WIP: Exploring the Feasibility of a Robot-Centric CPU Simulator to Control Physical Robots as an Assembly Language Instructional Aid

Abstract

In an effort to make program debugging more transparent, to provide an aspect of kinesthetic learning, and to inspire student interest, Indiana University South Bend incorporated robots into the assembly language curriculum. While the robots satisfied these original objectives, it is important for our students to acquire a deeper understanding of computer organization and its implication for program development. Toward this end, a custom, robot-centric, CPU instruction set was developed. Robot control programs written in this instruction set would be run on student-implemented simulators written in Intel assembly language. This study explores the feasibility of deploying a simulated CPU to control an actual robot. Specifically, we describe the simulated CPU, an implementation of an instruction subset, and an initial assessment of the time penalties involved in the simulation.