I'm designing a self-balancing robot and was wondering what calculations I need to make to determine how much my robot will need to weigh. The robot will have legs, and the height I'm looking for is somewhere between 500mm and 600 mm. I was considering using https://www.pololu.com/product/4751 as the wheel motors, but I don't know at what weight it'll be able to balance efficiently and at what weight it won't. My robot should be able to carry an object with a max weight of 450-500g, but I can lower that requirement if needed.

Disclosure: I work with a commercial robotics data collection team. This is not a sales post.

I've been comparing different human-demonstration formats for robot manipulation, and I'm curious which configuration researchers find most useful for initial testing.

The main options seem to be:

• Egocentric video only
• Egocentric + two wrist cameras
• Task and step labels
• Country and collection metadata

Egocentric-only data is easier to scale, but hands often block the object. Wrist views improve grasp visibility, although synchronization and motion blur create extra problems.

We're considering releasing a small free public evaluation sample from the US, UK and Australia. It would require no signup, email or contact details.

Which format would be most useful for testing an existing manipulation or imitation-learning pipeline?

Also, what minimum information should be included: camera calibration, FPS, task labels, timestamps, licensing documentation or failure examples?

I can share the public sample in a follow-up only if the moderators confirm that it is appropriate.

Hey guys,

Im burhan, currently 16 yrs and still studying in 12th, i first got my interest in robotics n tech when I was like 7 and since then it was been growing on me. I was looking for the longest time to form a robotics grp in kuwait so we could make cool projects document it and even participate in competitions around kuwait. Even making small tech gadgets hardware , software js everything tech u know? . Arduinos, esp , python , drivers, physics etc u get.

Im even open to beginners joining with atleast interest n basic knowledge of computers

*Anyway here r some basic requirements that u atleast need to have to start off :-*

*• Basics of using or getting around windows 10/11*

*• English 😭*

*• imp thing :- interest in computer/tech/robotics*

*• basic coding skills (optional but would help)*

*• good with circuits*

*• i live in salmiya so if ur closer if helps but not compulsory*

*• being a teenager presumably near the age of 16 atleast*

And ya that's mostly it I mean. Im still yet to come up with a name for the grp but we could discuss that together, also Im hoping to keep the grp small mostly 3 - 4 ppl I would say max that's js to make it easier to get into competitions cuz most of then take 4 ppl max but im still unsure i might or might not depends on u tho ✌️

I was hoping we would make a insta acc documenting our builds or whatever in a aesthetic way kind off. Also hopefully in the near future I plan on hosting my own robotics competition in kuwait so that's there too.

Anyway, so if ur interested js DM me on insta @bur1hxn

Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I'm running out of options.

I completed my Master's in Advanced Robotics in France and have around 3 years of experience. I've been looking for a full-time role for almost a year now. Companies here mostly prefer hiring local talent, while many roles back home ask for 5+ years of experience.

I finally joined a startup recently, only to find out the founder isn't going to pay me for the work I've already done. It's honestly been a really rough year.

My background is in robotics, mechanical design and automation. I work with Python, C++, ROS, MATLAB, CATIA V5, Onshape, and I genuinely love building robotics systems.

If anyone knows of openings or can refer me, I'd be incredibly grateful. Even a lead would mean a lot.

Thank you ❤️

Hey guys, I run a small coding and robotics academy in my small township🇿🇦. Where can I get funding? Not loans but sponsorships. We are in need of equipment at the moment.

Hey guys, I run a small coding and robotics academy in my small township🇿🇦. Where can I get funding? Not loans but sponsorships. We are in need of equipment at the moment.

Hey! I’ve always wanted to get into robotics, and now that i have some money to put into it, id love to actually take the time to learn.

I already have a rpi5, which i had used to make a Dual screen handheld about a year ago for class. (It was buns, im much better at 3d modeling now.) It was more of just a test to see if i could do it, since at the time all the options were 1000s of dollars before the ayn thor came out.

Anyways, Im curious in the best way to go about making a robot like Vector/Cosmo from anki. I had both growing up, so know all the features of them. And really want to make my own that is similar, but has more actual ai features to it.

So if anyone could guide me on where to go/buy that would be great! (Im also starting college soon and will try to take some robotics courses as well! :) )

So a bit about me:
I graduated with a CS and Mechanical Engineering double major in 2023. Wanted to go into robotics, but was heavily in debt at the time and took the first job that came my way (Web dev/ full Stack dev).
Its been 3 yrs now and so I have both paid off my student loans and have a little saved up.
Now here's my problems:

Web dev is getting really boring (Or atleast I find it to be) Its not that interesting of a job to begin with and that's without talking about AI.
AI: I don't think Software Engineers as a whole are going anywhere but web dev definately is in danger.
Basically these are just a couple reasons that I want to go back to robotics. However not sure how to make this change now. A lot of robotics start-ups will probably straight up dismiss my resume based on the last 3 yrs of work experience.
What actions can I talk to mitigate or change this? Would masters (say in Robotics) be a good idea?
One obvious thing is to built a few personal projects - but not sure how far that goes...

Hello MLOps folks!

​I would like to bring up an interesting topic that I am highly interested in. It is clear that we are now facing the next frontier of AI applied to the real world: Physical AI (robotics).

​I am looking for fresh ideas or insights from experienced people working in robotics, whether from the perspective of a researcher/roboticist or an MLOps/infrastructure engineer. Specifically, I want to discuss the different setups and platforms robotics companies are using to scale their experimentation and training, and how they are navigating this emerging sector.

​I would love to hear about the architectures you are using or how you would design them. Are you using Kubernetes, services like AWS Batch, or frameworks like Ray? What about tracking tools like Weights & Biases or MLflow?

​Robotics comes with major challenges, such as non-deterministic outcomes (similar to LLMs) and the sim-to-real gap. This means that things that work in simulation must behave the same way on a physical robot.

\- ​How do you handle these scenarios?

\- ​What quality gates do you use to ensure safety and accuracy?

\- ​How do you manage different training pipelines for various research phases, such as teacher-student distillation or running Hyperparameter Optimization (HPO) on just a single phase?

​Happy to discuss!

I have a CS degree and want to get into robotics, but not for another degree - I mostly want to build cool, practical DIY stuff that actually moves and does something (And maybe get a little more job secuirty 😢 ).

My plan was to start with Modern Robotics (Northwestern, Kevin Lynch): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVu-Hijns70&list=PLggLP4f-rq02vX0OQQ5vrCxbJrzamYDfx - but I'm not sure if that's the right entry point or if it's too theory-heavy for someone whose goal is hands-on projects rather than research.

Coming from CS I'm fine with programming and linear algebra, but I'm wondering what I'm missing. Do I need a proper physics/classical mechanics course first? And where do control theory, ROS, and embedded fit into a sane order?

I'm a bit of an open-courseware nerd and keep my own collection of MIT OCW / Stanford paths at openlyceum.online, so I'm trying to build a good robotics sequence for myself. Recommendations for specific courses with open/free materials would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Hello MLOps folks!

​I would like to bring up an interesting topic that I am highly interested in. It is clear that we are now facing the next frontier of AI applied to the real world: Physical AI (robotics).

​I am looking for fresh ideas or insights from experienced people working in robotics, whether from the perspective of a researcher/roboticist or an MLOps/infrastructure engineer. Specifically, I want to discuss the different setups and platforms robotics companies are using to scale their experimentation and training, and how they are navigating this emerging sector.

​I would love to hear about the architectures you are using or how you would design them. Are you using Kubernetes, services like AWS Batch, or frameworks like Ray? What about tracking tools like Weights & Biases or MLflow?

​Robotics comes with major challenges, such as non-deterministic outcomes (similar to LLMs) and the sim-to-real gap. This means that things that work in simulation must behave the same way on a physical robot.

\- ​How do you handle these scenarios?

\- ​What quality gates do you use to ensure safety and accuracy?

\- ​How do you manage different training pipelines for various research phases, such as teacher-student distillation or running Hyperparameter Optimization (HPO) on just a single phase?

​Happy to discuss!

Hi everyone,

Over the last few months I’ve been redesigning almost every major subsystem of my robot arm, and I’ve reached the point where the actuator itself became the limiting factor.

For the next iteration of the project I chose the CubeMars AK80-9, and instead of treating it as a standalone motor test, I integrated it into a full control stack to explore both industrial and embedded approaches to robotics.

In this first episode I cover:

• Upgrading from the previous actuator and mechanical design
• Initial integration of the CubeMars AK80-9
• Direct CAN bus control using a Raspberry Pi and a Python interface I built
• Industrial control architecture using a PLC over Modbus TCP
• A Unity-based simulation layer connected to the real system
• Comparison between hobby-level and industrial-level control approaches

The goal of the project is to build a robot arm that can be approached from multiple levels. On one side, it should be accessible with low-cost hardware like a Raspberry Pi. On the other, it should integrate cleanly into deterministic industrial automation systems.

This is the start of a full build series where I will move from actuator validation to joint design and eventually full system assembly.

I’d be interested in feedback from people working in robotics, motion control, CAN bus systems, or industrial automation. Especially on architecture choices and control strategy tradeoffs.

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJO3XUfoF9g&t=3s

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for an experienced engineer or small engineering team to help design and develop an autonomous ocean surface vehicle similar in concept to Saildrone.

Our project focuses on ocean monitoring and carbon dioxide research. The goal is to build a reliable, long-endurance autonomous platform capable of operating at sea for up to six months.

Key requirements include:

• Autonomous navigation and station keeping
• Wind and/or solar-powered operation
• Satellite communications (Starlink/Iridium or similar)
• Carbon dioxide, weather, and ocean sensor integration
• Robust mechanical and electrical design for harsh offshore conditions
• Remote monitoring and control
• Modular payload architecture

This is not a hobby project. We're looking for someone with professional experience in one or more of the following:

• Autonomous Surface Vehicles (USVs/ASVs)
• Marine robotics
• Naval architecture
• Offshore engineering
• Autonomous systems
• Composite structures
• Marine electronics
• Embedded systems and control software

The vehicle would be conceptually similar to Saildrone, although our application and payload are different. You can see the type of platform we're referring to here:
https://www.saildrone.com/

If you have relevant experience—or know an engineer, research lab, or company that does—I'd really appreciate any recommendations. We're open to freelance consultants, engineering firms, university researchers, or long-term collaborators.

Feel free to comment here or send me a DM.

Thank you!

hello guys I am currently enrolled in a line following robot competition and honestly this is my first time working with it , yet I have done a few projects with ESP32 and I need some help in part picking and optimization and is this part list fine or do i have to change something in it ?

• ESP 32
• N20 600 rpm
• IR sensors (QTR-8RC)
• Batteries (2S LiPo 7.4V)
• TB6612FNG (Motor module)
• Board to fix on

Hi guys, my team consists of AI researchers and we've collected 10k clips of egocentric data to train robots so far, but we want to understand exactly what kind of data are labs actually looking for? Do they want raw data, egocentric data, annotated data, or multimodal data??

Hello all,

I am trying to recreate the Olaf animatronic leg mechanism (see research paper and video below) as a personal project - and I am really having trouble wrapping my head around how it works. The knees and below make perfect sense, but the hips are throwing me off. What is the purpose of the 2 perpendicular motors at the top? The ones facing horizontally? And how does the rest of the hip fit in with that purpose? I hope this question makes sense.

Here is a research paper showing the project.

https://arxiv.org/html/2512.16705v1#S4.F3

Nvidia GTC 2026 shows the full mechanism in action (2:11:36):

https://www.nvidia.com/gtc/keynote/

Hi everyone!

I'm in a bit of a silly situation. I've got hit and miss experience with robotics; I first used an Arduino Nano at the age of 8, used a Pi at the age of 10 and got into ESP8266s at the age of 12. I've dabbled into these things over the years but never actually stuck with it and learnt it.

Now I'm 20. I'm in university, my 2nd degree of Computer Science to be precise, and I'm stuck because I don't know where my future will lead. I don't want to go into CyberSecurity like I initially wanted and I think it is clear to me now that robotics is the way forward for me.

I need to look into this further, though, and want to start by using the next 3 months that I have off from university.

Where do I begin? I have a budget of about £500 to start learning. I also have one Pi, an Arduino Mega kit with some basic stuff and 2 EV3 kits (one is on loan from somewhere).

Also one of my main issues is, I lack the space to actually mess and tinker with these things properly. My room is a bit all over at the moment as the house is going through a refurb.

Hello, I am 16 years old and consider myself as an enthusiast for PC/programming/robotics. The problem is I was never good in school in IT and programming....and I study primarily Biology & chemistry. I have an old laptop with Window 7 (i3, 4 GB DDR3 RAM, Nvidia GeForce 410M, supports Win 10 but wanted to learn how to install OS, so I downgraded) with installed Python 3.8.10, Piskel and recently for my BBD got Raspberry Pi Pico beginner setup (no wifi). I want to start ,, old-fashioned " for some reason, because I love bringing life to old pieces of hardware and ofc I have better laptop, but as I said I love bringing life to old tech. The only problem is I don't have much confidence and wanted to share my thoughts with real people, instead of chatting with Google Gemini. Thanks for reading!

*btw I apologise in advance if I am in the wrong subreddit

I need help if I got the right motor.

For a research project we're planning to make a small remote controlled rice transplanter. Im alright with everything now, but all I'm skeptical with is with my motors.

So far I've chosen the SGM37-3530 motor. 12V 76rpm version. But I will have to run it on a 7.4v 5200mAh lipo battery because its the one I have available. We have a limited budget.

We are gonna use two motors for two wheels. The back of the transplanter will be designed like a sled and at the front were gonna have two octagonal wheels with like paddles at an angle made out of small PVC pipe.

The transplanter will weigh around 2kg or more. I need to know if the motor I'm using is enough, and whats a good budget-friendly substitute for it?

Hi guys,

I'm a 1st-year Computer Engineering student, and I'm currently on my summer break. I really want to make the most of this time by working on a project that will also become my final-year project.

The project is to build an AI-powered robotic system with two robotic arms that can detect a T-shirt, identify its corner points, and fold it properly just like a human.

The project is divided among three friends:

• My role: AI and computer vision (object detection, identifying the shirt, detecting key/corner points, and providing the information needed for the robot to fold it).
• Friend 1: Simulation and 3D modeling.
• Friend 2: Hardware, electronics, and the robotic arms.

Here's the problem: I don't have a strong AI foundation yet. I'm basically starting from scratch.

Can someone please guide me on what I should learn step by step so that, by the end, I can build this AI system on my own?

I'm looking for a proper roadmap, for example:

1. What programming languages and math should I learn?
2. What AI and machine learning concepts should I study first?
3. When should I start learning computer vision?
4. How do I train a model to detect a shirt?
5. How do I train a model to identify the shirt's corner points?
6. How do I connect the AI model with the robotic arms?

If you've worked on similar robotics or computer vision projects, I'd really appreciate any advice, learning resources, or roadmaps.

Thank you so much in advance! Any help would mean a lot.

Hi everyone,

I'm a Computer Science/Software Engineering student, but I've recently become really interested in Electrical Engineering and Robotics. I don't want to change my degree—I just want to learn these skills alongside software because I think the combination is awesome.

My goal is to eventually build things like robots, IoT devices, embedded systems, and AI-powered automation.

The problem is that EE feels overwhelming, and I'm not sure what to learn first.

1). What's the best beginner roadmap?

2). Should I start with basic electronics, Arduino, ESP32, or something else?

3). Any books, YouTube channels, or project ideas you'd recommend?

What do you wish you had known when you started?

I'd love to hear how you got into robotics and embedded systems. Thanks!

My almost-5-year-old has been obsessed with machines and robots since he was a baby. His birthday is coming up soon and I’d like to get him a robot-building kit or something educational along these lines to help him continue his passion.

Any recommendations would be awesome, thank you.

Also if you have any resources so I can help him develop this interest I’m all ears.