RoboCup Rescue Robot League — Robots in the Rubble

RoboCup's Rescue Robot League was born from a real disaster: the 1995 Kobe earthquake. The question was simple — when a building collapses and human entry is lethal, can a robot go instead?

The arena: standardised rubble

Unlike other leagues, this field is deliberately chaotic, built from standardised elements each testing one capability:

Rough terrain and debris — mobility and mechanical robustness
Stairs and steep ramps — locomotion design (tracks, articulated wheels and so on)
Narrow, winding routes — agility
Dark, enclosed spaces — operating without line of sight

Finding victims

The robot must detect signs of life — and no single sensor does that. Teams combine several: heat, motion, sound, carbon dioxide and imagery. Fusing those readings is one of the league's core lessons.

The mapping score: finding a victim is not enough. The robot must produce an accurate map of the environment and mark the victim on it. For a real rescue team, "someone is down there" is useless; "someone is at these coordinates" saves a life. That is why SLAM algorithms are at this league's heart.

Autonomy versus teleoperation

Robots may be operator-driven, but anything achieved autonomously scores higher. The structure deliberately pushes teams toward greater robot independence — the same direction real disaster robotics is heading.

Real-world impact

Technology from this league has appeared in mine inspection robots, bomb disposal units and post-incident response systems. If one RoboCup league has had the most direct human impact, this is it.

Getting in

University level, but its concepts are practisable from secondary school: Rescue Maze is a scaled-down version of the same problem — explore, identify victims, map. The logical path is Maze as a teenager, Rescue Robot at university.

Frequently asked questions

Are the robots autonomous or teleoperated?

Both are allowed, but autonomous performance scores higher and the format deliberately pushes teams that way.

What is SLAM?

Simultaneous localisation and mapping — the robot builds a map while locating itself within it. It is the technical heart of this league.

What is the student version?

RoboCupJunior Rescue Maze, which teaches exploration, victim identification and mapping at a smaller scale.

Want to work on rescue robots?

Novin Zehn competition teams train from zero to the world stage — in Tehran and live online.