A robotics lab that runs in a browser, and it is free.
Jog a six-axis robot arm, program it in real Python and complete an assessed pick-and-place task. The simulation marks it out of 100 from what it measured: grip, placement accuracy, release height and whether the arm stayed inside its limits. There is nothing to install and no account to create.
The lab is in test and the public link is not open yet. If you would like to see it before then, get in touch and we will show you it on a call.
Who it is for
Anyone learning robotics, and anyone teaching it.
It is not aimed at one level or one kind of institution. The worksheets run from Level 4 to Level 7, which means a first-year college group and a master’s cohort can both use the same lab and be stretched by it. If you are learning on your own, it is yours to use too, and you do not need anybody’s permission.
CollegesUniversitiesLevel 4 through Level 7ApprenticeshipsStudents on their ownStudent societiesLecturers and techniciansAnyone teaching themselves
Why it is different
Marked from what the robot actually did.
Most teaching simulators stop at "the program ran". This one watches the task and reports why a mark was earned, which is the part a learner can act on and the part an assessor can defend.
Real code
Python, not a block editor
The same language used in industry, written in the browser, with the robot responding to it.
Assessment
A measurement behind every criterion
Grip, placement accuracy, release height and limit breaches, each scored from what the simulation recorded rather than from a completion flag.
No setup
Nothing to install, no accounts
It opens in a browser on the machines you already have, which is usually the obstacle that kills a lab exercise before term starts.
The workbench. The lab guide is on the left, and the steps tick themselves from the robot’s actual state.The instructor side. Each mark arrives with the measurement that produced it.
What comes with it
Enough to run a module from.
Rather than a demo you would have to build a module around.
Three labs, each with a printable worksheet carrying learning outcomes and extension tasks from Level 4 to Level 7.
Two robots: an industrial six-axis cobot and an open-source arm, so the same task can be compared across different hardware.
Import your own robot from a URDF description, if you already have one.
A learner view and an instructor view, the instructor view showing a whole class at a glance.
Works in VR on a WebXR headset, and as an ordinary web page for everyone else.
Open source underneath. The engine, its version and its licence are named in full on the lab entry.
The teaching loop
The whole loop, not just the simulator.
A simulator you can play with is a demo. What makes it teachable is everything either side of it: setting the work, marking it, and getting the mark back with a reason attached.
Set
The work is set
Assignments and announcements against a module, with sample modules spanning Level 4 to Level 7 to start from.
Do
The learner works and submits
They attempt the lab as many times as they like, see what the simulation measured each time, and submit when they are ready.
Return
It is reviewed and released
The mark comes with the measurement behind every criterion. Written feedback goes with it, so a released mark is a human decision on measured evidence.
What the learner sees once a mark is released: the result, and why.
Marks download as a CSV. Returning them straight into a learning platform is built as a hand-off and is labelled in the product as a demo: it does not send anything yet. Wiring it to a real platform is work we would scope with you. Every name, module and class list in the product is sample data, and the product says so on screen.
Pilot programme
Pilot it with one class, free, for a term.
We are looking for a small number of departments to run it properly with real learners, because that is the only way to find out what a lab like this is missing. Any level, any institution.
Before
A set-up call
We map the labs and worksheets onto your module and its learning outcomes, so it fits the course you already teach rather than the other way round.
During
A mid-term check-in
One group uses it for a term at no cost. We check in part way through and fix what is getting in the way. Your institution branding can go on the lab for the pilot if you want it.
After
A short feedback round
A conversation about what worked, what people struggled with and what would have to be true for you to use it again.
What we ask in return is honest feedback, including the parts that did not work. If the pilot goes well and you are happy to, we would like to write a short case study with you. That is optional and it is your decision afterwards, not a condition of taking part.
On your own
You do not need an institution to use it.
The lab is free to use directly, whether you are on a course, between courses or teaching yourself.
Use it
Free, no sign-up
For coursework, for a society session, to practise before a hardware lab, or because you want to learn how an industrial arm actually moves.
Build on it
Projects welcome
If you want a project that extends the lab, with new labs and robots, machine vision or ROS 2, get in touch and tell us what you have in mind. Any level.
Working together
And beyond the lab.
Simam Digital builds simulation, digital twin and AI systems. Where a department wants more than a free resource, these are the ways we usually work with education.
Research projects and funding bidsTeaching resources across levelsBranded deployments with single sign-onGrade return into your learning platformIndustry projects learners can take part in
Use of the lab and the pilot are free. Branded deployments, sign-on and grade integration are quoted on request against what you actually need.
Get in touch
Tell us what you teach, or what you want to learn.
For a pilot, the course, the level and roughly how many people is enough to start. For anything else, just ask. We will come back with whether it fits, honestly, including when it does not.
