Emulation of the LEGO MindStorms RCX

A number of the emulators support TCP communication in place of the IR communication. While some tools have been updated to provide built-in support for TCP communication, if you are using a tool that supports serial IR communication but not TCP communication, it might be possible to use a null-modem or pseudo-terminal emulator

• On Window, try the com0com project for Windows, which includes both a com2tcp component as well as hub4com component.
• On Linux, try socat (e.g. sudo apt-get install socat on Debian/Ubuntu)
  • Start socat and leave it running
    • Serial-to-Serial exampple:
      • socat -d -d PTY,raw,echo=0 PTY,raw,echo=0
    • Serial-to-TCP Listener example:
      • socat -d -d PTY,raw,echo=0 TCP4-LISTEN:<port>
    • Serial-to-TCP Server exampple:
      • socat -d -d PTY,raw,echo=0 TCP:<host>:<port>
  • In scenarios where the IR echo might be expected, echo might need to be set to 1
    • If setting echo to 1 on one side, you will need to test which device echos, as the created pseudo devices are not always initialized in command-line order

Note that the program ir-server is included with the BrickOS-Bibo project and includes “echoing” that is meant to mimic the behavior of IR communication. Additionally, there is also the hubub project that is included in this GitHub organization.

Simulators & Emulators

General Purpose Emulators

Should work with any RCX firmware.

• BrickEmu
  • An emulator for LEGO MindStorms RCX bricks. It emulates processor and peripherals, so it runs the original ROM code, firmware, and programs.
  • IR communication is emulated over TCP, and interfacing with GDB is supported.
  • Works with any firmware, but includes additional support for BrickOS-like firmware, such as sideloading programs.
• RCXSimulator
  • A Java-based emulator of the Lego MindStorms RCX, including support for GDB and for IR via pseudo-terminals or UDP.
  • Extra support for debugging capabilities, such as might be useful for OS/firmeware development.

BrickOS Firmware Simulators

Simulates the behavior of the BrickOS firmware

• LegoSim
  • A UNIX-based Simulator for LegOS/BrickOS with an Applet-GUI
• EmuLegOS
  • An emulator for the LegOS (BrickOS) operating system used on the Lego MindStorms RCX.

leJOS “World” Simulators

Simulates the behavior in a 2D world of an RCX running leJOS firmware

• Intellejos
  • An RCX Simulator for LeJOS, based on the earlier Intellego project, for learning to program in Java using the LeJOS platform.
• Intellego
  • A tool for experimenting with robotic control techniques, providing a framework which enables researchers to develop controller programs for the Lego MindStorms RCX in Java, and test them either in simulation or in a real RCX robot with no alteration to the controller code.

Emulator Tools & Utilities

• getROM
  • Tools and utilities for dumping the ROM from an RCX, which is often then used by RCX emulators.