Robot Delivery Simulation

Overview

This project simulates a robot delivering parcels across a fictional village. The simulation, built using JavaScript and running in a browser, showcases concepts of graph traversal, state management, algorithm optimization, and interactive visualization.

The project has been improved with enhanced features such as dynamic status tables, refined animations, optimized algorithms, and error handling for a seamless user experience. It is a great resource for learning about robotics simulations, algorithm efficiency, and interactive web applications.

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Features

Core Features:

• Graph-Based Pathfinding: The village is represented as a graph, where nodes are locations, and edges are roads connecting them.
• Multiple Robot Strategies: Implemented algorithms to solve the parcel delivery problem:
  1. Random Robot: Moves randomly between adjacent nodes.
  2. Route Robot: Follows a fixed predefined route.
  3. Goal-Oriented Robot: Focuses on delivering parcels efficiently by prioritizing the nearest tasks.
  4. Lazy Robot: Optimized to calculate the most efficient route based on task prioritization and distance minimization.
• Performance Comparison: Tools to measure and compare the average steps taken by different robot strategies.
• Persistent Data Structure (PGroup): Implements a functional data structure to manage immutable collections.

New and Enhanced Features:

• Dynamic Status Table: Real-time status updates for the robot's location, parcel status, and movements in a visually interactive table.
• Improved Animations: Enhanced SVG-based animations for better visualization of the robot’s journey through the village.
• Error Handling: Added safeguards to ensure smooth execution, such as handling cases where HTML elements are missing or incorrectly referenced.
• Responsive Design: Adapted the simulation for various screen sizes and devices to ensure compatibility.

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Project Structure

Modules and Files:

robot.js

This is the core logic file containing:

• Graph Representation: Encodes roads and connections using adjacency lists.
• Village State: Encapsulates the robot’s position and the parcels’ locations.
• Robot Strategies: Defines the behavior of randomRobot, routeRobot, goalOrientedRobot, and lazyRobot.
• Performance Testing: Functions to measure and compare the efficiency of robot algorithms.

animate.js

Handles the visual rendering and real-time updates:

• Animates the robot’s movements and parcel deliveries.
• Updates visual indicators for robot location and parcel statuses.

index.html

The entry point for the simulation:

• Integrates all JavaScript modules.
• Configures the robot strategy and initializes the simulation.

styles.css

Contains styles for the status table, animations, and overall layout of the interface.

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Setup and Run Guide

Prerequisites

• A modern web browser (e.g., Chrome, Firefox, Edge).
• No external libraries or tools required.

Steps to Run:

1. Clone or download the project files to your local machine.
2. Ensure the following files are present in the directory:
   • index.html
   • robot.js
   • animate.js
   • styles.css
   • img/village2x.png (map image for animations).
3. Open index.html in a browser.

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Using the Simulation

Running the Simulation:

1. Open the project in your browser.
2. The simulation defaults to the Goal-Oriented Robot strategy.
3. To test other robot strategies:
   • Open index.html in a code editor.
   • Modify the runRobotAnimation function by replacing goalOrientedRobot with:
     • randomRobot
     • routeRobot
     • lazyRobot
4. Save the changes and reload the browser page.

Interacting with the Simulation:

• Watch the robot navigate the village and deliver parcels on the animated map.
• View real-time updates in the status table, which includes:
  • Current robot location.
  • Number of parcels remaining.
  • Robot’s route.

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Performance Evaluation

How to Measure Algorithm Efficiency:

1. Use the compareRobots function in robot.js to test the efficiency of two robot strategies:

   compareRobots(goalOrientedRobot, [], lazyRobot, []);

2. Results are logged in the browser console, showing: Average steps taken by each robot strategy over 100 simulations.

Customizing Tests:

Modify the number of parcels generated by adjusting the parcelCount value in:

VillageState.random(parcelCount);