I'm a student at a college, working on my associate in science. My main major is robotics engineer and I would like to start now in the fields of robotics, but I have no background information on how to build a robot neither programming. Can someone give me tips on how to start as a beginner, and how much I would have to spend.
Thank You!!!
I guess my first question
I guess my first question would be what experience do you already have?
I would then want to know what platform you want to work with, Raspberry, Arduino or PC(X86).
There are several instructionals on LMR to get you started with basic stuff but know what you would like to do is helpful.
Everyone that is on here has been where you are at and are will to help you.
Good question
Hi Leonardo,
Where to start in robotics is a good question. And all depends on where you start from, like Jeff asks you.
If you do robotics in college then you are already on track with the formal education on robotics.
Robotics anyway is a balance between electronics, programming and mechanical engineering. Depending on the specific application the balance is weighted to one side or other.
What you need is a more casual approach, so play with it, learn by doing and finding your own way too. The formal college education will give you everything else. Or you can find it too if needed.
As a start point, if you know nothing a robotic kit is good, check it here:
https://www.robotshop.com/letsmakerobots/start-here
Something like the mBot is great too:
https://www.robotshop.com/letsmakerobots/mbot-robot-kit-1st-part-review-unboxing
https://www.robotshop.com/letsmakerobots/mbot-robot-kit-2nd-part-review-assembly-robot
https://www.robotshop.com/letsmakerobots/mbot-robot-kit-3rd-part-review-programming-robot
Have a look and tell me your thoughts or questions.
Jeff I literally don’t know
Jeff I literally don’t know anything about robotics, I’m a freshman in college right now, the only class i’m taking right now that is required for me to become an engineer is calculus, I’m not taking any programming class yet, that will be next fall, starting my second year in college. And I’m sorry i don’t know what Raspberry is or Arduino or PC(X86). Picture me as a kindergarden level when it comes to robotics, and excuse my language, english is my second language.
Thank you very much
Thank you very much Francisco. I literally don’t know anything at all, in college right now I’m only talking a calculus class which is required for engineers but other than that, my other classes are useless when it comes to robotic. Maybe next year I’ll be taking engineering physics 1 and 2 and hopefully I’ll finish my calculus 3 class and differential equation class. Hopefully those classes will help me understand much better about robotics which I’m not concern at all. Hopefully during next year I will take some computer science class and coding as well. I just want to start to get to know how robotics is like and any help will count as well. Thank you very much!! I will watch the videos and learn as much as possible. I will keep you updated
While I am not the most up
While I am not the most up to date person on the Arduino or the Raspberry PI systems I can help you out when it comes to the PC(X86) systems. When I say PC(X86) this refers to any computer that is running a Windows based operating sytem. This could be a Desktop, Laptop, or Tablet etc… X86 Processors are capable of running operating sytems other than Windows such as Linux. I dont use any other Operating system other than Windows. If you have never done programming of any kind before then I would suggest that you start with the basics as in Visual Basic. You can download for free Microsoft Visual Studio. There a ton of tutorials out there that will help you in getting started in programming. Once you learn the basics you will begin to see a pattern as most all programming languages follow. If you have question about Visual Basic I will be glad to help you. I am on the Shout Box most days and it would be a pleasure to chat with you. As for the Arduino there are many projects that you can do with it and I have just begun learning about it. I would buy a Arduino UNO to start with and then download the Arduino IDE and go through some of the tutorials they have from the basic of making a LED blink to some of the more complicated which will require extra parts. If at anytime while you are working on learning anything do not feel that you can not ask for help. Just jump on the shout box and ask for help if there is someone there they will help you. You can also contact myself or Francisco through out contact page. Just click on either of our user names and then select the contact tab and you can send us an email. Francisco is a great resource for the Arduino material I can help with the simple things of it. Hope you have a great time learning and experimenting and we hope to hear from you.
thanks a lot jeff I would
thanks a lot jeff I would try the visual Studio for sure and learn some programming. I will keep you updtaded.
Welcome!My suggestion is to
Welcome!
My suggestion is to buy a kit to begin with. Doesn’t really matter what it is, but probably the simpler the better. Get it working, and then add new functionality to it new sensors etc. and build it into something pretty cool.
This is an example of a really simple and inexpensive robot to build. He has done a number of YouTube videos as well to help you through the process so might be worth a try. I like what he’s done here.
https://www.robotshop.com/letsmakerobots/2020-bot
There is also a start here on LMR which takes you through how to build a robot as well. You might want to find out what the curriculum uses for robot embedded controllers. That way you are not taking up time learning the ins and outs of one particular processor when you’ll just have to relearn it for another processor in a couple years further down your education.
Good luck no matter what you do. Please take time to post here so we know how you made out
Which Robot Kit is Right For You?
If you decide to go with a kit, here’s an article I wrote for Make: Magazine recently that talks through some good options and considerations.
http://makezine.com/2017/02/14/robotics-kit-right/
This LMR Primer post may
This LMR Primer post may also be helpful.
Thank you very much sir, I
Thank you very much sir, I appricieate your advice and i wil take it. i will keep you updated with the videos.
thank you sir.
thank you sir.
