On an athena *linux* machine, you can try to run the simulator as
follows: 

step 1: add /mit/2.12
step 2: cd /mit/2.12/code/simple_sim
step 3: ./simple_sim -w box.txt -t targets.txt -l ~/logfile.dat
       (this will create a log file named logfile.dat in your home
       directory; if you try to create the logfile in the course
       locker, you will get an error)

First hit "-" a few times to zoom out ("=" to zoom back in). 
Then, to move the robot try hitting "a" a few time to go forward
(faster each key press),  "z" to go backwards, "m" and "n" to turn,
and "space" to stop.  Hit "tab" to cycle through the six different
"camera views" of the simulation (2-D vs. 3-D, fixed vs. following the
robot, etc.).  The mines should disappear if you hit them; if sound
is properly configured on the workstation, you might hear a bang.

Try to see if you can plot the data from the logfile that you
generate (which should be a file named "logfile.dat" in your home
directory.) 

If you have any problems trying to do this, email me or you can wait
til Thursday/Friday in Lab 

Good Luck

John Leonard

P.S. From the documentation for the code, distributed in class or available
in /mit/2.12/code/simple_sim/doc/simple_sim.pdf, the complete
list of key commans (for the "user code" that is currently 
in the locker) is as follows: 

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There are numerous keys that control the simulation.
         - zooms out
	 = zooms in
	 Tab  Cycles the camera mode through the following:

		 2D, following robot translation (default)
		 2D, fixed camera (movable with arrow keys)
		 3D, tracking robot X position
		 3D, tracking robot Y position
		 3D, behind and above robot position
		 2D, following robot translation and rotation

	 Arrow keys  in fixed camera mode, moved the camera around in 2D
	 d  Dumps the ODE simulation world to world.dump
	 t  Toggles the blue robot trail on and off
	 p  Pauses and resumes the simulation
	 w  Causes the physics engine to run as fast as it can (doesn't work properly yet)

With the built-in UserCode, there are more keys that can be used for control.

	 a  In manual mode, increases translational velocity
	 z  In manual mode, decreases translational velocity
	 m  In manual mode, increases rotational velocity (turn to the right)
	 n  In manual mode, decreases rotational velocity (turn to the left)
	 ,  In manual mode, set rotational velocity to 0
	 Space  In manual mode, set rotational and translational velocity to 0
	 o  Cycle through the modes available:
		- manual  allows the end-user to drive the robot by hand
		- automatic  currently does nothing but act as a placeholder for code
	        - waypoint  does simple waypoint following from a loaded list of waypoints

	 x  In waypoint mode, set the desired waypoint to the next waypoint in the list,
			or exit waypoint mode if it's reached the end of the list
	 c  In waypoint mode, toggle whether the UserCode automatically advances to the
			next waypoint when the current one is reached

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