Transferability Through Cooperative Competitions

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new cooperative robotics competition framework that encourages module transferability and collaboration across diverse robotic systems, demonstrated through the euROBIN Coopetition case study.

Contribution

It proposes a structured framework for coopetitions that enhances module transferability and collaboration, with practical implementation insights from the euROBIN event.

Findings

Successful demonstration of module transferability across heterogeneous robots.

Identified challenges in system integration and compatibility.

Positive participant feedback on collaborative framework.

Abstract

This paper presents a novel framework for cooperative robotics competitions (coopetitions) that promote the transferability and composability of robotics modules, including software, hardware, and data, across heterogeneous robotic systems. The framework is designed to incentivize collaboration between teams through structured task design, shared infrastructure, and a royalty-based scoring system. As a case study, the paper details the implementation and outcomes of the first euROBIN Coopetition, held under the European Robotics and AI Network (euROBIN), which featured fifteen robotic platforms competing across Industrial, Service, and Outdoor domains. The study highlights the practical challenges of achieving module reuse in real-world scenarios, particularly in terms of integration complexity and system compatibility. It also examines participant performance, integration behavior, and team feedback to assess the effectiveness of the framework. The paper concludes with lessons learned and recommendations for future coopetitions, including improveme