RobotBASIC is FREE FOR EVERYONE

Schools have no upfront costs and no reoccurring fees or licenses. Homework assignments are never a problem because every student can download their own personal copy. RobotBASIC is also a wonderful tool for Robot Clubs. Not only can it be used as a teaching tool for new members, but it can also be used for contests because it has many features that can help in scoring and judging how efficiently a contestant’s robot solves problems. You may wonder why RobotBASIC is free. Having taught college students, and seeing the declining interest in mathematics and engineering we created RobotBASIC in order to help rekindle interest in these disciplines. To that end, we wish to make RobotBASIC available to everyone. If you want to write articles or books about RobotBASIC, please do so. If you want to write programs to give away or sell, you have our blessing – just direct your customers to our web page to download their free copy. As long as you reference us, you may use RobotBASIC pretty much as you wish (you just can’t sell it). We believe RobotBASIC is a fabulous language that meets many needs. Our reward is in seeing more people utilizing and enjoying RobotBASIC.

RobotBASIC is FREE and we appreciate when you support our efforts by purchasing our books.

Robot Programmers Bonanza (THE book on behaviorial algorithms)

Beginners Books (Learn how to program with RobotBASIC)

Hardware Books (Use RobotBASIC to interface with motors and sensors)

Download Information

Download RobotBASIC V4.2.1 and Demos zip file containing RobotBASIC.exe and many .BAS demo files that demonstrate a variety of programs illustrating the power and utility of the language and the Robotic Simulator. (Click the desired link at the bottom of this page.)

RobotBASIC requires a separate HELP file (in order to get help from within the program). The separate HELP file allows teachers to customize help for their students.

The ZIP has MANY NEW and UPDATED DEMO PROGRAMS, but if you only want the EXE you can download it (and the HELP file) separately. The EXE link is handy for running RobotBASIC on a public computer. Note: A few special commands, such as the USBmicro and webcam support, require special DLL's that are included in the ZIP file.

The HELP file details nearly 800 commands and functions and provides a partial version history.

(see FAQ and In The News for additional downloads)



Installation Instructions

Download the Zip file and place it on you desktop. Open the zip file using Windows Explorer. You will see a folder called RobotBASIC; drag and drop this folder onto your desktop (or My Documents folder if you prefer). You can now close the zip folder (you can also delete it if you wish) and open the newly created RobotBASIC folder. This folder contains the RobotBAISC.exe and various a subfolders as will be listed below.

When you wish to run RobotBASIC you can open the RobotBASIC folder (now on your desktop or My Documents folder) and then double click on the RobotBASIC.exe file to load and run RobotBASIC. However, you may wish to create a shortcut to this executable so that you won’t have to do the above double step.

You can create a shortcut to the RobotBASIC.exe by opening the folder then right-click on the exe and then use the Copy option. Then move to your desktop and then right click there. Choose the Paste ShortCut option. You now have an icon on the desktop that can be used to run RobotBASIC by double clicking on it. You may wish to rename the icon; do this by right-clicking on the icon and using the Rename option, then type the name RobotBASIC (or anything you wish).

In the IDE help page from within the RobotBASIC IDE you can read about methods for modifying the Windows OS so that you can run RobotBASIC programs (.BAS files) without having to run RobotBASIC first. This can be achieved by various methods.

Note: Many demo programs allow the option of using a joystick instead of the mouse or keyboard. However there are two robotic programs that require a joystick. You may wish to obtain and install a joystick on your computer. There are extended and standard joysticks; the extended ones provide additional functionality. One of the programs will make use of the extended joystick capabilities. You will need to install the joystick and calibrate it using utility programs from the Windows OS.

The RobotBASIC folder you now have on your desktop has various sub-folders as follows:

3D_Graphics
Contains demo programs for the rudimentary but effective 3D graphics engine.

Animation & Graphics

Contains demo programs for a lot of the animation, Bitmap manipulation, and graphics features of RB. There is a full-fledged Paint program and an interesting Image Manipulation program.

Engineering & Math
Contains sample Mathematical and Engineering related programs that illustrate many of the powerful math and array features of RB. Spring.Bas uses the Runge Kutta Differential Equations solving method to solve the second order differential equations that describe the dynamics of a mass on a damped spring with friction.

Games

Contains fully playable and enjoyable games. The files here are binary files and cannot be read, but you can run them the same as any other files. The source code will be made available closer to the publication date of our new book that is currently under development. Many of the games have resource files such as bitmaps and sound (wav) files included in an appropriate folder. If you share these games with your friends, make sure to include the resources appropriately.

RobotBASICProjectsForBeginners

Contains some of the larger programs from our second book.

Robotics

Contains some additional robotics programs that did not make it into the Bonanza book.

RobotProgrammersBonanza

Contains all the programs listed in the chapters of the Robot Programmer's Bonanza book.

Serial Comms

Has a demonstration program for the serial communications facility in RB. The program is a simple Hyper terminal program that allows you to connect two computers together with a serial line and be able to communicate between them.

ServoMagazine_ArticlePrograms

Contains all the programs listed in articles relating to RB that have been published so far. (2007/06 to 2009/05).

SMTP_TCP_UDP_Communications

Contains programs that demonstrate sending an email and for doing data sending between two PCs with the TCP (client/server) protocol and the UDP (sender/receiver) protocol. The TCPand UDP programs can even be used as CHAT programs.

USBmicro_Demos

Contains 4 demo programs for the functions in RB that support the U4x1 USB I/O device from USBmicro. One of the programs shows how to use the U401 to read temperature data from a DS1820 SPI driven thermometer chip and display the data on an LCD as well as the PC screen and also to switch between Fahrenheit and Celsius display depending on the push of a physical button or a click of a button of the PC while also blinking a physical LED.

NOTE:
Many of the demo programs provided are given as source code that can be examined and read for the purpose of learning. However, there are many programs that are provided for your enjoyment but are binary files that cannot be read. This is a feature of RobotBASIC that enables you to save and distribute programs as binary files in order to hide the code. We have performed this for many game programs because we are currently writing a book that will teach programming while writing games. All these games will be listed in the book with explanation of the algorithms and techniques used. We will make all the source code available when the book is published.

     License Agreement: TERMS OF USE

                          IMPORTANT

READ BEFORE COPYING, INSTALLING OR USING

Do not copy, install or use RobotBASIC or any associated materials (collectively "The Software") until you have carefully read the following terms and conditions.

By copying, using, or installing the Software, you agree to all of the terms of this agreement ("The License"). This License contains the entire agreement and supersedes all other agreements or understandings (oral or written).

Please read all the terms below. If you do not agree to any of the terms in any of the sections of The License, then DO NOT use, or install The Software.

SCOPE OF LICENSE

Individuals, schools, clubs, and other organizations may freely USE the Software perpetually in accordance with the following terms:

You may write articles or books about the Software.

You may use the Software to write programs that you can give away or sell. If you are distributing a product, you may NOT include a copy of the IDE Software or demo programs. Customers should be directed to www.RobotBASIC.com to download their personal free copy. The Software provides the ability to create binary files or stand-alone EXE files for distribution, if you wish to protect your source code.

You may NOT rent, sell, request donations, or charge any type of fee (including, but not limited to, shipping, handling, convenience and such) to transfer any part of the Software or for including it as part of any product (commercial or otherwise).

The Software may be used in classrooms at schools or seminars on individual machines or on a network. Students and others should be encouraged to visit our web page to download their personal free copy.

You may not reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the Software.

If you have special needs not outlined here, please contact us. Having taught college students, and seeing the decline of interest in mathematics and engineering we created RobotBASIC in order to help promote interest in these disciplines. To that end, we wish to make RobotBASIC available to everyone.

WE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTY FOR THE SOFTWARE. THE SOFTWARE AND ANY RELATED DOCUMENTATION ARE PROVIDED "AS IS", "WITH ALL FAULTS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. WE DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF USING THE SOFTWARE REMAINS WITH YOU. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, LOST PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION OR LOST INFORMATION) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGES.

OWNERSHIP AND COPYRIGHTS.

Title to all copies of the Software remains with the Authors. The Software is copyrighted and protected by the laws of the United States and other countries, and international treaty provisions. You may not remove or change any copyright notices from the Software. We may make changes to the Software, or to items referenced therein, at any time without notice, but are not obligated to support or update the Software.

RobotBASIC DOWNLOADS

DO NOT DOWNLOAD OR USE RobotBASIC WITHOUT READING THE LICENSE INFORMATION ABOVE.