Modern robotics are beginning to make a lot of noise in the world of technology. This industry has seen a tremendous amount of growth in the past few years, no thanks in part to the large strides gained by Boston Dynamics and their amazing robots.
If you’re interested in learning more about robotics and how they work, there are plenty of opportunities available. Of course, not everyone has time to attend classes in person. Thankfully, there are great online courses that provide a fantastic platform to learn robotics. There are both free and paid options available, and most courses can be taken by beginners, intermediates, or experts.
Let’s take a look at some of the best online courses to learn robotics. You’ll notice the site on which you can find each course is in parentheses after the course name.
Robotics Certification by Penn (edX)
The world of robotics has allowed us to find solutions to many of the more pressing issues we face in today’s world. The Robotics Certification by Penn helps students learn to develop the necessary critical thinking skills to solve real-world problems. The program also focuses on growing the technical skills students need to understand how robotics aids in these issues.
This program is split up into weekly intervals and provides challenges each week. These challenges are designed to help students gain a better grasp on core subjects. Additionally, students are encouraged to prove themselves by creating their own efficient solutions.
When students complete this robotics certification, they are ready to handle more complex and challenging situations in the world of robotics.
Features
- Lessons are concise and designed in a manner to help students learn skills quickly and in a short period of time. This helps them learn and acquire the necessary skills and best practices required to become successful.
- Available videos walk you through many concepts, one at a time. Students learn by seeing relevant examples and demonstrations.
- Split up into four separate courses, which are taught by those that are considered experts in their field and have plenty of experience to call on.
- Students learn to design and implement intelligent controls. They’ll also learn how to navigate bio-inspired robots within an unstructured environment.
- Learn to develop robots with structure and guidance from online lectures. Students will receive practical overviews of ideas and concepts presented during the lessons.
- Students will learn and understand the visual intelligence required for robots to navigate complicated environments.
Students can expect this course to take 36 weeks. There are four courses, and each course takes 12 weeks. Eight to ten hours per week will be spent in class.
Modern Certification for Robotics: Mechanics, Planning, and Control (Coursera)
The Modern Robotics Certification is a great program for those that want to dig deep and address various areas of modern-day robotics.This course is considered an intermediate level class, so students will need some experience related to robotics in order to get the most out of this course.
This course starts off with the rigorous education of spatial motion along with the dynamics involved with a rigid body. Students will learn about how to employ representations stemming from modern theories.
These lectures guide students on how to write their very robotics software. They are encouraged to test their software on a cutting edge robot simulator. For the first few lessons, students will cover core topics which are beneficial to building skills necessary for core foundational establishment. Once these skills are mastered, students will move on to topics which will be more advanced in nature.
Students will end the course with a positive experience as it involves a final project that puts to use the skills and lessons they have learned throughout the class.
Features
- Plenty of lessons to help clarify doubts and solidify understanding.
- Perfect class for those that want to learn more at the intermediate-level for robotic skills.
- Lessons are split into six separate parts, which includes the final project.
- Appropriate real-world examples are given during elaborate and extensive instruction.
- Subtopics include articles and quizzed for quick revision and testing purposes.
- All needed libraries will be provided with course materials. These will be handy when writing software.
The expectation for course completion is a little more than 20 weeks. Students will need roughly three to seven hours each week to complete coursework.
Robotics Certification (Coursera)
The attractiveness of having the ability and skills to work in the robotics field cannot be overemphasized. This important industry is seeking employees that have the necessary qualifications to have an impact in the world of robotics. The Robotics Certification offered by Coursera is a course designed for beginners. This means students don’t have to have prior experience when getting started.
Throughout this course, students will learn key and interesting concepts like robot movement and flights, the way in which robots view their surrounding environment, along with how they move to avoid obstructions. Students will also learn how to program robots to navigate challenging terrain, along with how to complete complicated tasks like disaster recovery or construction.
These courses will educate students on how robots have the ability to help with real-life situations and scenarios. As a result, they will have a firmer grasp on the types of advancements that have been made in the current field of robotics, along with what types of capabilities they can expect to see in the future.
Features
- Perfect course if a student is looking to learn more about robotics and has no prior experience.
- Plenty of exercises to help retain and implement instruction gained during course lessons.
- Students will get a smooth start with straightforward instructions for accessing the necessary tools and software.
- The course is divided into six lessons.
- The certification addresses each topic at a steady pace.
- A final project will provide students with a chance to implement and solve for a real-world issue.
- Students will use programming methodology learned in classes and apply them to their final projects.
This course will last 24 weeks, and students can expect to spend three to five hours each week on coursework.
Electricity & Electronics: Robotics Learn by Building (Udemy)
For students that are hands-on learners, the Electricity and Electronics course could be a perfect class. The course will guide them through the basics for building electronic components and circuits from scratch. This course is targeted for beginners, so students don’t have to have any experience prior to joining.
By the time the course is completed, students will know how to create electronic circuits. Some projects included in this course are sound effects, servo motors, and light flashers. These are all important components used in robot building.
Features
- Perfect course for getting started with learning how to make electronic circuits.
- Lectures are easy to understand and engage students
- Completing this course provides a gateway to future courses that help students gain an even more solid understanding of basic artificial intelligence and how it implements into circuitry.
- Initial section of this course explains the parts and tools required for completion, along with what students will need if they decide to provide their own parts.
- Students will receive 54 lectures and full-lifetime access to the course.
The expected duration of this course is ten hours.
Robotics Certificate by Columbia University (edX)
This course is for advanced-level students who want to focus on specific robot classes. This certificate spends time on two core areas: mobile bases and kinematic chains. Students will learn to represent homogenous coordinates, 2D and 3D relationships in space, and how to program, navigate, and manipulate robot arms.
Coursework includes working with Robot Operating System to build applications and then test them. Professors provide equal focus on both practical and theoretical knowledge. This means the course will aid in building skills and then testing them with real-world examples throughout.
Features
- The material is well placed throughout this well-structured course.
- Certification will guide students through the needed setups and installations needed for classwork.
- Videos and study materials are available to students for free.
- Robot Operating System (ROS) is an open source system available to use throughout the course.
- Videos cover topics that focus on real-life situations and examples.
The duration of this course completion is twelve weeks. Students can expect to spend between eight and ten hours each week on coursework.
Digital Electronics – Robotics Course (Udemy)
The Digital Electronics certification teaches students how to design and create electronic circuits, program microcontrollers, then connect to the world around them. This certification is for intermediate level students. If a student plans on taking this course, they should have a solid understanding of basic electronics, along with strong math skills.
By course completion, students will have created functioning electronic circuits, similar to what you would find in digital memory. Students will also program the aforementioned microcontrollers and integrate them into real-world situations like controlling robots or home automation.
Features
- This course is designed to provide students with real-world situations and examples.
- Students will learn Arduino and put it to use for the PIC projects throughout the course.
- Practical and theoretical content is balanced.
- The course provides details which will help students understand exactly what they need and what tools are required for coursework.
- Students will create a mobile robot with a brain that has external sensing abilities.
- A great learning experience with a friendly tone and thorough study materials.
- The course includes 55 lectures and full-lifetime access to videos and modules.
Students can expect to spend ten hours to complete this certification.
Robot Operating System Course: ROS – (edX)
The Robot Operating System course is a great place to begin for student’s looking to develop robotic applications. This intermediate level program includes basic programming methods. As a result, the student will need to have a basic understanding of Python, Ubuntu Linux, and computer science.
Throughout this certification, students will learn how to use distinct Robot Operating System tools to develop an entire application from start to finish. Additionally, students will understand how to configure and program fundamental robot tasks like picking up and placing objects or navigating around or through obstructions.
Features
- Perfect course pace throughout each concept to ensure that students understand elaborate subject matter.
- Use Robot Operating System communication methods to communication between functional modules.
- Creation, mapping, and visualization of the robot’s surrounding environment.
- Students will learn a basic understanding of all core concepts related to the Robot Operating
- System, along with how to develop and integrate an application.
- Initial classes will allow students the opportunity to understand ways to interact and maneuver the course environment and iron out additional details.
- The course provides the student with videos and study materials at no additional cost.
- Students’ final project will be performed using real robots in a real-world environment.
Completion of this certification is expected to take six weeks. Students will spend between eight and twelve hours on coursework each week.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are plenty of opportunities available online to learn more about robotics, how they work, and how they can be used in real-world scenarios and situations. Hopefully, one of the courses listed here will provide a solid jumping off point for your into the world of robotics.
The world of robotics is a quickly expanding industry which is rapidly becoming a daily part of our lives. Whether you’re a novice, have a little experience, or just want a refresher, you should be able to find exactly what you need from one of these courses.
Further read,
Leave a Reply