A preview of the RobotForge simulator

The best way to learn robotics is to watch a robot move and understand why. That's impossible if the first step is installing ROS on a laptop that's still running Homebrew from 2019.

The design constraint

Zero install. One URL. A real physics engine. A real code editor. Python and JavaScript. Saves locally. Works on a Chromebook.

The stack

• Rapier 3D for physics (Rust compiled to WebAssembly — 5-8× faster than the JS physics engines of 2020)
• Three.js for rendering
• Monaco for the code editor — same engine VS Code uses
• Pyodide for Python — lazy-loaded so the default page stays light
• Web Workers keep each simulation isolated from the main UI thread

Phase 1 lessons

At launch we'll ship three lesson templates:

1. A 2-wheel differential-drive robot learning to drive straight
2. An inverted pendulum learning to balance
3. A 2-DOF arm learning inverse kinematics

Each lesson is a single MDX file + starter code + a scoring function. Fork, remix, submit your own.

What we won't do

We won't lock the advanced features behind a paywall just because we can. The simulator itself stays free. Courses are paid because courses are a different product — structured progression, video, office hours. The simulator is the raw material everyone gets.