Learn Robotic Engineering & Programming

YouTube channels are becoming one of the most sought-after sources of self-learning through the Internet. Only a few years back, the website was considered as merely an online medium for entertainment. However today, this paradigm has greatly shifted to YouTube’s undeniable role as an online learning platform.

For instance, 19-year-old Ellis Ware is a Robot Wars contestant who learned all of his engineering skills on YouTube. Instead of attending any college or university, he merely watched robot programming and engineering videos, and actually managed to build Pulsar, the robot that became an instant sensation.

Robot Programming

Now, the difficulty of learning programming differs from person to person, however, here are some of the most effective YouTube channels that can help you get started in robots programming using Python.

Note: The following list of YouTube channels is useful for those who already have knowledge in programming, especially Python. Otherwise, I would recommend you to first check out some YouTube channels for learning programming, in general, and Python, in particular.

Robotic with Raspberry PI

Raspberry Pi is basically a small computer (smaller than your phone) that can be hooked up to different components and be programmed to do a number of wonderful things. Through this channel, you can learn to build and program your very own robot using Raspberry Pi with the help of comprehensive instructions.

Raspberry PI Robotics Series

This YouTube channel delves deeper into programming using Python specifically for robotics. The channel is geared towards those who have no prior knowledge of programming whatsoever. It revolves around the basic theories and logic behind programming and how you can use it to build a robot.

The channel also discusses how programming can be connected to actual electronic components. By the end of the series, you might be able to create your own automatic lawn watering system, password-enabled door, and of course a very simple robot.

Robot Engineering

Once you feel savvy enough in robotic programming, and want to learn the physical side of robotics i.e. dealing with electronics and engineering of a working robot, check out the following channels and playlists:

Electronics Engineering Video Blog

EEVblog is built for beginners, professionals, and hobbyists in robotic engineering. Dave Jones, the owner, and host of the blog wants people to know the beauty of tinkering with electronics and… sometimes blowing things up.

Introduction to Robotics and Electronics

Introduce people to robotics and electronics. Get learned much of Python from this YouTube channel. The instructor, Bucky Roberts, gives a great introduction on how robotics and electronics work for hand in hand, and how you can get started.

Botyard

If you already know the fundamentals of electronics and want to just jump right into building a robot, then Botyard’s 5-part video series is perfect for you. Unlike the previous channels, this is series of advanced demonstrations on how a simple R2-D2 like a robot is built.

SparkFun Electronics

Here is another fun channel to learn how to engineer robots and program them to do actual work. In case you haven’t familiarized yourself with Raspberry Pi just yet, it’s time to dust off the attic with their Getting Started with Raspberry Pi playlist where you will learn how to use Raspberry Pi to build a tweeting weather station.

Introduction to Robotics by Stanford

Now, here’s a more traditional and theoretical approach to learning robotics, straight from Stanford. It is basically a series of lectures on Robotics by Stanford university professor and is particularly useful if you want to build more advanced robots.

The series discusses advanced concepts like trajectory generation, motion planning, dynamics, inverse and forward kinematics, spatial descriptions, force and position control, and many more. Unlike any other YouTube channel, the theoretical concepts explained in this series can be extremely crucial in building advance-level robots.

The right direction and motivation to strive hard for your ambitions in robotics.

A Roundtrip

you really want to build your own robot, and have no idea where to start. But, now you know at least where to look for all the useful information about programming, engineering and electronics involved in robotics.