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Programming the virtual LEGO bricks takes place as if these were the real thing, and this is not an overstatement. This means that you can use the official LEGO Digital Designer tool or alternatives such as MLCAD to build robots or other assemblies and then seamlessly import them and test their functionality in VRT. The prime feature of VRT is the ability to import your own 3D LEGO models made with any CAD software based on the LDraw framework standard. Additional resources are available online, there is some pretty extensive documentation as well as established communities. Personally I found the help section to be written in a clear and succinct manner, and was able to access most basic functionality after only a few minutes, and relevant information can be easily found while using the software. In fact the are integrated example project selection includes sample projects for current challenges – complete with robot models, environment as well as documentation – in order to help getting your projects up and running in a very short time. VRT is geared towards STEM educational audiences and is a great asset for teams who want to get their creations in shape for robotics competitions such as the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) or the World Robot Olympiad (WRO). Development on the VRT software started over 9 years ago and supported more expensive robots such as the NAO. Virtual Robotics Toolkit (VRT) has been developed by Cogmation Robotics, a Canadian company with over 10 years of experience in the field of custom robotics simulators, better known for products like robotSim or the Roboteer mobile app. In this article we will explore some of the features of Virtual Robotics Toolkit, a feature-rich simulation environment for LEGO Mindstorms robots which allows testing any robotic creation similar to an actual model without actually owning one – simply import any LDraw 3D model, load an EV3-G script, run the simulation and start observing what your robot does. Nevertheless there are also pitfalls which can be easily avoided, head to our software simulation article to learn more. The possibility of simulating processes or products and their behavior in the environment throughout the entire life cycle has a clear and positive impact in all stages of development and maintenance of an equipment or system.
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