What happens when you hand an educational robot to a group of developers and ask them to build something fun? At Arduino, you get a multiplayer robot showdown that’s part battle, part programming lesson, and entirely Alvik.The idea for first came to life during one of our internal Make Tanks, in preparation for the 2024 Maker Faire in Rome.Senior software developer Davide Neri and senior firmware engineer Alexander Entinger started experimenting with ways to turn our educational robot into a game-ready platform.
We teased the outcome in this post last December: a sumo-style arena match where players control their robots in real time, using power-ups like “banana spin,” “reverse slime,” and “freeze blast” to outsmart and outmaneuver their opponents.The last robot standing inside the ring wins.Fun to play, but we think even more fun to recreate! That’s why Pedro Lima from our Product Experience team has recently stepped in to expand the project into a complete, step-by-step guide free on Arduino Project Hub.
From fun idea to ready-to-run project The tutorial for includes full code, hardware setup, and game logic for multiplayer battles using up to four Alvik robots.Check it out to learn how to: Control Alvik in real time with a custom remote based on Arduino Nano ESP32 and Modulino nodes Add power-up logic with visual feedback using the robot’s onboard RGB LEDs Detect collisions, edge boundaries, and win conditions Build an arena and create your own game rules! Because the code is open and modular, there’s plenty of room to remix and extend the concept – whether you want to add voice commands, integrate more sensors, or simply make the game a bit more chaotic.Discover our STEM champion! Yes it’s fun, but also highlights what Alvik does best: it gives students and developers a hands-on way to explore real-world robotics and programming using rock-solid sensors and systems.
Alvik is designed to inspire creativity, problem-solving, and collaboration.It’s an educational tool built by people who love to experiment and share.And projects like show just how far that mindset can go! Try the project yourself, or share it with your classroom or club.
We’d love to see your own take on the robot battle game – and where Alvik takes you next.