4 answers
Gladdy
Student
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
1
Question
Updated
909 views
How do I get started with Robotics?
I am very passionate about it, but I have no clear path ahead of me except creating a few basic bots like a Line Follower Robot or an Obstacle Avoiding bot. Any tips? Also, I'm a 2nd Year Electronics Engineering student for context.
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4 answers
Roger Chance
Risk management attorney
5
Answers
Orlando, Florida
Updated
Roger’s Answer
Check if your school has a robotics club or any activities related to robotics or drones. Joining such groups can be a great start. My son began his career in aerospace engineering by participating in his high school robotics team. He later ran a successful drone startup. Drones are essentially flying robots, so skills in one area can help in the other. Consider joining drone or UAV clubs for similar experiences.
Explore online communities about robotics on platforms like Reddit and YouTube. These can be valuable resources for learning. Also, talk to your electrical engineering professors for guidance.
You're on the right track by asking where to start. Finding the right resources is a crucial first step. Good luck!
Explore online communities about robotics on platforms like Reddit and YouTube. These can be valuable resources for learning. Also, talk to your electrical engineering professors for guidance.
You're on the right track by asking where to start. Finding the right resources is a crucial first step. Good luck!
Got it, Thank you for your guidance! It's very much appreciated.
Gladdy
Lorenzo Gholston
Healthcare Payer
24
Answers
Chicago, Illinois
Updated
Lorenzo’s Answer
It's wonderful that you're interested in robotics. There's no wrong way to go about it. You've already begun by working on robots. To improve, you can join robotics clubs or groups. Also, talk to your school's career center to see if they have a list of companies where you could apply for an internship. This would be a great way to gain experience in robotics. Keep up the great work!
I appreciate your answer. I'll keep this in mind and try doing this. Thank you for your advice!
Gladdy
Teklemuz Ayenew Tesfay
Electrical Engineer, Software Developer, and Career Mentor
521
Answers
Ethiopia
Updated
Teklemuz Ayenew’s Answer
Since you're studying electrical engineering, you're already on a great path for robotics. Your knowledge in circuits, signals, and embedded systems is a perfect match for this field. To dive into robotics, focus on learning about microcontrollers, timers, interrupts, ADCs, communication protocols, control theory, kinematics, dynamics, and programming in C++, Python, and ROS. Get hands-on by working on projects that combine different skills, like designing circuits, controlling motors with PWM, reading sensors, and using oscilloscopes and logic analyzers. Try building line-following robots, self-balancing robots, or mobile robots with PID control, encoders, IMUs, sensor fusion, and wireless communication for practical experience. You can also practice virtually with simulators like Gazebo, Webots, and CoppeliaSim, and create ROS nodes for sensors and actuators.
Joining university robotics clubs, IEEE student branches, or makerspaces, and contributing to open-source projects on GitHub will boost your skills. Participate in competitions like RoboCup, FIRST Robotics Competition, and IEEE Robotics Challenges to gain more experience. Explore free resources like ROS tutorials, MIT OpenCourseWare, Coursera, Arduino Project Hub, STM32Cube IDE tutorials, ESP32 documentation, and robotics-focused YouTube channels like The Construct, PyRobot, and Paul McWhorter.
Showcase your projects on GitHub and in your personal portfolio. Network with others on LinkedIn, GitHub, Stack Exchange, Discord, and Slack channels focused on robotics. Join communities like ROS Discourse Discord, ROS Slack, and FIRST Robotics Slack for discussions, feedback, mentorship, and collaboration. Gain experience through internships, volunteering, remote research, and virtual internships with open-source foundations and university labs. By focusing on areas like mobile robotics, automation, or drones, and continually building and improving systems, you'll develop both knowledge and hands-on expertise while connecting with the global robotics community. Also, update your resume to highlight your skills and projects, and practice mock interviews to prepare for job opportunities. By following these steps, you'll become a skilled robotics professional, ready to work on exciting and innovative projects.
Joining university robotics clubs, IEEE student branches, or makerspaces, and contributing to open-source projects on GitHub will boost your skills. Participate in competitions like RoboCup, FIRST Robotics Competition, and IEEE Robotics Challenges to gain more experience. Explore free resources like ROS tutorials, MIT OpenCourseWare, Coursera, Arduino Project Hub, STM32Cube IDE tutorials, ESP32 documentation, and robotics-focused YouTube channels like The Construct, PyRobot, and Paul McWhorter.
Showcase your projects on GitHub and in your personal portfolio. Network with others on LinkedIn, GitHub, Stack Exchange, Discord, and Slack channels focused on robotics. Join communities like ROS Discourse Discord, ROS Slack, and FIRST Robotics Slack for discussions, feedback, mentorship, and collaboration. Gain experience through internships, volunteering, remote research, and virtual internships with open-source foundations and university labs. By focusing on areas like mobile robotics, automation, or drones, and continually building and improving systems, you'll develop both knowledge and hands-on expertise while connecting with the global robotics community. Also, update your resume to highlight your skills and projects, and practice mock interviews to prepare for job opportunities. By following these steps, you'll become a skilled robotics professional, ready to work on exciting and innovative projects.
First of all, thank you for this huge paragraph of an answer. I read through every bit and I'm really very grateful for the information you've shared, so thank you!
Gladdy
You’re welcome!
Teklemuz Ayenew Tesfay
Larry Randall
Technical Writing, Instructional Design, Consultant
2
Answers
Richardson, Texas
Updated
Larry’s Answer
You will learn more resolving the inevitable "why didn't that work" as you build and test than by trying to make sense of what even a great writer and engineer wrote in a book or paper.
The "WHY" is simple. Those who are expert engineers will tell you in great detail the points about which they feel are important -- and tell you nothing about concepts equally critical to the function of the device or system. As I have said of many engineers and technical writers when reviewing technical manuals "The book tells me everything I don't need to know, and nothing about how to operate or repair the unit."
As I was learning electronics, I made many mistakes.
GOOD!
We can and should learn from mistakes, and we should use that learning to avoid the same mistake going forward.
As Senior Field Engineer and one of two Product Concept Engineers, I listened to the problems that our (national government) customers expressed, and suggested solutions to be integrated into our encryption devices that gave us an advantage over our competitors. I also captured any and all feedback about issues with our devices that impacted usability, maintainability, and operational capability. When we addressed one of those issues, we made certain that the individual who flagged the problem (most often a sergeant) was named specifically to his/her commanding general as the reason for the improvement.
In other words, Engineering is what is applied outside of the classroom, and that truly is the education in Engineering. Dive in, make mistakes, discuss the "Why did it do that?" with Engineers on faculty and with Engineers who work in that field. You may be surprised with the differences between the "academic" answer and the "real world" answers. That is the reason that the best schools are partnering with local companies to have working Engineers teach courses.
The "WHY" is simple. Those who are expert engineers will tell you in great detail the points about which they feel are important -- and tell you nothing about concepts equally critical to the function of the device or system. As I have said of many engineers and technical writers when reviewing technical manuals "The book tells me everything I don't need to know, and nothing about how to operate or repair the unit."
As I was learning electronics, I made many mistakes.
GOOD!
We can and should learn from mistakes, and we should use that learning to avoid the same mistake going forward.
As Senior Field Engineer and one of two Product Concept Engineers, I listened to the problems that our (national government) customers expressed, and suggested solutions to be integrated into our encryption devices that gave us an advantage over our competitors. I also captured any and all feedback about issues with our devices that impacted usability, maintainability, and operational capability. When we addressed one of those issues, we made certain that the individual who flagged the problem (most often a sergeant) was named specifically to his/her commanding general as the reason for the improvement.
In other words, Engineering is what is applied outside of the classroom, and that truly is the education in Engineering. Dive in, make mistakes, discuss the "Why did it do that?" with Engineers on faculty and with Engineers who work in that field. You may be surprised with the differences between the "academic" answer and the "real world" answers. That is the reason that the best schools are partnering with local companies to have working Engineers teach courses.