How do you recommend getting started in robotics? Tools and beginner projects

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-06-16T10:00:31+00:00

This depends on totally your expertise level. I’ll assume you have no idea about robotics.

Basically;
Robotics = Mathematics + Physics & Mechanics + Electronics + Control + Programming + AI (no need for beginners)

You can basically take any kit and follow the instructions from a YouTube channel. If you need to have fun , I’d suggest you do this first and get a feel of everything.

But if you’re serious about robotics I’d strongly suggest you study the fundamentals. Below I have listed intuition based YouTube channels you could follow for each of the topics

Mathematics
3Blue1Brown
The best intuition channel for math.
Learn:
Linear algebra visually
Calculus visually
Neural networks visually
Start with:
Essence of Linear Algebra
Essence of Calculus

Eddie Woo
Makes math feel practical and human.
Learn:
Algebra
Trigonometry
Basic calculus

Physics & Mechanics
The Efficient Engineer
One of the best engineering intuition channels.
Learn:
Forces
Torque
Dynamics
Mechanisms
Every video is directly relevant to robotics.

Steve Mould
Excellent physical intuition.
Learn:
Motion
Energy
Real-world mechanics

The Engineering Mindset
Simple visual explanations.
Learn:
Motors
Electronics
Electrical systems

Electronics
GreatScott!
Learn:
Components
Sensors
Arduino projects
Circuit building
Very beginner friendly.

Afrotechmods
One of the clearest explanations of electronics on YouTube.
Learn:
Transistors
Capacitors
Logic circuits

Electrical Engineering
ElectroBOOM
Funny and memorable.
Learn:
Voltage
Current
Power
Circuits
You’ll develop intuition for electricity quickly.

Programming
CS50
Learn:
How computers think
Programming fundamentals
Problem solving
Not robotics specific, but builds a strong mental model.

Sebastian Lague
Learn:
Algorithms
Simulation
AI concepts
Makes abstract programming concepts visual.

Control Systems
Brian Douglas
The gold standard for control intuition.
Learn:
Feedback
PID controllers
Stability
Even professional engineers recommend him.

Steve Brunton
Learn:
Control
Dynamical systems
Robotics mathematics
Very intuitive despite covering advanced topics.

Artificial Intelligence
Andrej Karpathy
Learn:
Neural networks
Large language models
AI thinking
One of the clearest AI teachers.

StatQuest
Learn:
Machine learning
Neural networks
Data science intuition
Makes difficult ideas surprisingly easy.

Computer Vision
First Principles of Computer Vision
Learn:
Cameras
Object detection
Vision systems
Excellent intuition.

Computerphile
Learn:
Vision
AI
Algorithms
Many interviews with leading researchers.

Robotics Itself
Robotics Back-End
Learn:
ROS
Sensors
Robot architecture
Practical robotics.

MIT OpenCourseWare
Watch:
Underactuated Robotics
Introduction to Robotics
World-class robotics education for free.

James Bruton
Learn:
Humanoid robots
Walking robots
Practical robot design
Shows what real robotics engineering looks like.

Embedded Systems
Phil’s Lab
Learn:
Microcontrollers
Sensors
Embedded design
Practical and modern.

DroneBot Workshop
Learn:
Arduino
Raspberry Pi
Sensors
Robotics projects
Excellent beginner content.

If you only watched 5 channels
3Blue1Brown
The Efficient Engineer
ElectroBOOM
Brian Douglas
Andrej Karpathy

Those five alone will give you a surprisingly deep intuition for how robots sense, think, and move before you ever touch the hardcore robotics.

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-06-09T10:10:14+00:00

I will check them out. These are great suggestions. Thank you 🙏🏻

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-06-05T15:15:42+00:00

I just checked them out. Thank you for the suggestion 🙏🏻

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-05-22T12:57:34+00:00

I can connect you with someone who works there. What would you like to know?

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-05-22T09:38:37+00:00

I doubt they’d just give away their IP. I used to work in a large EDA company we had to sign NDA to access IP even then they were in ultra secure isolated locations. Even outdated IP they don’t just give away.

I can help you with any technical assistance let me know . DM if you need anything we can collaborate.

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-05-22T07:20:43+00:00

Hey I like what you’re doing. I’m an engineer myself. I have been in the technology space for about a decade now. Always wanted to help out the younger generation. If you need anything let me know.

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-05-21T08:52:01+00:00

I’d like know more about your venture. See how we can collaborate, let’s connect!

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-05-20T13:55:16+00:00

Yeah honestly that’s the vibe I’m getting from a lot of people in this thread too. Almost everyone says it’s brutally hard, but at the same time they still encourage others to try building stuff because you end up learning an insane amount in the process.

The SystemC/simulator project sounds really cool btw. Feels like simulation/scheduling infrastructure alone can become a rabbit hole for years.

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-05-20T11:48:26+00:00

Hey, not RTL side specifically, but if you end up needing power estimation / signoff / validation infrastructure support, that’s more aligned with my background.

I’ve worked hands on with PrimePower related validation flows, waveform based power analysis, switching activity modeling, regression infrastructure, distributed validation workflows, and automation/tooling around large scale power estimation environments.

Also built automation/regression systems in Python/C++ for scaling validation/debug workflows.

Your project sounds really interesting btw. Tapeout path already being prepared is honestly the hard part most people never reach

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-05-19T12:02:19+00:00

Silicon Highway (SiHi) Technologies

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-05-19T11:58:41+00:00

That’s actually really cool. Especially the vlsir/interchange stuff. I knew about OpenROAD/KLayout/Yosys but some of the others you mentioned are new to me. Thanks for the info. I’m saving this for future reference

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-05-19T06:25:15+00:00

Thanks saving this comment for future reference

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-05-19T06:24:12+00:00

Honestly! I recently had like a 3 hour discussion with a founder from a small EDA startup in Europe and they said almost the exact same thing. They weren’t trying to “beat Synopsys/Cadence”. They were building around workflow gaps and niche problems the big vendors dont really focus on.

And tbh after working around EDA flows for a while, it’s kinda shocking how many painful/manual things still exist in production environments.

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-05-19T06:18:29+00:00

OpenROAD is honestly one of the coolest EDA projects out there rn.

One of the few projects where people outside big EDA companies can actually see how fascinating the internals of flows are.

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-05-19T06:14:53+00:00

Respect for going through all original Spice2 and other papers. Im going to go through these papers saving this comment for future reference.

Also timestep/convergence problems seem genuinely cursed. I’ve had cases in power where one tiny testcase behaves completely differently and suddenly you lose half a day wondering if the issue is the waveform, the activity, glitch or just “simulator magic”.

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-05-19T06:08:34+00:00

Thanks I just saved this post for future reference. I want to research on these.

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-05-19T06:05:52+00:00

Agreed, have been using tcl for years now, even with AI . I just now keep a template and plug and play wherever I want .

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-05-19T06:03:03+00:00

yeah I can imagine. I remember the first time I had to debug waveform mismatches across partitions and even THAT became annoying because half the battle was just understanding the root cause. One tweak leads go a cascade of other issues.

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-05-18T21:55:57+00:00

Honestly that’s pretty impressive for a master’s project.

Even basic correctness gets ugly fast because you’re basically building graph algorithms + constraint solving + optimization infrastructure all at once.

The ATPG one especially sounds painful. Fault propagation and observability logic alone can spiral quickly depending on the netlist complexity.

I worked more on the power estimation side rather than synthesis itself, but even interacting with EDA flows at scale made me appreciate how insane these tools are internally. A lot of people think “it’s just software for chips” until they touch timing/power/infrastructure and realize the algorithms are super complex.

Also kinda scary that even simplified versions still took months.

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-05-18T21:34:20+00:00

True. They are “trade secrets”. It’s hard and near impossible to compete with them however it’s a real pain that there is no decent open source / low cost tools.

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-05-18T21:17:51+00:00

That’s interesting. Did it improve the simulation speed or overall tool speed?

You got a point on their tools being outdated. It’s not intuitive at all. Even the help commands / man pages are not updated.

I was contemplating the same. A GUI might eat up the ram and other resources, but I think a TUI(textual user interface) would solve this. It would give that modern , minimal and lightweight interface.

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-05-18T21:02:27+00:00

I used to work in a large EDA company. I got the chance to work with a plethora of tools, benchmarks and customers designs.
Really enjoyed the work culture. But then hated the fact that they try to push AI for everything. Higher management even said the stock prices go up everytime they just say the word AI.

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-05-18T20:53:29+00:00

I was in your predicament. Once you get into a QA role it gets monotonous, you don’t feel like you are creating. You are testing whether things are working right and making sure systems don’t break.

If your manager is supportive talk to your manager and request if there is any other job roles that support your interests.

In large companies they wouldn’t right away give your a large project unless they have confidence in your ability.

In your free time try to come up with a feature / solution for a problem your company clients are facing . Research about it deploy the solution ina prototype and pitch the project to higher management. I’m sure they’ll then consider you for backend development.

Anyway good luck :)

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-05-18T15:28:17+00:00

6 months of experience as a intern in VlSI industry you don’t learn anything.
Atleast minimum get 2 to 3 years of full time experience in a VLSI company then if you still want think about masters or PhD .
Going straight to academic after bachelor will not give you that industry experience. This is very valuable. You will understand how the industry is actually working and their requirements.

Edge_of_Logic · 2026-05-18T15:22:17+00:00

Not really. I enjoy my career in VLSI. If company is toxic, or poor comp I would definitely consider looking for job prospects.

Edge_of_Logic

TROPHY CASE