Robot Construction Kit

The Robot Construction Kit is a software application whose goal is to allow hobbyists to prototype and visualize robot designs in three dimensions. I started developing this program to simplify the robot construction process. Using Servo Erector Set parts provided by LynxMotion, hobbyists can now build many complex designs quickly and easily. However, for those not familiar with the SES parts, or for those who are unable to visualize complex three dimensional interactions between those parts, programs such as this are the only other option. However, the vast majority of 3d visualization tools are very expensive. Many engineers now use a program called SolidWorks to develop and prototype their designs. The average hobbyist does not have access to tools such as this, however, nor does he or she require many of the more advanced features of software applications such as these. The RCK is intended to fill this small niche.

My eventual goal is to allow the user to not only visualize their design, but also control their robot using this program, in combination with a servo controller/robot interface program I am also working on. I want to develop a robust and easy to use tool for the hobbyist robotics community that will allow users to design, test, and modify their robot without ever touching a piece of hardware. Then, once the user has settled on a design, I want them to be able to easily control their robot with an intuitive and efficient graphical user interface during the control software development process, and then be able to use the same back end software to allow their robots to locomote autonomously, or, if the servos support position feedback, to remotely monitor what their robot is actually doing at any given time. A lofty goal, perhaps, but one I hope to eventually see recognized.

If you have any bug reports or feature requests, contact me by e-mailing Mike @ this domain, or by posting to this thread.

The RCK is currently in a very early beta status. Download and usage instructions can be found here.

Current Features:

• Import LynxMotion SES brackets and manipulate them in three dimensions (rotate and translate on all axes)
• Navigate the world using the mouse (rotate, zoom, and translate)
• Rename parts added to the tree

Planned Features:

• User Interface
  • Tweak control speed to make fine part manipulation easier
  • Possibly allow for pre-programmed rotations on selected parts
  • Add in pre-programmed views the user can jump to at a button press (Top, Front, Side, Orthogonal, etc)
  • Add an axis display legend
  • Develop custom behaviors so that right dragging a part will always move it in a plane parallel to the camera, and middle dragging will always move it parallel with the camera's line of sight.
  • Allow for keyboard navigation
• Parts Tree
  • Enhance parts tree to allow the user to create and customize parts groups (such as limbs)
  • Make parts tree reflect the current state of the scene graph
  • Allow for part deletion
  • Allow for group copying
• Physics
  • Develop and implement a system to attach parts to one another
  • Collision avoidance
  • Gravity simulation
• User requested features

Known Bugs:

• Program sometimes freezes when you switch to another window and then try to switch back.
• The background color sometimes changes from sky blue to black.