Robot Virtual Worlds

Computer Requirements and Performance

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Minimum Recommended Specifications
for Robot Virtual Worlds:


PC Icon PC Compatible OS: VISTA, Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1, Windows 10
Processor Icon Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo processor family or better, AMD Athlon X2 processor family or better
Memory Icon Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics Icon Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800GTS or better, ATI Radeon™ HD 3850 or better
DirectX Icon DirectX: DirectX® 9.0c and DirectX® 10
Hard Drive Icon Hard Drive: 500 MB free hard drive space
Sound Icon Sound: Standard audio device


What Computers will work with the Robot Virtual World Software?

The Robot Virtual World software is developed using Unity, a “Game Development” software and ROBOTC a robot programming software. The Robot Virtual World software has two large tasks: drawing the 3D graphics real time and simulating the physics of the virtual environment. If a computer does not have a 3D graphics card, then it must use its internal processor to draw the 3D graphics. Unfortunately, this comes at a cost of decreased accuracy of the physics simulation. This decreased accuracy results in choppy robot movement and you may not be able to generate repeatable behaviors. The Robot Virtual World software may work, but you will not get the smooth accurate performance that you will get with a computer that has an internal graphics card installed.

ROBOTC Developers have tested the software on a variety of computer using different combinations of video cards and processors. Testing was held on a testing lab full of computers with Core i3 processors with 2.75 GB of RAM and no discrete graphic card installed. These 2-year old computers ran the Robot Virtual World software, but not at full speed and there was some choppiness and slight inconsistency in the robot’s movements.

Our recommendation is to install/purchase a discrete video card for your classroom computers if they do not have one if you are interested in using the Robot Virtual World software. In our testing lab, we purchased and installed several video cards including ATI 5570 HD with 1GB of RAM (~$70) and NVidia GeForce 210 with 512MB of RAM (~$40) to upgrade the Core i3 computers and the upgraded graphics card resulted in perfect performance from the Robot Virtual Worlds software. A "high end" video card is not required, but performance from integrated graphics (GPU built into the main processor) will typically be poor.

If you are unsure of the RVW’s performance on your computers, then download the free 10 day version and evaluate the software before you purchase. This will ensure that you will be happy with the performance on your computer.


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