efficiency, time performance, stability, and control may determine the final ranking.