The InTech Cup is a co-operation project between the Department of Computing Science Education at the University of Oldenburg and schools in the region. The robotics competition takes place at the end of the school year at different school locations. Interested schools are welcome to take part at any time.

The InTech Cup 2018 took place on 23 June 2018 at IGS Krummhörn in Pewsum. Many thanks to the organising team on site!

The rules document for the InTech Cup 2018 can be downloaded here.

Questions about the rules can be sent to These FAQs will be published here at regular intervals.

You should therefore check here regularly.

General questions

Question: If the number of sensors is limited, do the rotation sensors built into the NXT and EV3 motors count?

Answer: Rotation sensors are excluded from such restrictions for all Lego systems. However, original Lego rotation sensors must be used. If the number of sensors is restricted, this applies to all other types of sensors.

Question: Does changing the undercarriage between disciplines still count as a permitted change or is this considered different base constructions?

Answer: Changing the chassis between disciplines is possible as long as the motors are not also changed. The basic construction includes the brick and the drive motors as well as the brackets for the various attachments and their connecting construction.

Question: Is a second battery pack permitted as a weight?

Answer: The restriction to an RCX, NXT or EV3 brick also applies to the associated power supply. Either only one battery pack or one set of AA batteries or AA rechargeable batteries are allowed in the brick used. Beyond that, no rechargeable batteries or batteries of any kind may be installed. The use of other original Lego parts remains permitted.

Question: What are all prohibited adhesives?

Answer: All substances that hold two Lego parts together, either by means of an adhesive bond between the parts or by gluing the parts together from the outside using adhesive strips or stickers, are prohibited. This also applies to original Lego stickers. These may only be used if they are not stuck over several parts, but only on the brick, for example.

Questions about the "Dike Run" discipline

Question: If a robot emits a flotsam signal in an area of the dyke run where there is no flotsam, does this count as a fault?

Answer: If a flotsam signal is given in the beach area, i.e. between the dyke and the water's edge (turning wall), at an inappropriate place, one flotsam point is deducted for each faulty signal. (Other points cannot be lost as a result. If fewer flotsam points are scored than should be deducted, zero flotsam points are awarded. ) No points are deducted if a signal is inadvertently given in other areas, e.g. at the crossings in the dyke area.

Question: Can the signal also be given with a short delay when recognising a stranded object in the dyke run discipline?

Answer: No. The signal must be given immediately after reaching the beach object with the sensor(s) in order to avoid confusion with incorrectly given signals (see also previous question).

Questions on the discipline "Loading and sorting beach goods"

Question: What exactly do the beach blocks for the "Loading and sorting" discipline look like?

Answer: The following picture shows the prototypes of the glued wooden blocks. The small side surfaces and their neighbouring edges remain free (wooden surface). The other side surfaces are fully glued. During the competition, it is possible to carry out a test measurement of the brightness values on the competition track in the morning before the start of the competition rounds. (A tip: we use removable adhesive labels so that they can be removed more easily later).

Question: When sorting flotsam and jetsam, does the flotsam and jetsam in the organic waste area also have to be completely inside the deposit area in order to be counted?

Answer: Yes, in all three deposit areas, only flotsam and jetsam that is completely inside the respective deposit area can be categorised. The top view from above is decisive. The white marking of the storage space counts as part of the storage space. If there is even a small corner of the flotsam beyond this marking, the piece of flotsam is not counted.

Question: Is the organic waste deposit area always to the left of the deposit area for unsorted waste when sorting flotsam and jetsam coming from the transfer station?

Answer: Yes.

Question: Are flotsam and jetsam items that are not completely in the deposit area removed immediately?

Answer: No. Flotsam and jetsam objects that are not completely in the deposit area remain there until the end of the scoring run. Then they are counted according to the rules.
Flotsam and jetsam lying on the course can be removed by the referee at the team's request.

Questions about the flotsam and jetsam dispute discipline

Question: Can the rope be pulled by the robot using a winding mechanism or similar?

Answer: The task description also mentions tug-of-war. It contradicts the idea of tug-of-war if the rope is wound up. It may only be pulled by the robot on the rope. If teams have provided such mechanisms in their robot, they may remain in the robot, but must remain deactivated.

Note: The ropes have inadvertently not been produced with a diameter of 2 mm or 3 mm, as stated in the rules, but with a diameter of 4 mm.