#FALCON 9 LANDING GAME HOW TO#
#FALCON 9 LANDING GAME UPDATE#

# Modifies Rocket's Y Acceleration to Take Gravity into Account Rocket_acceleration_y = 0.0 # This value changes depending upon which phase of the game we are in Rocket_acceleration_x = 0.0 # This value changes depending upon which phase of the game we are in

#FALCON 9 LANDING GAME UPDATE#

The following equations summarize how we update the acceleration, velocity, and position of the rocket at each animation frame: This acceleration counteracts the upward thrust of the rocket, and eventually allows it to descend to the Earth. Each frame, we apply a constant acceleration to the rocket in the DOWN direction. Our simulation does, however, model gravity. Our simulation does not take air friction into account-in other words, the rocket will continue moving in a horizontal direction at a constant speed until a horizontal acceleration is applied. This in turn updates the velocity and position of the rocket. As thrusters are activated (either via keyboard presses or by the AI), the game updates the acceleration value(s) in the corresponding direction(s). The physics model used to simulate the rocket's path is similar to that used in the classic arcade game 'Asteroids.' In our simulation, the rocket's position, velocity, and acceleration are tracked in both the x and y directions. Using a student-defined fitness function that scores AIs based on 1) how softly they land, and 2) how close they land to the center of the barge, the genetic algorithm tunes the AI to achieve the desired performance characteristics.

#FALCON 9 LANDING GAME HOW TO#

While the rocket can land on the boat, it does not yet know how to decrease its descent velocity.Įxample rocket landing AI after 53 generations. Your browser does not support HTML video.Įxample rocket landing AI after 1 generation. The game then automatically resets itself to the same configuration and allows the player/AI to try again.

In the latter phase of the project, the AI agent assumes the player role, and automatically determines which thrusters to fire in order to guarantee a safe landing.Įach time the game ends (either by the rocket landing on the barge or crashing into the ocean/ground), the simulator evaluates the player/AI's performance using criteria such as fuel consumption, softness of landing, etc., and assign him/her/it a score. Initially, the student serves as the player, and controls the rocket's descent using the arrow keys (which activate the rocket's 'thrusters'). After the rocket has climbed to a predefined altitude, it turns towards the right and hands over control to the player.

Each simulation starts by having the rocket boosting from the ground on the left side of the screen. An example student submission is shown below.

Falcon 9 landing game