It is no secret that you are going to have an easier time programming one or a swarm of robots when you have access to a decent robotics lab. Robotarium is a swarm robotics lab that allows researchers to run experiments. Users will be able to upload control code and test their ideas.
Researchers will be able to use this lab to test out their algorithms to learn what to improve upon. Here is how it works:
To execute your experiments on the Robotarium robots, download one of the simulators, prototype your code in simulation, and submit the exact same code for execution on actual robots through the Robotarium’s web interface.
No need for a huge investment to start testing your ideas. More info is available here.