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Lesson 1: Meet the ESP32
A beginner-friendly walkthrough of the ESP32 microcontroller — what it is, why it's the best chip for your first robot, how to install the toolchain, and how to blink your first LED. Part of our 'Build Your First Robot' course.
Welcome to RobotForge
A community for DIY robotics and physical AI. Here's what we're building and why.
Why open robotics matters more than ever
Figure, Tesla, 1X — the humanoid race is closed-source. Here's why the open movement is still the one that wins.
A preview of the RobotForge simulator
Browser-based robot physics with Rapier 3D, a Monaco editor, and a JavaScript control loop. Here's what's coming.
Your first 20 minutes with ROS 2
No robot required. Install, launch turtlesim, publish a velocity message. The fastest honest intro to ROS 2.
I stopped buying humanoid robots — and started printing them
$20K for a NEO, $30K for a Unitree, $16K for a G1. Or print Poppy for $500. A year of living with both.
The $200 robot arm that actually works
A 6-DOF arm built from MG996R servos, a PCA9685, and an ESP32. Pick up a coin. Sort blocks. Under-promise, over-deliver.
Reinforcement learning on real robots: what actually works in 2026
Sim-to-real is finally good enough for amateurs. Here's the minimal stack: MuJoCo MJX, domain randomization, PPO, and a real quadruped on a soft mat.
5 DIY quadrupeds worth copying in 2026
SpotMicro, Mini Pupper, OpenDogV3, Bittle, and Bolt. A field guide with BOMs, skill ceilings, and which one to start with.