Quote:
Originally Posted by WillNess
personally instead of a multi-player simulator I'd rather want to have a simulator where you can customize robots/choose robots. None of the simulators I have found can do 6 stacks with a bin 
Or a simulator that gets constantly updated with different teams robots. |
I fully understand.
I also know that doing that is a tall order.
On ordinary computers, after investing moderate time developing the simulator, a simulator really won't do well at simulating (and rendering) the real world behavior of a complex multi-link mechanism (motors, pistons, belts, linkages, gripping friction and "compliance", torque-speed curves, wheel characteristics, etc. etc. etc.) (plus the many user interface options...) at real world speeds.
However, for the amount of time and equipment likely to be invested in the project, it is certainly possible to roughly approximate the various results teams can create using various robots.
For example, all types of game piece pick-up mechanisms tend to boil down to a probability of successfully getting control of an object, at a variety of distances from the robot, when the robot is moving at a variety of speeds. Also, the robot's stability is usually affected when it tries to reach for a far-away item; and the robot usually has some probability that it will lose/drop the game piece when it is travelling around (or bumped).
If you wish for a simulator that lets you adjust these sorts of probabilities, so that you can get a sense of how important each feature is in a real robot; you might get (or be able to create on your own) what you wish for.
You also might use it to do some interest design or strategy trade-off experiments, and/or practice scouting, and/or practice drive-team coordination/communication, and/or ...
Blake