Transferability Through Cooperative Competitions

2026-03-29

AI Summary

This work addresses the challenge of limited reusability and portability of software, hardware, and data modules in heterogeneous robotic systems by proposing a “coopetition” framework. The framework fosters collaboration among competing teams through structured task design, shared infrastructure, modular architecture, and a royalty-based scoring mechanism, thereby enhancing cross-platform composability and transferability of modules. Deployed as the core methodology of the inaugural euROBIN Coopetition, the approach was successfully implemented across 15 diverse robotic platforms spanning industrial, service, and outdoor domains. Empirical validation demonstrates its effectiveness and yields key insights into integration challenges and optimization pathways for future heterogeneous robotic ecosystems.

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

Problem

• transferability
• composability
• heterogeneous robotic systems
• module reuse
• system compatibility

Innovation

• coopetition
• transferability
• composability
• heterogeneous robotic systems
• module reuse