Build your own virtual robots with Robocode!

Robocode is a programming game, where the goal is to develop a robot battle tank to battle against other tanks which will be developed in Java.

This program consists of 10 sessions from November 2016 through to March 2017.

 

Session 1 – Mon 14^th November – “My First Robot”

• You will be introduced to the basics of setting up and running robocode! In addition, you will be introduced to the 3 key concepts of robot control :
  • Movement
  • Gun
  • Radar

Session 2 –  “Intelligent movement systems”

• You will be taught how to move your robot around the arena, as well as exploring several different movement systems to consider for your final implementation.

Session 3 – “Scanning an enemy”

• You will be introduced to the radar system in robocode; Looking at both how the scanner works, methods of scanning and actions that you can take when scanning an enemy robot.

Session 4 – “Gunning systems”

• You will explore the firing systems in robocode. You will also look at how to predict a robot’s path based on bullet speed and how best to select a target in multi-robot battles.

Session 5 – “A Guide to Further Improvement”

• You will discuss the important of building these three systems into one coherent system as well as understanding how to build battles and test their robot against several AI robots built into the system for more coherent testing.

Session 6 – 7 – “Implement and prepare!”

• You will work on your robots under the aide of the mentors, encourage constant testing and the use of paper design ‘pseudo-code’ before implementation

Session 8 – “Royal Rumble!”

• You will have one last chance to improve your robot and edit the code before submitting the robots to a mentor for the final battle. This will take place on the big screen, with a prize awarded to the long awaited winner!

It is advised that you attend each of the first four sessions at a minimum.

The following ones will allow you to test your robot and improve it with mentor guidance.

You will need to bring your own laptop, and be happy for the robocode software package to be downloaded onto your machines.

For best results work on your project at home. When you come back to the club you can work through any problems with the mentors..