Competitions

Local Hub

CYBATHLON 2024

Information for setting up a local hub (a local race organisation in your country) for the CYBATHLON 2024.
 

Your institution - an official CYBATHLON Hub?

Setting up a local hub offers many advantages for a team such as:

  • Invite local media, sponsors, and partners to follow the competition on site, engage national press, and increase social media coverage

  • Promote your university or company to a global audience during the livestream by being one of the global competition sites

  • Invite local audience and create an event on assistive technology and inclusion beyond the competition, if desired

  • Avoid travelling fatigue and jetlag which helps teams and pilots to be fitter for the competition days

  • Simulate more closely the competition conditions and optimise final training

  • Reuse the competition infrastructure already used for the training

  • Share setup costs and organisation workload when several teams join the same team hub

  • Make an important contribution to a sustainable CYBATHLON 2024 by reducing emissions caused by travel

Contact

Do you have any questions about setting up a team hub?

Contact Katja Stoffels at

teams@cybathlon.com

Livestreams of past Challenges

Watch the livestreams of the last CYBATHLON Challenges editions where different hubs from all over the world participated.

Requirements for a Local Hub

In a short summary, according to guidelines provided by CYBATHLON, a local hub needs to

- provide the venue

- build and setup the competition infrastructure

- attach the branding (CYBATHLON partner/sponsor logos, but also local partners/sponsor allowed)

- film the competition (can be done with a smartphone and gimbal)

- take care of the local event operation (hosting, security, etc.)

Download the information for the Hub Setup as PDF

Venue booking

Booking of the local hub venue should be scheduled for at least 5 days, from October 23 to October 27, 2024.
The venue also needs to be accessible for certain hours before the event to conduct test sessions.

General set up

General set up

To carry out a competition at your hub you require space for people and infrastructure. Beside the people and infrastructure involved in the races such as the pilot, CYBATHLON officials, and the competition infrastructure, you also need space for managing the actions in your hub and for presenting the results and the livestream to the participating teams and the audience

ARM, LEG, EXO, WHL, ROB, VIS Disciplines

In the ARM, LEG, EXO, WHL, ROB and VIS discipline, each task will take place on an area of 3m x 5m (10 tasks in total). Additional space around the tasks is required for safety, branding, monitors, and filming. In total an area of 56m x 6m (Figure 1) or 33m x 11m (Figure 2) is required, depending on the task set up.
Figure 1

Example of an EXO race with “in parallel” task set up

Example of a LEG race with “in line” task set up, in larger place with public viewing

Example of an ARM race with “in line” task set up

Example of an ARM race with “in parallel” task set up

Example of a WHL race with “in line” task set up, with 2 race tracks, in larger place with public viewing

Example of an EXO race with “in line” task set up, in larger place with public viewing

BCI, FES Disciplines

The competition infrastructure for the BCI and FES disciplines requires 5m x 6m.

Example of a BCI setup

Example of a BCI setup

Example of a FES setup

Example of a FES setup

Competition infrastructure

Please refer to the Races & Rules as well as to its “Appendix 1: Competition Infrastructure” on how to set-up the tasks and for information on the materials used.

Depending on the discipline, certain defined material will be sent to you prior to the event (marked as “provided by CYBATHLON” in the Appendix 1: Competition Infrastructure. All other material needs to be organised and bought by the teams themselves.

In the blue box to the right you see a cost estimation per discipline for one track with objects bought and built in Switzerland that might help you to estimate the costs in your country.

Cost estimation competition infrastructure (objects bought and built in Switzerland)

ARM:  CHF    2,500

BCI*:   CHF    2,000

EXO:   CHF   17,500

FES*:   CHF   2,000

LEG:    CHF 20,000

ROB:   CHF    4,500

VIS:     CHF    3,500

WHL:   CHF  19,500

*BCI, FES: only certain IT infrastructure

IT infrastructure

In general, it is important to have stable wireless internet (WiFi) available at your local hub venue. The camera device requires a 20Mbit/s stable upload. Some people involved in competition management also require bandwidth for video communication. Please use a wired internet connection if possible.

In addition, your local hub venue should have mobile internet access so that filming and scoring apps can use it as a backup for sending and receiving data. Mobile Internet is also recommended to set up a backup WiFi in case other wireless Internet sources fail.

To present the results in real time to the pilot and to share the CYBATHLON live stream to the pilot, at least three monitors (27’’ or bigger) are required at your hub (figure 15, figure 16). The monitors must be connected to a laptop which has access to wired internet. Further laptops will be required to communicate with the competition management and for Zoom interviews (figure 17).

Screen in the start area (front end)

Screen in the finish area (front end)

Laptop for zoom interview

Broadcasting

CYBATHLON headquarters production room

You will film the pilot’s performance and transfer the video and audio signal live to the production room at CYBATHLON headquarters using one of the two setups (smart phone setup or camera setup - see further below). 

Camera person in action

During the competition, our production team will be in constant contact with your camera person, giving her or him instructions and guidance on filming.

Smart phone setup

iPhone or Android phone with “TVU Anywhere” App (free of charge).

A stabilizing system (e.g., a gimbal) is required.

Camera setup

Professional camera with wireless connection to a “TVU One Transmitter”.

A stabilizing system (e.g., a gimbal) is required.

Branding

Conditions and possibilities 

The local hub venue will include branding of CYBATHLON, of the CYBATHLON partners, and, if desired, of the partners of the participating teams (e.g., sponsors, team’s university, team’s com-pany, etc.). 50% of the venue branding space is reserved for CYBATHLON branding. The other 50% are divided equally between partners of the CYBATHLON and partners/sponsors of your team (see Figure 5 Branding at team's hub). Branding on the racetrack and competition infra-structure is reserved for CYBATHLON branding.
All branding will be done in blue & white or white & blue (white logo on blue background or vice versa) or according to the instructions of CYBATHLON. Colour codes are defined by CYBATHLON.
Certain branding material will be sent to you by us, others we ask you to create or print on site.

Checks for hubs

CYBATHLON will conduct various test sessions with you to help you set up the venue, infrastructure, and technical equipment and to clarify any questions with you.

  • Hub Check, Course Check and Final Check

    HUB CHECK 1

    Jul 2024

    • Submission of online form including mandatory attachments (technical infrastructure check, video signal connectivity). Information and access will be available via team dashboard.

    HUB CHECK 2

    Aug - Sep 2024

    • Test session at local hub venue (technical infrastructure check, video signal connectivity, results system components test run)
    • - IMPORTANT: the tests must be carried out at the team's local race venue.

    COURSE CHECK 1

    23 - 24 Oct 2024 at rehearsal days

    • Check dimensions on the track for the competition infrastructure
    • Test software &  electronics
    • Check Branding

    COURSE CHECK 2

    25 - 27 Oct 2024 at competition days

    • Check placement of competition infrastructure
    • Test software &  electronics

    FINAL CHECK

    Before reach race

    • Replace moved objects, randomization

Hub Staff

CYBATHLON Officials

CYBATHLON officials are the competition staff who carry out tasks of the competition management at the Team Hub, such as course and safety checks, refereeing (referees), and scoring and time keeping (scorer).

The recruiting of the CYBATHLON officials for a Team Hub is organised together, by CYBATHLON and the Team Hub. Without local CYBATHLON, the competition cannot be done. The education of the referees and scorer is done by CYBATHLON.

Additional Team Hub staff

In addition to the CYBATHLON officials, you will need staff (e.g., team members, volunteers etc.) to assist you in running the competition:

  • 1 hub manager who organises the hub and stays in contact with us throughout the competition via the communication app “Discord”
  • 1 - 2 persons filming
  • 1 IT person to support you with technical problems
  • Only for disciplines WHL & EXO: 2-3 spotters who spot the pilot on the competition track for safety
  • Only for disciplines WHL, EXO & ROB: 1 responsible for the robots used in the “Crowd” task
  • In case you host more than 1 discipline at your venue: 3-4 movers who help you setup and dismantle the different tracks

Team Hub funding

We offer financial support to teams from universities and non-profit organisations for expenses related to participation in the CYBATHLON, such as venue rental and technical equipment for your Team Hub.

CYBATHLON has limited funding resources, applications are processed on a first come first served basis. The amount granted depends on the discipline in which a team is participating, the infrastructure provided by the CYBATHLON organisers, and the team's home address.

The amount is granted per team. Hubs hosting more than one team at their location can apply for the total amount for their participating teams.

For more information, please check our Terms & Conditions.

Allocation of Funds per Discipline

ARM:  up to CHF  1,000

BCI:    up to CHF  1,000

EXO:   up to CHF 3,000

FES:    up to CHF    500

LEG:    up to CHF 3,000

ROB:   up to CHF  1,500

VIS:    up to CHF   1,500

WHL:   up to CHF 3,000

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