Simulation for the RoboCup Logistics league with real-world environment agency and multi-level abstraction

Abstract

RoboCup is particularly well-known for its soccer leagues, but there are an increasing number of application leagues. The newest one is the Logistics League where groups of robots take on the task of in-factory production logistics. It has two unique aspects: a game environment which itself acts as an agent and a focus on planning and scheduling in robotics. We propose a simulation based on Gazebo that takes these into account. It uses the exact same referee box to simulate the environment reactions similar to the real game and it supports multiple levels of abstraction that allow to focus on the planning with a high level of abstraction, or to run the full system on simulated sensor data on a lower level for rapid integration testing. We envision that this simulation could be a basis for a simulation sub-league for the LLSF to attract a wider range of participants and ease entering the robot competition.