Designing and building robot models has never been easier for both beginners and experienced. You will often be under pressure to re-adjusting the model to accommodate changing features and input data. You need to participate in online robotics programs to create precise and robust robots.
These tutorials will give you the necessary electronics knowledge to create stable models, optimize tuning times, and quickly get to the final version.
In this guide, I will provide you with the top ten robotics courses that will allow you to build robust and precise robots.
The online courses below have many registered participants. So what makes them different from regular classes? Let’s find out in detail!
1. Robotics Specialization
Specifications:
- Difficulty: Beginners
- Duration: Flexible
- Price: Free
- Provider: Multiple Authors
Course’s Highlights
Robotics Specialization deals with basic robot movement and flight concepts.
Also, it provides some information on how the robot perceives the environment and corrects its motion to avoid obstacles. I have learned more about designing and developing personal robot models for this program.
The University of Pennsylvania vouches for the quality of its teaching, a prestigious and well-known place to train professional robotics engineers.
Enroll Here: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/robotics
Pros
- The perfect overall
- Course for beginners
- Include practical examples
- Provide the basics of creating a robot
- Developed by a top prestigious university
Cons
- No professional documents attached
2. Modern Robotics
Specifications:
- Difficulty: Beginner, intermediate
- Duration: Flexible
- Price: Free
- Provider: Kevin Lynch
Course’s Highlights
If you’re curious about how a specific robot model works, this course might be for you. It is the first curriculum to integrate various topics, including robotics basics, planning, and navigating finished model operations.
This subject is accompanied by six short courses, which are serious preparation for students who want to work in robotics.
So what precisely will we learn from this course? When you become a member, you will have a basic robot configuration, serial robot mechanism, and closed chain robot. It incorporates instructions on how to represent velocities and forces in model space.
Kevin Lynch is the lead author of this curriculum concept. He is a multi-talented master of robotics. His lectures are closely followed by robots forming and developing through authentic projects.
Enroll Here: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/modernrobotics
Pros
- Suitable for beginners and experienced.
- Plan and direct the robot’s operation
- Developed by Northwestern University
- Introduction to basic knowledge of robot construction
Cons
- Need more interaction between students and teachers
3. Artificial Intelligence for Robotics
Specifications:
- Difficulty: Advanced
- Duration: 2 months
- Price: Free
- Provider: Sebastian Thrun
Course’s Highlights
Robot building is a field many people have pursued to learn recently. Most of them are people who already have expertise in programming and want to develop more creative robots.
To help you fulfill this need, I suggest the Artificial Intelligence for Robotics curriculum. It is the leading artificial intelligence course in robotics today, highly appreciated by many top experts in the industry.
This class will teach you the primary artificial intelligence method, such as Probabilistic inference, planning, tracking, monitoring, and all related to robots.
Sebastian Thrun focused on developing parallel practical examples after each lecture to increase persuasion. It is an opportunity for students to understand the lesson and quickly expand their ability to find information.
I have not appreciated any program for the experience. The Artificial Intelligence for Robotics is the exception that deserves your top investment.
Enroll Here: https://www.udacity.com/school/artificial-intelligence
Pros
- Flexible time
- Highly qualified instructor
- For those who have experience
- Provide relevant knowledge about robots
- Parallel development of practical examples
Cons
- Not suitable for beginners
4. Programming for Robotics
Specifications:
- Difficulty: Beginners
- Duration: 59 minutes
- Price: Free
- Provider: Zoe Lambert
Course’s Highlights
In this course, you will learn how to program Arduino to make things move and use it when programming robots. It will be more suitable for beginners with little experience with Arduino and motion programming.
I felt fortunate to know and experience this course early on. It helps to provide basic knowledge and forge the programming skills for perfect robot operation.
The course includes complete materials after each lecture to help you practice the project quickly and accurately and achieve better results.
The most significant difference between Programming for Robotics and other learning programs lies in the layout.
With this course, Zoe Lambert developed a presentation style that went deep into each topic instead of covering the whole as usual procedures.
Enroll Here: Currently Unavailable
Pros
- Robot programming course
- Free study program
- Suitable for beginners
- Logical and novel layout
Cons
- Short study time
5. Foundations of Robot Motion
Specifications:
- Difficulty: Beginners
- Duration: Flexible
- Price: Free
- Provider: Kevin Lynch
Course’s Highlights
Robot movement is a particular category that needs you to study intensely for a long time to change direction and develop the future.
To facilitate your robotics career path, I recommend joining this program. This course will teach you about robot motion based on available methods.
I am satisfied with the content as well as the lesson design of this program after 1 month. The lectures are short but ensure enough information for students to visualize and understand the lesson better.
Developed by Kevin Lynch, this program guarantees maximum authenticity and reliability. With his ability, the author has masterfully integrated many practical projects into the lecture without forcing it like many others.
Enroll Here: https://www.coursera.org/learn/modernrobotics-course1
Pros
- Short content
- High authenticity
- Simple lesson design
- Many practical projects included
- The best robot movement course
Cons
- It does not include career orientation
6. AI for Everyone
Specifications:
- Difficulty: Beginners
- Duration: Flexible
- Price: Free
- Provider: Andrew Ng
Course’s Highlights
Artificial Intelligence or AI gives robots computer vision to navigate, calculate and sense their responses in line with reality.
To get better at using AI, you should take this course. It is a high-quality curriculum for different levels, including beginners and experts in the field.
This course provides you with an in-depth look at the symbolic meaning of the term AI as well as the functional role of AI. More importantly, it also helps guide each student on how to work in groups and build strategies with AI.
To me, this course is comprehensive in terms of both content and teaching methods. The novel and logical approach to the following topics makes students more inspired to learn.
Yet, it’s more about technical knowledge than technical implementation. Therefore, it is not suitable for engineers.
Enroll Here: https://www.coursera.org/learn/ai-for-everyone
Pros
- In-depth lecture content
- The best AI course for everyone
- Developed by a reputable organization
- Interaction between teacher and instructor
- Orient how to work in groups and build strategies with AI
Cons
- Haven’t gone deep into the technical lectures
7. Robotics Software Engineer
Specifications:
- Difficulty: Beginners
- Duration: 4 months
- Price: Free
- Provider: Multiple Authors
Course’s Highlights
Udacity is a high-quality online University created and developed by three leading roboticists. Courses here cover information technology, software, or robotics technology.
This nanodegree program is a typical example. This program focuses on training multi-talented future robotics software engineers.
In the course, the practical part of pushing up takes up each lecture. It is entirely different from today’s conventional learning programs when the theory part takes up the whole time of each lesson.
What I am most satisfied with in this course is the career orientation. After the system, there are detailed job opportunities to help you determine a job position in the future.
Enroll Here: https://www.udacity.com/course/robotics-software-engineer–nd209
Pros
- High precision
- Practice is focused
- Include career orientation
- Robotics software engineer training
- Suitable for those who are just starting out
Cons
- Require high concentration for each lecture
8. Self-Driving Cars Specialization
Specifications:
- Difficulty: Advanced
- Duration: Flexible
- Price: Free
- Provider: Steven Waslander, Jonathan Kelly
Course’s Highlights
The self-driving car industry is receiving much attention from software engineers. To become an excellent professional, you must fully participate in the related skill courses.
The course is the best choice for you. It helps to understand modern engineering methods in the self-driving car industry.
During your studies, you will hear about the self-driving car field from leading experts working at Oxbotica or Zoox. It is a new point in the course compared to today’s usual programs on social networks.
The course requires your mastery of fundamentals such as probability, statistics, interpretation, control, and programming. Without them, you certainly wouldn’t understand the lectures inside.
Enroll Here: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/self-driving-cars
Pros
- Accessible
- Full references
- A flexible and suitable time
- The best course on self-driving cars
- Interaction between students and instructors
Cons
- High requirements for background knowledge
9. Aerial Robotics
Specifications:
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Duration: Flexible
- Price: Free
- Provider: Vijay Kumar
Course’s Highlights
Want to create agile, micro-flying vehicles to operate autonomously in indoor and outdoor environments? Then this program is the perfect idea for you.
This course will introduce us to flight mechanics and quadrotor robot design. From there, you’ll be able to develop dynamic models, controllers, and synthesizer planners to work in a three-dimensional environment.
After the course, you will gain insights through real-life examples and challenges facing the drone industry.
Enroll Here: https://www.coursera.org/learn/robotics-flight
Pros
- Flexible time
- Many practical projects
- Content sticking to the focus
- The best aerial robot training course
- Guided by renowned engineer Vijay Kumar
Cons
- Advanced knowledge with many confusing parts
10. IBM AI Engineering Professional Certificate
Specifications:
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Duration: Flexible
- Price: Free
- Provider: Multiple Authors
Course’s Highlights
If you are looking for robotics courses that include a certificate, the IBM AI Engineering Professional Certificate is a suitable suggestion.
This course, developed by IBM, specializes in information technology, software engineering, and robotics. After this program, we will receive an equivalent career qualification certificate.
The course is built by many authors, mainly around machine learning and programming issues. It is an essential tool to succeed in your career as an AL or ML engineer.
Besides earning a professional certificate from Coursera, you will also receive a digital badge from IBM that recognizes your proficiency in AI techniques. Accordingly, your job opportunities will be much more open.
Enroll Here: https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/ai-engineer
Pros
- Digital Badge from IBM
- Built by many famous authors
- Final professional certificate
- Include many practical projects
- Provide programming knowledge
Cons
- The lecture needs more detail
Learning Guide
Field
First, you must seriously consider what field of machine learning you want to pursue, autonomous vehicles, aerial robotics, or all. Identifying the desired area is essential to help you stay on the right track in the future.
Do not be too greedy to choose to study in many fields in parallel. They will confuse you and make it challenging to organize specific study plans.
Lecture content
What is the course content? Does it match your current level?
Above all, you need to find the right program for your current level with relevant content. For beginners, introductory courses in machine learning fundamentals will be the best choice.
Experienced people have more options with different courses on many social forums today.
Cost
Consider the cost before deciding to sign up for any course. We don’t have to make the final judgment, expensive or cheap. You must rely on the lecture notes and previous students’ evaluations to decide whether to participate.
FAQs
Which country is No 1 in robotics?
Korea is one of the countries that successfully produced many advanced robot models in the past year through the diverse application of modern and intelligent technologies.
What are the five major fields of robotics?
The 5 main areas in robotics technology are:
- Program
- Operating interface
- Driver and influence
- Mobility or mobility
- Feeling and Perceiving
Which language is compulsory for robotics?
The C/C++ language is one of the most widely used programming languages in the field of robotics.
Is robotics best for the future?
Yes. This field is perfect for the future. They can be manufactured to replace human activity at work.
Is Python or C++ better for robotics?
According to the survey, C++ and Python are the 2 most used languages for robot programs. C++ gives impressive performance but is more complicated to learn than usual. Successfully writing a C++ program usually takes a lot of time.
Meanwhile, with Python being easy to use, the writing process is not as complicated as C++.
Final Thoughts
Each course is a practical experience to develop awareness and thinking. The course list above is the result of my many online trial lessons.
Hopefully, they can become an essential part of supporting your career. If you are looking for a comprehensive program, then the Robotics specialization is ideal.