Hosted in Sheffield
The competition takes place at Sheffield Hallam University's Hospitality Training Restaurant in the Owen Building on Saturday 20 June 2026 and Sunday 21 June 2026.
Expressions of interest open
East Midlands Service Robotics Competition 2026
A Sheffield Hallam University competition inspired by the RoboCup restaurant task, bringing together teams working on autonomous service robotics in realistic human environments.
The 2026 event centres on a steel-city restaurant scenario where robots detect customers, take orders, coordinate with staff, and deliver items safely and intelligibly over two days of challenge activity, demonstrations, and community exchange.
Dates
20-21 June 2026
Challenge
RoboCup-inspired restaurant task
Venue
Hospitality Training Restaurant, Owen Building
Open to
UK universities, labs, and industry partners
Countdown to opening day
Sheffield Hallam University
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Event focus
The Steel City Restaurant Challenge
The event combines competition rounds with showcases, demonstrations, and research exchange so that teams, presenters, judges, and partners can all take part.
Event details
Saturday 20 June 2026 and Sunday 21 June 2026, Hospitality Training Restaurant, Owen Building, Sheffield Hallam University.
Event overview
A two-day service robotics competition in a realistic restaurant setting
The competition challenges teams to work across perception, navigation, manipulation, and human-robot interaction in a realistic restaurant environment.
We are treating the expression-of-interest process as an early signal for likely team participation, judge availability, industrial involvement, and requests for hosted platforms at Sheffield Hallam University.
Real service task
Teams work through a realistic hospitality scenario combining gesture detection, spoken interaction, navigation, manipulation, and order delivery.
Community showcase
Alongside the competition, the programme includes robot demonstrations, posters, networking, and wider service robotics discussion.
Open participation
Participation is open to competing teams, presenters, judges, sponsors, and industry partners across the wider UK robotics community.
Challenge format
Based on the RoboCup-style restaurant task
The 2026 challenge evaluates the full service robotics pipeline: detecting a customer, taking an order through natural interaction, coordinating with staff, and delivering items in a live hospitality setting. The rules are based on the RoboCup restaurant task and adapted for the Sheffield venue.
Main goal
Detect a calling or waving customer, navigate to their table, take an order through spoken interaction, and deliver the requested items correctly.
Optional goal
Use an unattached tray to transport the order, including placing objects on the tray, carrying it safely, and presenting the delivery at the table.
Task focus areas
Task planningOnline mappingNavigationGesture detectionVerbal interactionObject manipulation
Step 01
Start and detection
The robot begins near the kitchen-bar and must detect a calling or waving customer in a previously unknown restaurant layout before travelling to the correct table.
Step 02
Order taking
The robot uses spoken interaction to take the customer's order, confirm it clearly, and manage whether it collects several orders or handles them one at a time.
Step 03
Kitchen and delivery
The robot places the order with staff at the kitchen-bar, retrieves the requested items, and delivers them onto the customer's table, optionally using a tray.
Event programme
Two days of challenge activity, demos, and community exchange
The competition runs across Saturday 20 June 2026 and Sunday 21 June 2026, combining setup, testing, competition rounds, demos, and community-facing showcase activity.
Day 1 - Saturday 20 June 2026
Setup, testing, and community exchange
- Arena setup and robot testing
- Technical Q&A and rule clarifications
- Poster and research showcase setup
- Lab tours, informal demos, and networking
Day 2 - Sunday 21 June 2026
Challenge rounds and public showcase
- Official restaurant challenge rounds
- Robot demonstrations and poster sessions
- Industry and company showcase activity
- Awards, discussion, and closing remarks
Venue and directions
Find the Owen Building at Sheffield Hallam University
The event venue is the Hospitality Training Restaurant in the Owen Building, City Campus. For walking, driving, or public transport routes, use the directions links below.
Official venue address: Owen Building, Hallam Square, Sheffield S1 2LX.
Venue details
Building
Hospitality Training Restaurant, Owen Building
Address
Hallam Square, Sheffield S1 2LX, United Kingdom
Campus
Sheffield Hallam University, City Campus
Quick arrival note
City Campus is opposite Sheffield railway station and next to Sheffield bus station, making public transport the simplest option for most visitors.
Travel and stay
Use these notes to plan arrival, building access, and any overnight stay in Sheffield city centre.
Travel notes
City Campus is opposite Sheffield railway station and next to Sheffield bus station, which makes rail and coach arrival the simplest option for most visitors.
Building entry guidance
The Owen Building main reception is a practical arrival point for the venue. Event signage and staff directions can then route visitors to the Hospitality Training Restaurant.
Accommodation notes
For overnight stays, city-centre accommodation near Sheffield Station, Howard Street, or Hallam Square will be the most convenient. Book early if you plan to stay across the full event weekend.
Event FAQ
Quick answers for teams, judges, and visitors
The answers below cover the main questions we expect before final operational details are circulated.
Who is eligible to take part?
The event is aimed at UK university teams, research groups, student teams, demo presenters, judges, and industry partners working in robotics or adjacent fields. If you are unsure whether your format fits, submit an expression of interest and explain your intended contribution.
How will judging work?
Judging is expected to combine task completion, safety, interaction quality, and compliance with the event rules. External judges and organisers will be involved in the final event-day review process.
What if our team needs robot hardware support?
Use the expression-of-interest form to explain your platform needs. A small number of hosted Sheffield Hallam platforms may be available, but allocation depends on suitability, scheduling, and final demand.
What should we know about travel and arrival?
City Campus sits opposite Sheffield railway station and next to the city bus interchange. Plan to arrive with enough time for campus navigation, unloading, and venue check-in before your first activity.
Ways to take part
Join as a team, presenter, judge, or partner
The challenge page is designed to support multiple forms of involvement, not only full competition teams. That makes it more useful for researchers, judges, and partners who want to take part in the 2026 event without entering a full competition team.
Competing team
Bring a robot platform and compete in the restaurant challenge as a university research group, student team, or industry lab.
Researcher or presenter
Share a poster, demonstration, or related project even if you are not entering a full competition team.
Judge or partner
Support the event through judging, sponsorship, equipment, or industry collaboration as the programme is finalised.
Available SHU platforms
Platforms that may support hosted participation
Teams without their own hardware may be able to request access to a limited set of Sheffield Hallam University platforms, subject to availability and suitability for the final format.
Mention any hardware needs in the expression-of-interest form so we can plan capacity early.
TurtleBot
Mobile robot base suited to navigation, mapping, and service task experiments.
View robot profile
Temi
Service robot platform for telepresence, spoken interaction, and autonomous indoor movement.
View robot profile
Unitree Go2
Quadruped platform that may be useful for demonstration or mobility-focused participation.
View robot profile
Get involved
Help shape the final event
Expressions of interest help us understand the likely number of teams, the balance between competition and showcase activity, and whether hosted hardware support will be needed.
What happens next
- We record your interest and use it to plan the event format.
- We follow up with participation guidance, arrival details, and next steps after review.
- You can use the free-text field to flag robot platform needs, judging interest, or sponsorship ideas.
Questions before submitting? Use the lab's contact page for general enquiries or include your question in the message box.
Contact the SIT LabExpression of Interest
Use this form to register a team, propose a demo or poster, or let us know you are interested in judging or supporting the event.