Why such a simulator ?

For several years, here at the IUT de Cachan we have been using micro-controllers since the first semester of the DUT GEII university program. Our students take part to a line-follower robot competition, that we have named “Gamel Trophy”, which takes place every January, at the end of the first semester.

Students are provided a microcontroller-based board, which they program in order to control the robot

This board is also used during practical exercises. This project is realized in groups of 6 students, since practical constraints do not allow us to provide each student a card.

Every year, the Concours National de Robotique de Vierzon a national robotics contest, allows the “Gamel Trophy” winners to compete with other DUT GEII first year students from other universities. Concurrently, a local competition is organized, the “super finale du Gamel Trophy”.

Providing a simulator allows the students to work individually on their projects and on practical assignments, both at school and at home. For this reason, we have chosen only open source software tools. Our objective here is to let you discover these tools and to guide you through the use of the simulator