Where should I start with robotics as a hobby?

Question

Hi Everyone,

I am a apart of a First Robotics team and I want to pressure robotics as a hobby. I am already am a electronics hobbyist but were is a good platform or place to begin with building robots as a hobby. I am already aware of Vex EDR and all of the mindstrom platforms. But I was wondering what is a bit more advanced platform to get started with.

clem57 · Answer

A bit old and you have mindstorm already but in general http://www.robotshop.com/blog/en/10-tips-for-getting-started-with-robotics-4087 .

But are you really wanting industrial robots? start by learning the types and definitions from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_robot

Clem

PS this site is a treasure trove of information on many topics that apply to you.

dougw · Answer

Robotics is a great field to be interested in. It includes a wide variety of disciplines - electronics, motors, mechanics, software/firmware and lots of exotic sensor technology. It takes a while to become an expert in all these disciplines, so to get started, pick which disciplines you want to work on and buy ready-made kit for the others. For example, if you are mostly interested in programming robots to do interesting things, you might buy complete robot machines (like a RedBot ) and avoid the frustration of making a functional machine. If you are interested in designing the electronics and controls, you might buy a robot platform or chassis with wheels already mounted. Or you might be interested in all of it but on a limited budget, so you might buy some low cost sensors and an MCU module and fabricate the rest. Having a target application in mind is a great way to narrow down the choices to a reasonable number and focus on something achievable. Something like the annual fire-fighting robot competition provides a very well defined target application with very specific objectives - a lot like your FIRST Robotics contest, but with more flexibility in how to build your robot.

Where should I start with robotics as a hobby?

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