Re: Programming Compatition
 

I think we need to spend time on developing this competition. Obviously, working with real robots would not be ideal because then someone would have to take the time and money to make the robot. Then we need some programming languages. I think we should stick with one if we do a virtual simulation of a robot. What we can do instead, is write out some problems that relate to real world applications and let the programmers work in their own language of choice. Pros and cons of each idea are as follows:

Pro-virtual simulation: It deals with the robotics competition and allows an environment where anything can be variable. Since this is a simulation, we can simulate a real robot as well as the physics so it will teach us more about the mechanical and electrical aspects of the robot. Using this method will make the participants use a standard language that all can understand leading to the better readability of the code by the judges.

Pro-problem solving: There are many ways to approach a problem and this way would allow people to approach the problem in ways they are comfortable with. We can even set this up outside of the robotics competition and instead use the competition as a place to sign-up. If people will volunteer, then they can create a web application that shows people what the problems are, and an email to the judges so that the participants can send in their programs. This doesn't take much to set up and is even easier for whoever wants to coordinate this compared to the virtual simulation which needs an environment as well as graphics to do the coding in.