6thKibo-RPC Rulebook
6thKibo-RPC Rulebook
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Revision Date: April 1, 2025
Revision History
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1
2. Preliminary Round.................................................................................................................. 2
  2.1. Preliminary Round Period ............................................................................................... 2
  2.2. Game Rules ...................................................................................................................... 3
       2.2.1. Game Flow ............................................................................................................... 3
2.2.2. Preconditions............................................................................................................ 5
3.2.2. Preconditions.......................................................................................................... 22
1. Introduction
       The 6th Kibo Robot Programming Challenge (Kibo-RPC) is here. Create the best
       program to see if you can win.
       A preliminary round will be held in each country/region to select their
       representatives. Participants compete using programs they have developed
       beforehand using JAXA's simulation environment. Game rules and scoring are
       basically the same in each country/region, although some have adopted their own
       evaluation criteria, so be sure to check your local Kibo-RPC website for details.
       Information regarding venue and dates will be made available by the point of
       contact (POC) in each country/region. This Rulebook contains general rules for all
       participants.
       The winning teams from each preliminary round get to compete to be the best in
       the world in the final round where they will program and operate an Astrobee
       free-flying robot in the Japanese Experiment Module KIBO, which is part of the
       International Space Station (ISS).
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2. Preliminary Round
2.1. Preliminary Round Period
           The preliminary rounds will be held separately in each country/region during the
           period, so please participate in the preliminary round held in the country/region
           where you are registered. The preliminary round information for each
           country/region can be found on the official Kibo-RPC website
           ( https://jaxa.krpc.jp/ ). For more information, please contact your
           country/region POC.
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    Within a time limit, Astrobee will be moved from the starting position (dock station)
    to a candidate location in Kibo where the treasure is hidden, and all images will be
    read. Astrobee will then be moved to the astronauts' site, where it will read the im-
    ages of the treasure and landmarks in the astronauts' possession to provide clues to
    locate the real treasure. After reading the images, the player moves to the location
    where the real treasure is hidden, takes a picture of the treasure, flashes the Signal
    Lights to signal that he/she has found the treasure, and tells the astronaut where
    the treasure is hidden to complete the mission.
    1. Start from the docking station.
    2. After starting, Astrobee will patrol several candidate sites aboard Kibo where
         treasures are hidden.
    3. Each team may choose a route through the Oasis Zones*1, where they receive
         points for passing through, and report what they find at each candidate location
         for hidden treasures.
    4. Once all Astrobee has visited all of the sites, go to the astronaut and read the
         im-age of the real treasure and its nearby landmark. This will reveal the identity
         of the real treasure.
    5. Go to the real treasure and take a picture.
    6. After taking the photo, activate the Signal Lights to inform the astronaut of the
         treasure's location, and the mission is complete.
         *1
    7.     Oasis Zone: Points will be added as long as Astrobee is moving through this
         area.
    *1
      Oasis Zone... Points will be added as long as Astrobee is moving through this area.
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2.3.2. Preconditions
                       Table 2.2.2-1 Preconditions for Preliminary Round
# Content
       The starting position is the Dock Station, and the timer starts once Astrobee
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       undocks.
       There are 11 types of Lost Item images placed in each area. Breakdown: (3
       Tresure Items, 8 Landmark Items)
       Prepare an AR tag on the same plane as the printed surface of Lost Item.
       The search area for Lost Item (hereinafter referred to as "Area") is limited to
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       four locations.
       The area is specified as a plane, and one Lost Item is placed somewhere within
       the Area.
       Lost Item placement is random.
       The Target Item is randomly selected from one of the Tresure Items in the
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       game.
       The following information will be presented to participants in advance. For
       more information on AR tags and Lost Item, please refer to section 2.2.3.
       1.       Orientation of the position of the starting point (StartPoint)
       2.       Report position to an astronaut (RoundingCompletionPoint)
  4    3.       Location and size of each area
       4.       Total number of Areas
       5.       Types of images to be placed and examples of difficulty levels
       6.       Location and size of the oasis zones
       7.       Parameters for a given angle and distance
       Oasis Zones are set up along the route, where points are added according to
       the time spent in the zone. This oasis zone is given as a precondition. Please
  5    see section 2.2.5 for details.
       *Depending on the team's strategy, Astrobee does not have to go through the
       Oasis Zone.
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                    Coordinates                                    Orientation
Point
                    x               y                z             x          y           z                w
Start                     9.815          -9.806           4.293           1           0                0          0
Astronaut                11.143         -6.7607          4.9654           0           0          0.707         0.707
                                                                 Kibo
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2.3.3. Objects
                          Table 2.2.3-1 Objects for Preliminary Round
shell Treasure_box
                           *The size of the Lost Item placed in the Area changes depending
                           on the image difficulty level.
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2    AR Tag                AR Tag Information (No size change between Lost Item and Target
     Information           Item)
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     (Landmark
     Items only)
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     (When                      2
     Landmark Items
     and Tresure
     Items are
     displayed)                 3
5    Example of
     Target Item
     display
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 6   Examples of
                                   Area 1                  Area 2                Area 3
     images displayed
     in each Area and
     as Target Item
                           *The level of Lost Item placed depends on the difficulty level of the
                           simulator.
                           *One Tresure Item and two Landmark Items are placed in the
                           Target Item. One of the Landmark Items is placed with the Tresure
                           Item in the Area, but the other is different.
      Oasis Zones are areas within the KIZ where Astrobee will be scored based on the
      time it spends in that zone. 6th Kibo-RPC will add Oasis Zones, which will require
      participants to be more strategic in designing Astrobee's travel routes. (Figure
      2.2.5-1, 2.2.5-2, 2.2.5-3, Table 2.2.5-1)
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Figure 2.2.5-1 KIZ and Oasis Zone for the Preliminary Round (Top View)
Figure 2.2.5-2 KIZ and Oasis Zone for the Preliminary Round (Side View)
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Figure 2.2.5-3 Oasis Zone for the Preliminary Round (Diagonal View)
          Table 2.2.5-1 shows the coordinates of KOZ and KIZ. Figure 2.2.5-4 shows the
       definition of coordinates (x_min, y_min, z_min) and (x_max, y_maxm z_max).
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                                                 Kibo
                                               Entrance
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       This allows all participants to compete on the same terms, regardless of whether
       their results happen to be good or bad. Please see Section 2.3 for details
       regarding scoring criteria.
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2.4. Scoring
2.4.1. Factors
Your team's score will be calculated based on the following factors
 #    Criteria                 Details
 1    Matching of Area Points will be awarded if the type and number of Lost Items
      and Item                 randomly placed in each Area are accurately processed and
                               recognized.
                               Lost Item displays are divided into difficulty levels, with
                               higher levels (more difficult image processing) resulting in
                               higher scores.
                               Please note that Treasure Items may be displayed along with
                               Landmark Items, but no points are awarded for matching a
                               Treasure Item to an Area.
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 3    Photo Angle and Scoring based on the angle of view of the camera and the
      Position of Target coordinates when reporting the location of the Target Item.
      Item                     Points will be awarded when both I and II below are satisfied.
                               I.   Scores are based on the angle of view of the camera at
                                    the time the Target Item is reported. The angle of view is
                                    determined based on the acquired NavCam position and
                                    orientation of the Target Item, and points will be
                                    awarded if the angle of view is within the 30° angle of
                                    view.
                               II. Scoring is based on the coordinates at the time the
                                    Target Item is reported. Points will be awarded if the
                                    coordinates obtained are within 0.9 m of the plane of the
                                    area.
 4    Mission         Time The time limit remaining at the time of reporting the Target
      Remaining                Item is converted into points and additional points are
                               awarded. There is a limit to the additional points based on the
                               remaining time. If you complete the mission with a certain
                               amount of time remaining, you will receive a uniform amount
                               of additional points.
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 5    Astrobee        flight If the Astrobee's flight path was within the Oasis Zone, it will
      path                     score points based on the time it spent in that zone, with
                               different points awarded for different locations within a single
                               Oasis Zone.
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3. Final Round
3.1. Final Round Schedule
       Only representative teams can participate in the final round. Teams may refine
       their programs from the Preliminary Round for the APK Final Run (on ISS) and
       submit the APK and source code before the deadline. Please see Section 3.4 for
       details.
2)APK Final Run program submission deadline: Late August 2025 (JST)*2)
       *1)JAXA will check APK source codes to ensure that they will not have a negative
               impact on the Astrobee and if necessary ask participants to modify the code.
              Please submit only the source code for the pre-check. Submission
              instructions will be provided at a later date.
       *2)You will be required to submit both APK and source code when
               submitting the final version.
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3.2.2. Preconditions
                               Table 3.2.2 Preconditions for Final Round
  #       Content
          Conditions for start and finish positions, Area, etc. are the same as for the
  1-4     Preliminary round. Please refer to section 2.2.2 for details.
          *Coordinate information may be revised in the future.
          Some information on KIZ or Oasis Zone may change from the preliminary
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          round. We will release details as soon as they are finalized.
         Creating a program that can perform well in the actual environment on board
         the ISS is important as the environmental conditions in orbit differ from those of
         the simulation.
3.2.3. Objects
          There will be no major changes from the preliminary round. Details will be
          released as soon as they are finalized.
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          If the Astrobee experiences a problem such as getting stuck, under the rules in
          Section 3.2.9 you will be given the opportunity for a re-run..
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          If the Astrobee gets stuck due to a problem in orbit, the team will be given
          another chance to run the mission again before moving on to the next tier as
          long as there is enough time left in the event. However, if the problem is
          caused by the APK created by the participant, there will be no rerun. Please
          note that there is limited time to conduct the competition in orbit, and teams
          with lower rankings in the preliminary round may not be able to run their
          mission on the day of the final round. For more information, please refer to
          Figure 3.2.9.
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3.3. Scoring
3.3.1. Factors
          The scoring criteria are the same as in the qualifying round. Please refer to
          section 2.3.1 for details.
3.3.2. Judging
          Only one run is allowed for the in-orbit final. As a result, the team's score
          will be the result of 1 run, not the average.
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          Due to the short time available for code modifications, please keep your
          schedules clear.
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Appendix 1
This will be the definition of terms used in the 6th Kibo-RPC.
用語 定義
 Kibo            The Japanese Experiment Module developed by JAXA on the ISS. Also
                 known as JEM (Japanese Experiment Module), this is where this game
                 will take place.
Astrobee Free-flyer robot developed by NASA that will be used in this game.
 Area            A plane representing a potential location for a Lost Item, set on an ISS
                 wall or Airlock.
 Lost Item       A collective term for the images placed in each Area. Lost Items are
                 categorized into two types: Treasure Items and Landmark Items.
 Target Item     In the game, this word represents the real treasure the astronaut is
                 searching for.
 Tresure         One type of Lost Item, of which there are three different images. In this
 Item            game, two or more are placed in each Area, but the real treasure the
                 astronaut is searching for will be randomly chosen from these.
 Landmark        One type of Lost Item, of which there are eight different images. In this
 Item            game, points are awarded for accurately reporting the type and number
                 of Landmark Items located in each Area to the astronaut.
 KIZ             Abbreviation for Keep-In-Zone, the range within which an Astrobee can
                 move.
 Oasis Zone      Located within KIZ, points are awarded based on the time spent in this
                 zone. The points earned can vary depending on the specific location
                 within a single Oasis Zone.。