ROBOTC.net Blog  

Hey everyone! Just wanted to let you know we are changing the time for today’s Google Hangout webinar to 6pm EST. We will be talking about the Robot Virtual Worlds’ Level Builder and Model Importer! We hope you’re able to attend and join in on the discussion! Visit http://ROBOTC.net/hangouts to join us and watch the live video stream.

Thank you to everyone who downloaded the new RVW Level Builder and provided feedback! We’ve released version 2.01 of the software, which addresses the issues some of you were seeing. It can be downloaded here, under Available Level Packs.

If you haven’t tried out the Level Builder, you definitely should. It allows you to create your own challenges to solve and share with others. (More detail can be found here, in the original blog post) The latest version even includes the Model Importer, which allows you to use your own 3D objects that were created in Autodesk Inventor and SolidWorks:

Here are the major fixes in this release:

• Fixed some large models getting distorted on import
• Auto-generated collider can now be edited
• Added error reporting readout to Model Importer to improve debugging
• Fixed crash conditions when model library is empty
• Removed scale reference from generated model thumbnails
• STL importer better handles small differences in ASCII STL file formats

Thanks again to everyone who provided feedback!

- Jesse Flot

The RVW team is excited to announce our latest update to the RVW Level Builder, which allows you to create, share, and solve your own virtual challenges! Download it here! This update includes a long list of new features and improvements, and you’ll discover the biggest change when you select the new IMPORT button in Build mode:

Pressing the IMPORT button will launch the RVW Model Importer. Until now, your challenges have been limited to the objects that we’ve prepackaged with the Level Builder. With the Model Importer, you can import any object that you’ve created in SolidWorks or Autodesk Inventor (saved as .STL files) and use them in your virtual challenges. Check out this video for a quick overview:

The Model Importer is an extremely powerful and versatile tool. Once you import your object, you can customize its level of detail, color, scale, mass, and many other properties that affect how it will behave in the 3D Virtual world.

Once you’ve imported an object and set its properties, you can use it in your virtual challenges, just like any of the included objects.

To support you as work with the Level Builder and Model Importer, we’ve created a series of 6 short tutorial videos that teach you everything that you need to know:

Don’t have Inventor or SolidWorks installed on your computer? An educational license of Autodesk Inventor is available for free to students and teachers and Solidworks offers a 60-day free trial for educators. If you’d like to try out the Model Importer right away, here is a .ZIP file you can download that contains a few models you can use: Sample Model Importer Files.

Other changes to the RVW Level Builder include:

• The new default directory for your levels is in your Documents folder, making it easier to share your files
• New robot models with improved graphics, physics, and performance
• The ability to view your levels in 3D in Build mode (right-click your mouse and drag to activate)
• Lots of small fixes and performance improvements

As always, we would love to hear your feedback! Share it on our Facebook page, here on the blog, or the ROBOTC.net forums.

Written by Ryan Cahoon and Jesse Flot