Embedded & Hardware

Four MCU families cover 95% of hobby robotics in 2026. Pin counts, real-time support, cost, toolchain — a decision matrix and honest recommendations.

~14 min

Three motor families cover 90% of hobby robotics. Each has a sweet spot. Pick wrong and your robot won't even turn; pick right and you can use a $5 motor where someone else uses a $50 one.

~14 min

How your robot knows where its joints are. Resolutions, drift, and the gotchas of each type. The sensor that ties firmware to the physical world.

~12 min

Bias, drift, calibration, and the 6-DOF fusion that turns raw chips into a pose estimate. The sensors that complement encoders for everything that flies, walks, or balances.

~13 min

LiPo chemistry, current budgeting, and the #1 failure mode of first-robot builds. Why the MCU resets when servos move, and how to never debug that bug again.

~13 min

Ground loops, star grounds, decoupling caps, and the rules that keep DC systems alive. The unglamorous craft that separates working robots from frustrated builders.

~11 min

The embedded-AI platform that runs most robotics inference today — with honest latency numbers. What each variant does, the SDK landscape, and the gotchas that bite first-time users.

~12 min

Keyword spotting, gesture detection, and the patterns for running inference on a $5 MCU. The other end of the AI spectrum from Jetson — where every kilobyte counts.

~12 min

The bus decision tree. What each protocol is good at, where each falls over, and the gotchas that separate working systems from inscrutable bugs.

~11 min

When you outgrow setup()/loop(), and what RTOS tasks give you in exchange for the complexity. The transition every serious embedded developer makes — and when not to.

~12 min

KiCad in an afternoon. Enough to spin your first custom board for a breakout, with the design rules that get a working PCB on the first try.

~12 min

Where heat comes from, where it goes, and why your $500 motor-driver burnt up in the first five minutes. The unglamorous half of electronics design that separates working hardware from melted hardware.

~11 min