Classical non AI computer projects are created with tools. Well known software packages for creating new software are operating systems like Unix, programming languages like C++ and IDEs like the Emacs editor. These tools have become famous because they have become a framework for learning, teaching and improvement of computer science.
The problem in AI and robotics that the mentioned tools are useless. Sure, it makes sense to program a robot in C++, but any other programming language would make sense too. If the existing software tools are no longer valid what else can be preferred to develop a robot?
AI and robotics is working quite different from normal software programming. Instead of solving a problem, the idea is to create one. So called robot challenges are the preferred choice for a framework. A robot competition is an educational description for example a maze game. And the participants have to build and program a robot who can solve this task.
The interesting point is that most robot challenges are different and have evolved over the year. A certain challenge is asking for a certain hardware and software combination. For example in the micromouse challenge most of the robots are looking equal. The main reason why these competitions have become famous is because they are providing an easy to solve task. Entry level robot challenges are asking for a robot who can follow a line. Programming such a robot ca be realized in under 10 lines of code. More complicates challenges are demanding for a complete robot control system which consists of sensor perception, motor planning and GUI output.