Hands-On Capstone Labs · Build Real Systems

Lab Challenges

Each day builds one real-world defense system piece by piece — applying every concept from that day's demos. Labs progress from setup → core feature → dynamic enhancement. You write the code, you see it run.

5Days
25Labs
5Real Systems Built
VMReady to Use
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Before You Start
Read the Module Notes
Open index.html and read the relevant module. Build the theory first.
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Then Do
Repeat the Demo
Run through the matching demo in demos.html. Write the code yourself line by line.
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Then Build
Solve the Lab
Apply what you learned to build part of a real naval system. Code section by section.
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Verify
Check Your Output
Each lab has a clear expected result. Show it to your instructor before moving on.
🖥️ Your VM is Pre-Configured
All tools installed. All environment variables set. Just create your project folder and start coding.
C:\libs\glfw\ C:\libs\glew\ C:\libs\glm\ Vulkan SDK VS 2022 CMake 3.28 RenderDoc
Start Day 1 Labs →
Day 1 · Modules 1, 2, 3
Tactical Contact Display — OpenGL Foundations
Build a 2D naval radar-style contact display from scratch using VBO, VAO, EBO, shaders, and uniforms.
● Live ▼
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Scenario: Naval Tactical Contact Display

You are building a 2D tactical display for a naval operations centre. The display shows contact markers (ships, aircraft) on a dark screen. Each lab builds one layer of the system — by Lab 5, you have a complete, animated real-time display with coloured threat indicators.

Real-time rendering Defence systems VBO / VAO / EBO GLSL Shaders Uniforms
L1Display Window Setup
L2Contact Marker Geometry
L3Threat Classification Colours
L4Boundary & Grid with EBO
L5Live Threat Pulsing Animation
🔬 Open Day 1 Labs ⚡ Day 1 Demos First
Day 2 · Modules 4, 5, 6
3D Vessel Tracker — Lighting, Textures & Camera
Extend into a full 3D scene. A ship hull with MVP matrix, fly camera, Phong lighting, textured hull, and animated ocean surface.
● Live ▼
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Scenario: 3D Naval Vessel Tracker

You are building a 3D tracking system that renders a naval vessel in a real-time 3D environment. Each lab adds one layer — from a rotating hull to a fully lit, textured ship on an animated ocean. By Lab 5, all Day 2 concepts are active simultaneously.

MVP Matrix Phong Lighting Textures Fly Camera Two Light Sources
L13D Vessel with Model Matrix
L2Full MVP + Fly Camera
L3Phong Lighting on Hull
L4Textured Hull Surface
L5Full Scene: Ocean + Two Lights
🔬 Open Day 2 Labs ⚡ Day 2 Demos First
Day 3 · Modules 7, 8, 9
Maritime Surveillance Scene — Advanced Rendering
Procedural GLSL sonar display, 2,000 instanced buoy markers, FBO sonar post-processing, stencil selection outline, transparent radar sweep — all combined in one scene.
● Live ▼
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Capstone Scenario
One project folder (C:\Labs\SurveillanceScene\), one CMakeLists.txt, five main.cpp replacements — each lab builds on the last.
L1Procedural Sonar Display
L22,000 Instanced Buoys
L3FBO Sonar Post-Processing
L4Stencil Outline + Blend
L5Full Scene Capstone
🔬 Open Lab Challenges ⚡ Day 3 Demos
Day 4 · Modules 10, 11, 12
NavalBridgeRenderer — Vulkan from Scratch
Instance, device, swapchain, graphics pipeline, vertex buffer, vkCmdDraw, production frame sync. 5 labs building one renderer.
● Live ▼
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Scenario: Naval Bridge Renderer

You are a graphics programmer replacing the ship's legacy OpenGL tactical display with a new Vulkan renderer for lower latency and better CPU utilisation across the CIC multicore system. One project folder, one CMakeLists.txt, five main.cpp replacements — each lab builds one layer of the stack, from a bare VkInstance to a fully synchronised, animated tactical display.

Vulkan 1.0+ Explicit GPU control SPIR-V shaders Frame synchronisation Vertex buffers
L1VkInstance, GPU Scoring, Logical Device
L2Surface + Swapchain + Clear Loop
L3SPIR-V + Full Graphics Pipeline
L4Vertex Buffer + vkCmdDraw
L5MAX_FRAMES_IN_FLIGHT Capstone
🔬 Open Day 4 Labs ⚡ Day 4 Demos First
Day 5 · Modules 13, 14, 15
Maritime Tactical System — Full Capstone
Descriptor sets, Vulkan compute sonar processor, C# P/Invoke bridge, and 10-minute live capstone demo covering all 15 modules.
● Live ▼
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Scenario: Maritime Tactical System

You are delivering the final integrated system for the USS Monterey's combat information centre. Lab 1 animates the Vulkan renderer via UBO and descriptor sets. Lab 2 processes sonar returns with GPU compute. Lab 3 binds multiple resource types in one descriptor set. Lab 4 bridges C# command console to the Vulkan renderer via P/Invoke. Lab 5 is a 10-minute live capstone demo covering all 15 modules.

Descriptor sets Vulkan compute C# P/Invoke Pipeline barriers Capstone demo
L1UBO — Animated Vulkan Scene
L2Compute Sonar Signal Processor
L3Multi-Resource Descriptor Sets
L4C# P/Invoke Command Bridge
L5Capstone Presentation
🔬 Open Day 5 Labs ⚡ Day 5 Demos First