The @HOME Competition will be organised in two days:
1. A set-up day on 10/09 will serve for teams to test and adjust their solutions
2. A competition day on 11/09 where teams will show their robotic solutions.
The Robot design Competition will take place on the last day – 12th September 2025.
The Hackathon will be organised in two days:
1. A Workshop on 10/09 morning for illustrating the basic functionalities of the robot platforms and how to program them
2. Guided development on 10/09 afternoon with instructors following the teams in the development of some baseline tasks
3. Competition day on 11/09, where teams will develop their solutions and then show them for evaluation.
The Robot design Competition will be held on 12/09 at Città Della Scienza.
For each category, we will select the winners. The winners of the challenges will be announced during the Closing Ceremony on September the 12th, 2025.
Each submission should have a (maximum) 2-page summary. The template is flexible; however, it should include a concise abstract/synopsis of a maximum of 50 words, and enough details to judge the technical novelty of the proposed solution and/or innovative applications of robots. A single link of related video can be included. Video link is optional, and the maximum duration of the video should be 3 minutes. Please remember that it is not a scientific publication, but the description of a robotics innovation with potential to be developed as a project. Competition chairs, with the help from experts and reviewers, will select the finalists. Each finalist is supposed to register and present their entry at a dedicated session in the conference, which will be further evaluated by the Jury of peers. Email your submission to competition@icsr2025.eu with the subject line including the competition you intend to participate into:
– [ICSR 2025 Robot Design Competition]
– [ICSR 2025 @HOME Competition]
– [ICSR 2025 @HOME Hackathon]
With the increasing release of robots with a diverse set of appearances and applications, this competition wants to further challenge the development of new innovative robots that may overcome several issues for both consumers and producers. Relevant aspects to include in the design of such innovative robots are: costs of materials and production of the robot, new materials used, new levels of anthropomorphism and abilities of showing social signals, hardware. We also encourage cross-disciplinary experts/teams to bring impactful solutions for the betterment of society.
● How can social robots be part of our life, enrich our life experience, assist, serve and entertain us?
● Where is the new generation of these social robots heading? What are the innovative societal applications? What impact are they capable of making?
● What are the key enabling technologies that are being improved?
● How do we see greater involvement of such friendly and social robots in education, healthcare, and various other sectors?
Winners and runners-up in the following three categories will be selected:
1. Innovative Idea: The entries, which are innovative but are in the early stages of conceptualization will be considered for this category.
2. Innovative Solution: The entries, which have demonstrated maturity of the proposed solution through prototypes will be considered for this category.
3. Innovative Application: The entries, which have targeted specific applications through robotics solutions will be considered for this category.
The main focus of this challenge is to push the scientific challenges of having a robot working in-at-home environment. Such challenges include having robots being able to sense, reason and manipulate objects in the environment. To this purpose, we created a task inspired to the challenges of the prestigious RoboCup@Home league (https://athome.robocup.org).
In this task, the robot must demonstrate effective human-robot interaction and collaboration in a home environment. The goal is to assist a human user in organizing newly arrived items by correctly perceiving objects, receiving objects from the user, understanding verbal instructions, and executing precise placement actions. The following is a general scenario of the performed task.
The robot then returns to the user to receive the next item, repeating the process until all items are placed.
1. The task begins with a box of new items placed in a designated starting area.
2. The human user retrieves an item from the box and hands it to the robot.
3. The user provides verbal instructions specifying where the item should be placed within the task room.
4. The robot must accurately perceive and grasp the object, interpret the given instructions, and navigate to the designated location.
5. Upon reaching the specified location, the robot places the object appropriately.
– Object Perception – Recognizing and handling various objects.
– Human Perception – Identifying handover cues and user gestures.
– Verbal Interaction – Understanding spoken placement instructions.
– Human-Robot Collaboration – Ensuring seamless handovers and cooperation.
– Accuracy of object recognition and grasping.
– Correct interpretation and execution of placement instructions.
– Efficiency in navigation and object delivery.
– Smoothness and naturalness of human-robot interaction.
– Additionally, the manipulation and HRI will be scored in separate categories.
Teams can participate in this competition with any robot that is able to complete the task. Participants can bring their own robot.
One Tiago robot will also be available for the competition as sponsored by PAL Robotics. Teams will be allowed to use this robot for executing their competition.
Participants will need to bring their own laptop with the needed software already installed.
The Winners and runners-up will be selected based on the following criteria:
1. Be scientifically challenging
2. Be easy to set up and low in costs
3. Be simple and have self-explaining rules
4. Be interesting to watch and engaging
5. Carried out in the shortest time
6. Have the highest accuracy, precision
7. Being measurable
8. Be testable and showcaseable
The main focus of this challenge is the creation of social behaviours for humanoid autonomous robots with particular attention (but, not limited to) to Human-Robot-Interaction and Cooperation in dynamic environments, Computer Vision and Object Recognition under natural light conditions, Adaptive Behaviours and Ambient Intelligence.
The ultimate scenario is human-robot interactions in the real world. To build up the required technologies and approaches, a basic information stand is provided as a general scenario. The robot will provide information and interact with people. The nature and details of the information can be defined by the participants.
The main goal of the robot is to welcome and provide some information to two newcomers approaching the stand where the robot is. The robot needs to maintain appropriate engagement between the two people and eventually if the information involves some locations, papers, etc. The robot needs to use social cues (verbal, non-verbal, paraverbal, or a combination of these) to interact with the people.
Optional goals include (but are not limited to): the ability to have personalised robot behaviours based on the person (e.g., sentiment, personality traits, etc.); speech recognition; managing and recovering from errors; approaches for fostering transparent, legible and predictable robot behaviours; Theory of Mind.
Teams can participate in this competition with one of the robots available at the venue. Participants will follow tutorials on the use and how to program the robot on the morning of the set-up day. Then, teams will develop the software and demo their solutions.
At the venue, teams will also find available the following robots:
– One PROBOT sponsored by Protom Robotics
– One MARRtina sponsored by Robotics 3D
Participants will need to bring their own laptop with the needed software already installed. Teams will be allowed to use this robot for executing their competition.
The Winners and runners-up will be selected based on the following criteria:
1. Include human-robot interaction
2. Be socially relevant
3. Be application directed/oriented
4. Be scientifically challenging
5. Be simple and have self-explaining rules
6. Be interesting to watch and engaging
7. Carried out in the shortest time
Since 2004, PAL Robotics has developed state-of-the-art robots specially designed to solve customers’ needs. We are known for our service robots used for research, intralogistics, retail and social applications for commercial organisations and research institutions.
The company’s mission is to enhance people’s quality of life through service robotics and automation technologies.
We have a presence in Barcelona, Toulouse, and Rome, with platforms designed and manufactured in Barcelona and sold to customers worldwide. The company has partnered in over 40 collaborative research projects to further the development of robotics.
Site: https://www.pal-robotics.com
Documentation HERE
Protom Robotics is at the forefront of social robot innovation, foreseeing societal needs and driving a future where technology enhance human well-being and connections.
Our core mission revolves around designing and building crafting cutting-edge social robots aimed at elevating the quality of life within diverse social environments.
We’re driven by a vision to bridge humanity and technology.
Guided by real-world criteria—acceptability, usability, affordability, utility and ease of maintenance—we transform concepts into fully realized robots ready for daily life.
This isn’t just robotics: it’s experiential evolution.
Site: https://www.protomrobotics.com
Video: https://youtu.be/LgNsQIsgRso
Documentation: https://www.protomrobotics.com/probotdoc/
Robotics 3D is a leading reference point for educational robotics in Italy, especially in schools, where we introduce students to technology through our original robots, including the MARRtino family, developed in collaboration with Sapienza University of Rome.
Our dream has always been to build a Robotics HUB driven by passion, creativity, and community—more than just business. Over time, this dream is coming true, thanks to collaborations with professionals, makers, and educators who share our values.
We care deeply about the environment, using only 100% recycled packaging—even if it means looking less “perfect. Robotics 3D is more than a company: it’s a robotics ecosystem built on transparency, passion, and people.
MARRtina is the first Italian social robot, designed to interact with people and display social behaviors. She can detect nearby individuals and engage through voice, facial expressions, and body movements.
Ideal for schools and universities in educational settings, MARRtina can also serve as a presenter or entertainer in venues, provide information in shopping malls, and much more.
Using simple programs that combine basic and advanced features, MARRtina runs directly from a browser—just a little Python knowledge is all you need to get started.
ROS2 Version
Programming languages available, including version and distribution: https://social.marrtino.org/programming/tile
https://social.marrtino.org/programming/python (version 3)
https://social.marrtino.org/programming/blockly
Video tutorial, seminars, guidelines: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/G5rFM-cQSnY?feature=share
Site: https://www.robotics-3d.com/725-marrtino
