Call for Participation KUKA Innovation Award 2015 Sponsored by KUKA AG The Award in a nutshell As a world-leader in robot-based automation KUKA has maintained an intense collaboration with academia and R&D partners worldwide on various scientific and technical topics for many years. To take this collaboration to the next level the KUKA Innovation Award was established in 2014. It comes with a substantial financial prize of 20,000. The competition leading to the Award is intended to accelerate the pace of innovation in the field of robot-based automation at large and improve technology transfers from academia and research to industry. Applicants for the Award have to demonstrate an innovative robotic application or component operating in a realistic working environment. To ensure equal conditions and a fair and direct comparison of the Award applications, the developed robotic application or component for the 2015 edition of the Award shall be demonstrated on, or in conjunction with, the latest version of the KUKA Lightweight Robot the KUKA LBR iiwa which is the world s first safe and sensitive lightweight robot suitable for use in industrial applications. Candidates without access to a KUKA LBR iiwa, but with an innovative and viable idea already proven in a realistic working environment, may request to borrow a KUKA LBR iiwa free of charge for the duration of the competition (application deadline: 15 th of October 2014). The final Award application must be submitted by the 15 th of February 2015. This application needs to include the motivation for the application or component, details regarding its realization and proof of a working system. The applications will be evaluated by a jury of renowned experts. The selected finalists will present their solutions not only to the jury, but also to KUKA management and developers at KUKA headquarters in Augsburg. Additional and in combination with the Award ceremony, the finalists will showcase their application to the expert public at the leading international industrial trade show Hannover Fair in April 2015. For all finalists, accommodation and travel costs for attending these presentations and the related exhibition costs will be borne by KUKA as described further below. Objectives of the Award The overall objective of this competition leading to the KUKA Innovation Award 2015 is to promote research and technology development towards new applications with safe, sensitive and compliant robots which target technical and societal challenges in industrial and/or service robotics. The competition aims at the development of new stand-alone robot-based automation applications as well as at the development of key robotics technologies and components. The application domains are open, but focus should be given to the LBR iiwa key features such as safe human-robot collaboration and sensitive, compliant motion control. Key robotics technologies include perception, manipulation and grasping, as well as new algorithms, for instance, new control approaches, new planning algorithms, or alike. Particular emphasis should be placed on fenceless operation, which is not only a matter of the LBR iiwa safety features, such as safe torques and safe velocities, but also of using appropriate fixtures and tools. The teams are encouraged to pay attention to the scalability and reusability of their solution. Call for Participation KUKA Innovation Award 2015 Page 1
Concept of the competition for the KUKA Innovation Award The competition is open to the robotics research community at large (including companies). This includes individual researchers and developers at a post-graduate level or higher as well as research teams. Potential applicants have two options to participate in the competition, depending on the access which they have to an LBR iiwa: a regular track for teams, which have their own LBR iiwa or at least access to it; a sponsored track for teams, which have proven their innovative approach with other robot hardware, but are willing to transfer their results to the LBR iiwa, which they can borrow for the duration of the competition at no cost. Regular track Teams joining the regular track have access to the LBR iiwa. They must submit their final Award application by 15 th of February 2015 as outlined below. This application must include pictures and videos of the application and/or component featuring the LBR iiwa. Registration is not required for the regular track. We do, however, recommend registering, ideally by 15 th of October 2014, to allow KUKA to offer advice on industrial relevance, to promote a community and contest spirit and to support the teams in their PR efforts. Sponsored track Teams without access to the LBR iiwa, but able to demonstrate an innovative idea with other robot hardware, may join the sponsored track. They may borrow a KUKA LBR iiwa free of charge for the duration of the competition. For that purpose, however, they have to file a separate application outlining their idea and competences. This application needs to include a general description of the targeted robot-based automation application or robotics component (including pictures and videos of the current stage of development). It should further sketch the solution that is proposed on a level of detail, which allows assessing the feasibility of the solution towards the final application in February and final showdown in April and it should finally provide some information on the economic impact of the proposed solution. Furthermore, a short description of the team and its background should be provided. The application for getting access to a sponsored LBR iiwa has to be submitted to the address given below by 15 th of October 2014. The proposals will be reviewed by a jury composed of experts from robotics industry and academia. The jury will select up to five candidates based on criteria described further below. KUKA will offer advice on industrial relevance, will promote a community and contest spirit, and will support the teams in their PR efforts. Teams from both tracks are invited to hand in their Award applications as outlined below by 15 th of February 2015. The jury will assess the applications and nominate finalists. All applications have equal chances to proceed to the final, independent of the track. The selected finalists are invited to KUKA Headquarters in Augsburg and to Hannover Fair to present their work. In Augsburg, the finalists will be able to demonstrate their results to KUKA management to meet and discuss with KUKA developers about subsequent technology transfer projects (subject to separate bilateral agreements) and to prepare their presentations to the expert public and the jury during Hannover Fair 2015 KUKA covers accommodation and travel costs for up to three persons per team for this final event (up to the amounts specified below). During Hannover Fair 2015 the winner of the Award and the 20,000 prize will be announced. Call for Participation KUKA Innovation Award 2015 Page 2
Assessment/Selection Criteria for Proposals and Award Applications Important assessment criteria of the developed solutions will be originality of the idea, its technological readiness 1, economic impact 2 and competitive advantage 3. In addition, participants are encouraged to demonstrate scalability and reusability of their components and algorithms to different kinematics, sensors, and tasks. Already existing components should be reused and not developed from scratch as far as possible. Last but not least, components and algorithms need to be validated in a realistic work or service environment, not just in simulation or under special conditions. Ideally, end-user requirements have to be fulfilled, which includes performing a risk assessment of the developed application and implementing safety functions according to the determined requirements 4. Outline and Content of Applications Both, the proposal for the sponsored track and the final Award application should address the following items: 1. Cover page a. Project full title and short title/acronym b. Applicant contact data (name and institution of project leader) c. Short summary of project proposal 2. Team description (max. 1 page) a. Institution / Laboratory / Group description b. Background in robot-based automation (experience, projects, ) 3. Motivation and objectives a. General description of industrial, societal and scientific challenges to be tackled (clearly showing the need for the application of safe, sensitive, compliant robot manipulators and/or the development of specific components/algorithms for such a manipulator) b. Objectives of the proposed work 4. Approach and realization a. Technical details of the proposed solution including a description of the background knowledge and track record the project capitalizes on and why the proposed solution is promising b. Work plan for the duration of the competition (milestones and use of resources) c. Used hardware (sensors) and software (libraries, licenses) 5. Results and measures of success a. Results (including links to background information, such as videos). b. Assessment of technology readiness level of the proposed solution including its scalability, the reusability of used and developed components, and risk assessment 6. Economic analysis of proposed solution a. Analysis of economic impact b. Analysis of competitive advantage 1 Technological readiness measures the technological maturity and robustness of an evolving technology on a scale from 1 to 9 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/technology_readiness_level) 2 Economic impact measures the economic effect (growth) caused by proposed system or solution in a certain area (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/economic_impact_analysis) 3 Competitive advantage measures the uniqueness of a solution in economic terms compared to the approaches taken by competitors (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/competitive_advantage) 4 A guidance and explanation of relevant rules and standards regarding safety in human-robot collaboration is provided by a VDMA Position Paper accessible at http://rua.vdma.org/en/article/-/articleview/4217015 Call for Participation KUKA Innovation Award 2015 Page 3
The proposals to obtain sponsored LBR iiwas should be limited to six pages (including the cover page) addressing the above items in a balanced manner. Section 5 should relate to results achieved with existing robot hardware and expected progress with the KUKA LWR iiwa. Final Award applications are limited to twelve pages (including the cover page) addressing the above items in a balanced manner. Schedule September 1, 2014 Call for participation (this document) October 15, 2014 Application deadline for sponsored teams November 3, 2014 Announcement of sponsored teams February 15, 2015 Submission deadline for KUKA Innovation Award 2015 application March 2, 2015 April 6-8, 2015 Announcement of finalists Set-up of finalist presentation at KUKA Headquarters, Augsburg Presentation to KUKA management and developers April 10-11, 2015 Set-up of finalist presentation at Hannover Fair, Hannover April 13-17, 2015 Presentation to the expert public and the jury and announcement of winner The Jury Prof. Dr. Oussama Khatib (Director of Robotics Lab, Stanford University) Prof. Dr. Alin Albu-Schäffer (Director of Robotics and Mechatronics Institute, DLR) Prof. Dr. Tobias Ortmaier (Director of Institute of Mechatronic Systems, Leibniz University Hannover) Erico Guizzo (Senior Editor, IEEE Spectrum Magazine) Dr. Bernd Liepert (CTO KUKA AG) Contact and further information Please submit your applications to: Dr. Rainer Bischoff Head of KUKA Technology Development KUKA Laboratories GmbH Zugspitzstr. 140 86165 Augsburg Germany E-Mail: innovationaward@kuka.com Web: innovationaward.kuka.com About KUKA KUKA concentrates on advanced solutions for the automation of industrial production processes. Ever since the company was founded over 100 years ago, it has stood for innovation and quality. KUKA, with its Robotics and Systems divisions, is one of the world s leading companies in the field of mechanical and systems engineering. Having come of age in the cutting-edge technology of the European automotive industry, KUKA is now increasingly supplying state-of-the-art technology in other sectors and regions. With their ideas, concepts and solutions for the automation of industrial production processes, about 8,000 employees generate sales revenues of EUR 1.8 billion (2013). Call for Participation KUKA Innovation Award 2015 Page 4
Call for participation Application Deadline for sponsored LBR iiwas Announcement of sponsored teams Application deadline for Innovation Award (regular + sponsored track) Announcement of finalists Award finals at KUKA Headquarters (Augsburg) and Hannover Fair 01.09. 15.10. 03.11. 15.02. 02.03. 07.04. 13.-17.04. Regular Track Sponsored Track Evaluation by Jury Evaluation by Jury Augsburg Week 07. 09.04.2015 Hannover Fair 13. 17.04.2015 Sponsored Presentation and Final Evaluation Winner 2014 2015 Call for Participation KUKA Innovation Award 2015 Page 5
Terms and Conditions Eligibility You are eligible to enter the competition if you meet the following requirements at time of entry: You are not an employee or intern of KUKA AG or their affiliated companies. You are not involved in any part of the execution or administration of this competition. You are not an immediate family member (parent, sibling, spouse, and child) or household member of a KUKA employee or an employee of KUKA affiliated companies, or a person involved in any part of the administration and execution of this competition. Confidentiality KUKA, the jury, and the experts assigned will treat the submitted project material confidential. Intellectual Property (IP) generated in the competition belongs to the participants. If KUKA and a participant are interested in a technology transfer or access to IP, a separate agreement between the participant concerned and KUKA will be established. Lending agreement (sponsored track) Granting of access to the KUKA LBR iiwa shall be conditional upon signing a lending agreement. Such lending agreement may not be signed by private individuals, but only by an authorized representative of a legal entity (company, university or research institute etc.). Prize No transfer, substitution or cash equivalent for travel and accommodation grants, sponsored access to hardware and prizes is allowed, except at KUKA s sole discretion. KUKA reserves the right to substitute a prize, in whole or in part, of equal or greater monetary value if a prize cannot be awarded, in whole or in part, as described for any reason. Copyright Applications shall only include material that you own or where permission has been granted by the copyright/trademark owner. Applications and robot programs may not include copyrighted materials (such as source code, user interface, background music, images or video) unless you own or have permission to use the materials. The team has to provide a list of non-proprietary tools, libraries and source codes used. Development, travel and exhibition expenses Applicants bear their own costs with the exception of costs explicitly listed here. KUKA will cover all costs related to lending, servicing, and supporting the KUKA LBR iiwa lent out in the context of the sponsored track. KUKA offers a travel and accommodation grant to reduce the financial burden of finalist teams in the context of the demonstrations at KUKA Headquarters and Hannover Fair covering the following items: Call for Participation KUKA Innovation Award 2015 Page 6
Accommodation in Augsburg and Hannover for up to three members per finalist team (arranged for by KUKA). Incurred travel expenses of up to 1200 for German teams, 1900 for European teams and up to 3300 for non-european teams. Transportation costs for equipment (arranged for by KUKA). On accepting the travel and accommodation grant for the final, the teams obtaining the grant agree to present their work at KUKA headquarters in Augsburg and at Hannover Fair 2015. The costs for these presentations relating to renting of exhibition space, designing a representative booth and supporting the setting-up and dismantling of booths and equipment will be borne by KUKA. KUKA reserves the right to reclaim any surplus payment or money paid in error. Furthermore, KUKA may cancel the accommodation and travel grant and demand repayment if the financial support was obtained under false pretenses, if not used for the intended purpose, if any obligation regarding the final is not fulfilled, or for any other sound reason. KUKA does not provide any kind of insurance. Finalists shall insure themselves and their equipment against any possible costs and consequences caused by loss, theft, illness, accident, personal liability, etc. Data privacy To process applications and to provide continuous support, KUKA collects and electronically stores the data submitted by applicants. These data include personal information (name, address, date of birth, nationality, phone numbers and e-mail addresses and organization of the applicants) as well as information on the project and the support granted. KUKA may publish the names of the participating teams, their project titles, project videos and project abstracts on KUKA websites, via social media, in press releases and in printed publications. Call for Participation KUKA Innovation Award 2015 Page 7
FAQ Where can I get more information on KUKA and the KUKA LBR iiwa? http://www.kuka.com/ http://www.kuka-labs.com/en/service_robotics/lightweight_robotics/start.htm Where can I get more information on the Hannover Fair? http://www.hannovermesse.de Can other robots than the KUKA LBR iiwa be used in this competition? Yes, provided that at least one KUKA LBR iiwa is used and is essential to one key aspect of the application/component developed. Does KUKA offer other competitions? Are these open to other robots? You may be interested in participating in RoboCup or RoCKIn competitions, in particular @Home and @Work contests. http://www.robocupathome.org/ http://www.robocupatwork.org/ http://rockinrobotchallenge.eu/ Although the deadline for registration for solution providers has already passed, the EuRoC competition is still looking for manufacturing companies to provide challenging use cases http://www.euroc-project.eu/index.php?id=callforendusers Who can participate? Teams and individuals from legal entities from academia, research, industry and services with access to a KUKA LBR iiwa ( regular track) or without access to a KUKA LBR iiwa ( sponsored track). Why should I participate? The competition leading to the KUKA Innovation Award may allow you to access KUKA s latest robot hardware free of charge to present your solutions to the expert public at one of the world s most important industrial trade shows to exclusively present your solutions to both KUKA management and developers to engage in a closer collaboration and technology transfer of your innovative technology to one of the world leaders in robot-based automation (subject to a separate license agreement) to travel to Augsburg and Hannover to present your work at KUKA s expense (within the limits of the Terms) to win 20,000! What are the evaluation criteria for obtaining a sponsored LBR iiwa? Main criteria are the originality of the idea, technological readiness, economic impact, and the competitive advantage of the solution developed. Furthermore, please address the following aspects in your application: Call for Participation KUKA Innovation Award 2015 Page 8
scalability and reusability of components and algorithms validation of proposed solution in a realistic work or service environment risk assessment of the developed application and implemented safety functions according to the determined requirements What are the deadlines? The max. 12-pages final Award application is due on 15 th of February 2015 (see Outline and Content of Applications for details) Regular track participants: please register until October 15, 2014 with cover page and team description (see items 1 and 2 of Outline and Content of Applications for details); the registration is voluntary and will allow you to benefit from the KUKA s advice and marketing towards the finals Sponsored track participants: please submit your max. 6-pages application until October 15, 2014 (see Outline and Content of Applications for details) Call for Participation KUKA Innovation Award 2015 Page 9