Web-based Multiplatform Development Environment for Educational Robotics Sarah Thomaz 1 and Luiz Marcos Garcia 2 Abstract—We created an online development environment, specifically for educational robotics applications, in which it is possible to register programming languages associated with different robotic platforms, so that the user program a robot using the registered language or the language R-Educ, developed for teaching programming. To validate the platform, we conducted a series of tests divided into six steps to verify that the complete cycle was satisfied - registering a language, program in R-Educ, compile to the registered language, compile to machine code and send the code for the robot. I. I NTRODUCTION For the development of educational robotics classes the following resources must be used in the classroom [1]: • A robotic kit, consisting of a programmable logic controller, sensors, motors and parts for building a mechanical structure for the prototype robotic; • A development environment; • A computer capable of using the chosen environment, and • An environment conducive to the development of a particular activity. With the spread of educational robotics, several studies have been conducted in order to produce materials for educational robotics classes, to create new possibilities to the students. It is in this scenario that a search for a more versatile hardware is used in learning environments that make use of educational robotics. Linked to the use of different hardware is the use of softwares to program or control them. The development environments accompanying educational robotics kits, mostly have different programming languages and different ways of programming: graphical or textual. The graphical programming interfaces are twofold: or approach- ing the maximum of the direct control of the hardware parts or try to abstract the details of hardware from the fitting of graphic content. The textual programming interface have, mostly, a programming language based on a given language, usually English, with keywords and command sequences differentiated. For a program to be compiled and sent to a robot, it is often necessary to install specific software on a computer, limiting such operations to specialist users [2]. In some cases it is necessary that the user has system administration privileges to install and/or run software. Is also often required that the 1 Sarah Thomaz is with Graduate Program in Electrical and Computing Engineering, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil sarahthom4z@gmail.com 2 Luiz Marcos Garcia is with the Department of Computer Engineering and Automation, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil lmarcos@dca.ufrn.br user have computer with high computing power or particular hardware specifications. Due to the non-uniformity found in the forms of program- ming robots, the problems to install specific software on a given computer and the benefits that educational robotics has in the teaching and learning process, we developed a programming environment that allows greater flexibility in the use of hardware through a web development environment, allowing users to edit, compile and run programs using only a web browser. With the proposed solution, any device that has a web browser, can be used as development station to create programs for robotic prototypes. The idea of this work is to create an environment where it is possible to program in multiple languages. The pro- gramming languages for robotics can be registered using a registration form, by an experienced user in the language, and the environment is configured to compile the code into machine language and send this code to the robot. From this work we make it possible for the user to program in a simpler programming language, called R-Educ [3] and send this program to any registered robot. The development environment is based on the educational software R-Educ [4], which has programming environments in levels, in which students use different programming en- vironments depending on their level of maturity and knowl- edge, in a total of five levels. The problem of this software is that it is used to program a particular robot. We created two of the five original levels, allowing the user to program different types of robots. To validate the platform, we conducted a series of tests divided into six steps to assess the functioning of the platform records of languages and integrated development. A. Web development environments There are programming environments that enable that any computer or device with web access via a browser can be used to program robots without the need to install specific software. The Mindstorms Internet Control Environment (MICE) [5] is in this category, for being an environment for remote programming of robots. The physical robot in this case is not with the user, but located next to a server. This web development environment, aims to solve the problem that not every student has the ability to have acquire a robot Lego Mindstorms NXT [6], with approximate cost of U.S.$350.00. This environment allows the user to program Lego robots remotely and watch the results via a webcam. There are other studies in the literature that resemble this first, such as [7], [8], [9] but runs a bit out of the scope