Aerial and Underwater Robots in Competition [Competitions]

Discusses various robot competitions held in Europe. The European Robotics League (ERL) is a novel pan-European competition format that aims to provide a platform for developing, benchmarking, and showcasing challenging robotics technologies, bridging the gap between industry, research, and the general public. It builds on the success of important European competitions and on several EU-FP7/ H2020 projects. In addition to the major emergency robot tournaments, several local tournaments are organized each year. In July 2018, the NATO Science and Technology Organization’s Center for Maritime Research and Experimentation hosted a local tournament of the ERL Emergency Robots League in La Spezia, Italy. Reports on the variety of competitions held and the involvement of different robotic technologies.