A friendly, beginner-focused robotics tutorial site. Every week we publish a new guide covering everything from setting up your first microcontroller to understanding reinforcement learning frameworks.https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-01-welcome/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-01-welcome/Every Monday, a new beginner-friendly robotics tutorial lands here. Here's what to expect, who this is for, and how to get the most out of it.Mon, 06 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-05-cameras/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-05-cameras/What's the difference between a standard webcam and a depth camera? When does your robot need to see in 3D? This guide breaks down the options clearly.Mon, 03 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-06-rl-frameworks/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-06-rl-frameworks/Stable Baselines3, Ray RLlib, or something else? This guide explains what reinforcement learning is, when it's useful for robotics, and how to choose and get started with the right framework.Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-07-ros2-intro/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-07-ros2-intro/ROS2 is the standard middleware for serious robotics. This guide explains what it is, why it matters, and walks you through installing it and writing your first publisher and subscriber.Mon, 17 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-10-lidar/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-10-lidar/LiDAR gives your robot a 360-degree view of its surroundings. Learn how it works, meet the RPLIDAR A1, and see how to visualize scan data in ROS2.Mon, 10 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-13-3d-printing/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-13-3d-printing/3D printing has transformed robotics by making custom parts accessible to everyone. Learn the basics of designing and printing parts for your robot.Mon, 31 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-14-power-systems/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-14-power-systems/Power is one of the most overlooked aspects of robot design. Get it wrong and your robot behaves erratically or damages itself. This guide covers everything you need to know.Mon, 07 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-02-microcontrollers/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-02-microcontrollers/Arduino or Raspberry Pi? Microcontroller or microprocessor? This guide explains the difference, when to use each, and how to choose for your first robot project.Mon, 13 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-03-motor-drivers/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-03-motor-drivers/You can't connect a motor directly to a microcontroller. Here's why, and how motor driver ICs like the L298N bridge the gap — with working Arduino code.Mon, 20 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-12-pid-control/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-12-pid-control/PID controllers are in everything from thermostats to spacecraft. Understanding them is essential for any roboticist. This guide explains the concept clearly and shows you how to implement one.Mon, 24 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-04-can-bus/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-04-can-bus/CAN bus is the communication protocol that runs modern cars — and increasingly, robots. Here's what it is, why it matters, and how to set it up with two Arduinos and an MCP2515 module.Mon, 27 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-08-ultrasonic-sensors/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-08-ultrasonic-sensors/The HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor is one of the most useful tools in a beginner's kit. Learn how it works, how to wire it up, and how to use it for obstacle avoidance.Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-09-i2c-spi/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-09-i2c-spi/After CAN bus, I2C and SPI are the protocols you'll use most often to connect sensors and peripherals to your microcontroller. Here's how they work and when to use each.Mon, 03 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-11-imu/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-11-imu/An IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) tells your robot which way is up, how fast it's turning, and how it's accelerating. Here's how to use the MPU-6050 with Arduino.Mon, 17 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-16-servo-motors/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-16-servo-motors/Servo motors are the joints of a robot. Learn the difference between hobby servos and industrial servo systems, and how to control them with PWM.Mon, 21 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-17-encoders/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-17-encoders/Encoders measure how far your wheels have turned, enabling odometry — dead reckoning navigation. Learn about quadrature encoders and how to read them.Mon, 28 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-18-ros2-navigation/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-18-ros2-navigation/The Nav2 stack gives your robot the ability to navigate autonomously from point A to point B, avoiding obstacles along the way. Here's how to get started.Mon, 05 May 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-20-slam/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-20-slam/Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) is how robots build a map of an unknown environment while keeping track of their own position within it.Mon, 19 May 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-21-wireless-communication/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-21-wireless-communication/Cutting the cord opens up new possibilities. Compare WiFi, Bluetooth, and LoRa for different robotics applications, with practical setup guides.Mon, 26 May 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-22-computer-vision-opencv/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-22-computer-vision-opencv/Teach your robot to recognize objects in real time using OpenCV and the YOLO neural network. Runs on a Raspberry Pi with a standard USB camera.Mon, 02 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-23-ros2-tf2/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-23-ros2-tf2/TF2 is the ROS2 library for tracking coordinate frames. Understanding it is essential for any robot that needs to know where things are in 3D space.Mon, 09 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-24-robot-chassis-design/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-24-robot-chassis-design/The chassis is the skeleton of your robot. Learn the key design decisions — wheel configuration, center of mass, motor mounting — that determine how well your robot moves.Mon, 16 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-25-debugging-hardware/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-25-debugging-hardware/Hardware bugs are different from software bugs — you can't just add a print statement. This guide covers the tools and techniques for diagnosing hardware problems.Mon, 23 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-15-simulation/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-15-simulation/Simulation lets you test your robot software without risking expensive hardware. Learn how to set up Gazebo with ROS2 and simulate a simple differential drive robot.Mon, 14 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-19-robot-arm-kinematics/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-19-robot-arm-kinematics/Forward and inverse kinematics are the mathematics that let a robot arm reach a target position. This guide explains the concepts without drowning you in equations.Mon, 12 May 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-26-whats-next/https://weekly-robotics.pages.dev/blog/week-26-whats-next/We've covered a lot of ground in 26 weeks. Here's a recap of the journey so far, answers to the most common reader questions, and a preview of what's coming in the next six months.Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT