The ICRA 2026 LRC

ICRA 2026 LRC is a key opportunity for Legged Robots to qualify for a spot in RoboCup Rescue for RoboCup 2026! (https://rrl.robocup.org/)

Rules

Please refer to the description below for the official rules and guidelines of the ICRA 2026 LRC. All participants are required to read and understand the rules before registering. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at [email protected].

• Time limited trials start every 20 minutes (00, 20, and 40 minutes past the hour).Teams get 5 minutes for each phase: SET UP –> MOBILITY –> INSPECT –> EXIT
• Mobility traverses measure how far into the disaster site the robot can drive during the time available (efficiency). Repetitions are limited to 10 total.
• Align/Inspect tasks measure how capable the robot is at inspecting objects of interest within the terrains and obstacles as the main mission objective. These tasks can be scored with or without an onboard manipulator.
• Dexterity Tasks measure how capable an onboard manipulator can be when operating within the various terrains and obstacles. Coordinated control of joints is essential given the complexity of the environment, with unknown chassis orientions. The standard Linear and Omni task orientations are there to encourage autonomous manipulator dexterity for non-contact tasks Align/Inspect tasks at first, then PRESS E-STOPS, or TOUCH/INSERT tools.
• Remote operator stations ensure the robot operators cannot see the robot inside the test lane. Typically operators are seated at a table facing away from the lane.
• Teleoperative control means remotely controlled from an operator station out of sight of the robot. All situational awareness must be through the interface as if the robot is down range or in a structure. No verbal communication is allowed.
• Autonomous control means no hands on the interface as the robot traverses from end zone to end zone in the designated lane or sequence of lanes. The operator must only watch the interface and may take over control if necessary to score teleoperate points.
• Lane difficulty Settings enable incremental challenges for robots with various capabilities. When the lane difficulty settings are the same for all teams, and the time limit is the same, the trial results are comparable. The Semis and Finals will use the sloped/harder settings. The safety belay is always available to reduce risk.
• Robot resets are allowed during trials to ensure some level of measurable success. A 2-minute penalty allows the robot to be safely carried and reset to the beginning of the lane it failed ****to try again. After the penalty the trial continues. The operator or team member with the best view of the robot should declare the reset. No talking to the operator is allowed during the trial except to reset a robot.
• Radio communications degradation happens inside intact and partially collapsed structures. Assistive and autonomous behaviors are needed to improve the effectiveness and reliability of robots being operated from safe locations outside the structure. We may provide scoring incentives in future years to encourage teleoperated robots to work with intermittent and unpredictable communications.
• Tethers are allowed because they can provide secure communications and ongoing power to drive the robot or recharge batteries over time. Imagine finding a trapped victim and establishing communications, then running out of battery power! Tethers can avoid that while providing other benefits. For example, tethers can glow in the dark with arrows identifying the way out for victims through smoke. To avoid getting snagged on obstacles, tethers should be spooled on the robot and can act as a winch when necessary to help descend occluded stairs in a controlled way then help return back up. If tethers are dragged behind the robot within the test lanes, they must be managed from the doorway by a tether wrangler, not guided over the walls. No long sticks of any kind are allowed to wrangle tethers either

MOBILITY SCORING (5 minutes in Prelims, 10 minutes in Semis/Finals)

• Drive using teleoperative or autonomous control to perform up to 10 traverses between end zones of the designated lane or sequence of lanes until the time expires. If finished early, position the robot in front of any Align/Inspect Task and wait for the next phase of the trial to begin.
• Successful autonomous traverses score 4X multiplier because they may be slower and we want to encourage autonomy. Autonomous systems may revert to teleoperative control at the designated start and end points of the intended path to reverse direction and/or plan the next path. The operator may also take over teloperative control at any other time to finish the traverse to score “teleop” points.

TASK SCORING  (5 minutes in Prelims, 10 minutes in Semis/Finals)