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The purpose of the AAAI-2002 Robot Rescue event is to challenge researchers to design useful robotic systems for urban search and rescue (USAR). The competition rules are written to simulate a real rescue response in a simulated disaster environment developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The event comprises a competition and an exhibition. The competition is a low-fidelity simulation meant to encourage participants to contribute to the field of urban search and rescue (USAR) robotics and make them aware of the AI and engineering research challenges encountered when working within the USAR field (Casper et al. 2001). Competitors are challenged to quickly locate as many victims as possible within constraints, which provide the competitor with a sense of what a real USAR situation involves.