Making Robot Challenges with Virtual Robots

Abstract

This paper presents a methodology for creating challenge problems using a simulation environment for a hardware robot-based programming competition. Hosted each spring for K-14 students, the competition is based on hardware robots and lessons which have been used by students within their math, science, and engineering classes throughout the school year. RoboSim is a simulator which complements the control scheme for the hardware robots and is used regularly by the students to supplement running the hardware robots. For the first time RoboSim was used to design the challenges which have been given to students for the 2016 RoboPlay Challenge Competition. Using virtual robots for designing the competition allows more efficient design and testing of the new challenges with new features compared to using only hardware robots. The code which is used to control the robots is unchanged between the hardware and virtual robots making the transition to hardware robots trivial. All challenges from previous RoboPlay competitions are also available to students within RoboSim for testing within the classroom.