Course · 8 steps · ~3.6 hours
Build Your First Robot
From zero to a driving, turning, obstacle-avoiding bot. Every step is a real, published lesson on RobotForge — and four steps include auto-graded simulator practice.
Start with step 1
The whole path is free. Looking for a structured paid course? Try the ESP32-S3 course →
The 8 steps
- 1Start →Meet the ESP32
Pick a board, install a toolchain, blink an LED. Confirm your dev loop end-to-end before you wire a single motor.
~25 min - 2Start →Actuators: brushed DC, BLDC, steppers, servos
Which actuator for which job, how PWM works, and the trade-offs nobody tells beginners. Pair with a PCA9685 for clean 16-channel control.
~22 min - 3Start →Coordinate frames — what 'forward' really means
World frame, body frame, sensor frame. Every robot bug starts here. Learn it once, save yourself a hundred hours.
~18 min - 4Start →Differential drive — sim first
The kinematic equations for a two-wheel chassis, then drive it in the browser sim before you order servos. Try the auto-graded 'drive to (3, 4)' challenge.
- 5Start →Encoders & IMUs — closing the loop
Open-loop control is a lie. Quadrature encoders for wheel speed, IMUs for orientation, and the calibration ritual that determines whether your robot lives.
- 6Start →PID — the 80% of industrial control
How proportional-integral-derivative actually works, how to tune it, and why most beginners use D wrong. Includes a live tunable widget.
- 7Start →From sim to real — surviving the gap
What carries over (geometry, intent), what doesn't (friction, latency, vibration), and the bridge tactics that turn sim wins into hardware wins.
~26 min - 8Start →Obstacle avoidance — your first autonomous run
RRT variants in 60 lines. Drag obstacles, watch the tree expand, find a path. Then port the policy into the sim and clear a course.
Questions or suggestions? Drop into the community — we read every message.