Become A Roboticist In 28 Days

Build For 1 Hour A Day To Become A Roboticist

Become a Roboticist is a 28 Day challenge course that teaches the fundamentals of building a robot simulation with the Robotics Operating System (ROS 2).But unlike other courses, you won't learn passively. You'll create a unique robot simulation, share your work on LinkedIn or X every day, make new friends and leave with a new perspective on creating robots.What you get:
50+ Video Lessons, 28 Daily tasks, live calls, personal feedback and accountabilityWhat you will do:
* Solve robotics challenges
* Create your own robot project
* Share your work daily on LinkedIn or X.How you will change:
* Build the confidence to create a robot simulation from scratch.
* Create a unique robot to describe in interviews or startup pitches.
* Show evidence of your new skills through posting on LinkedIn or X and grow your following.

or keep scrolling to learn more...

Is Become A Roboticist right for you?

✅ Have you wanted to create a robot, but aren't sure the first step to take?

Do you find everything about robotics overwhelming? Such as:
How do I setup my computer?
What should my first project be?
How do I know if robotics is something I really want to do?

✅ Have you tried to create a robot, but got stuck in the minor detail?

Did you try building your own robot from scratch but got stuck assembling the low level motor controllers and ran out of steam to build the robot?

✅ Are you spinning your wheels, working hard but struggling to get ROS to work for you?

Have you tried several examples but found they don't work on your computer?
Or that they work on the wrong version of ROS or Gazebo or Ignition....

If any of these sound familiar...

Then Become A Roboticist was built for you.

What our students are saying...

Sean - Was new to ROS 2 And Found The Challenge Motivating And Rewarding

I wanted to thank Dr. John Vial for creating and running this challenge, as well as pushing for us to share our work on LinkedIn. Sharing online is not something I typically do with continual learning, but I have found it very rewarding and motivating for this challenge. Additionally, having live sessions with other members of the cohort was a great help with staying motivated. Finally, being brand new to ROS2 this course gave great exposure to the opens source tools used by roboticists and has been a tremendous support in my journey into the world of Robotics

Camilo - Already Knew ROS 1 But Learnt New Methods In ROS 2

I am a mechatronics engineer with a master's degree in Robotics and AI, who had worked for almost a year as a full-time software developer by the time I started the course with John. I signed up because I was looking for a comprehensive but compact course to improve my skills as a roboticist using ROS2.I really liked the course, it was well structured, the instructions were clear, the provided code worked as expected in 99% of the cases, we learned about both mobile and manipulator robots, John suggested useful exercises at the end of each video and posting on LinkedIn enlarged my network a lot. I gained about 340 followers (from 160 to over 500, more than triple) over the course of the 5 weeks it took me to finish the course which is remarkable by itself.Although I had some experience with ROS1 and Gazebo, I learned a lot from John's tips and presented work methodologies, e.g., inserting the collada model in FreeCAD and modifying the URDF there, using pictures for modeling there, developing within dev Containers, and many more I shared in my posts. Being able to transition from ROS1 to ROS2 and from Gazebo classic to modern Gazebo is also a remarkable achievement, as ROS1 end-of-life comes closer and closer.Last but not least, I loved the constant support John offered to help us achieve the expected results. Chapeau!

Jack - Learnt new skills, grew network by 130% and started a conversation with an OEM!

Coming from a background working with a robotics company alongside studying for a PhD in
Human-Robot Interaction, John Vial’s 28-day Become a Roboticist course appealed to me for
the flexibility that it offered, in only 1 hour per day, building a new habit practising robotics
whilst fitting in around my busy schedule.The course exceeded my expectations in a number of ways:• John is an excellent instructor, very knowledgeable, with a PhD in robotics combined
with years of industrial experience. John is incredibly helpful and has gone above and
beyond to ensure that his students succeed on the course.• This is not just another online course. Beyond pre-recorded lessons and code
examples, John provides weekly live calls, and further help is provided throughout via his
course Discord server. The Discord server also facilitates interaction with other course
participants.• Speed and ease of setup through to working simulation – the setup process and code
examples have clearly been well thought out and well planned by John, to get students
through to a working ROS2 and Gazebo simulation from Day 1. Where this would usually
be a big barrier to entry with ROS2 and Gazebo – John has skilfully simplified this
process to get students simulating robots from the start, building confidence and
understanding by doing rather than wrote learning theory in isolation.Within the 28 days I gained experience simulating mobile and manipulator robots, before
embarking on my own project simulating a multi-robot system of tracked uncrewed vehicles.• Alongside this, owing to the daily social media posting required to track progress and
maintain accountability on the course, I experienced a +130% increase in my LinkedIn
following. This is an important, and often overlooked, benefit of John’s course,
expanding your network and influence in the robotics space. For me, this led to a new
collaboration with a robotics OEM that reached out to me directly on the back of one of
my LinkedIn posts. This will continue to have a lasting impact post-course, above and
beyond the new skillset acquired.I would highly recommend Dr John Vial’s 28-Day Become a Roboticist Course/Challenge to
anyone looking to get started with robotic simulations using Ros2 and Gazebo. Whether you are
completely new to robotic simulations, or have been struggling with your own projects, this
expertly delivered course will give you all of the tools you need to build confidence, build a new
skillset, and start simulating your own robots in just 28 days!Thank you very much John for all of your time and support throughout the course, it is dearly
appreciated, and has kick-started my robotics journey!

Matteo - Uses ROS at work everyday and deepened his knowledge of ROS and robotics through the challenge

John has created a thoroughly engaging and enjoyable breakdown of the components required to get started with ROS.As with many things, there's more than meets the eye. It's not just program a robot and awaybyiu go, but all the other considerations of how data is managed, how the robot is designed in CAD so you can test it in simulation, what software tools to use to manage the workflow and stay compatible, the list goes on.As someone who has now for the past two years been in a role where ROS is the core of the product being developed, this both given me more to both grow my knowledge of ROS and take the time to experiment with my own ideas which will hopefully translate into further opportunities in time.Thank you for deciding to make ROS accessible to everyone and I'm glad to play a small part in building the community

Shashank - Expanded on His Masters Degree And Learned How To Build Robots With ROS

It was an amazing course, diving into Gazebo and ROS2 was an exciting challenge. John's detailed explanations, combined with hands-on practice, demystified these powerful tools.I learned how to build robots on FreeCAD, convert them to URDF, simulate in Gazebo, navigate complex environments, and leverage the robust capabilities of ROS2. This practical knowledge has equipped me to tackle real-world robotics projects with confidence. What sets this course apart from the others is how John guides you to showcase your work on social media platforms (LinkedIn, X etc), as learning in public is the way forward and boosts your self-confidence and work-profile.If you're looking to expand your robotics knowledge and unlock your potential, I wholeheartedly recommend John's course. It's an investment that will pay off in dividends, both personally and professionally.Thank you, John, for igniting my passion for robotics and equipping me with the tools to turn that passion into reality!

"The course offers a great start & ideas on how to implements robotics. Great fundaments in the course, being simulation first lets us learn without having to buy hardware. The delivery method was great." - Theng-Wei"Being able to do ROS through windows is soo much easier as many people don't know how to use linux. I liked the approach being the objective is to do something." - Ramsha"The challenge was really useful for me. I had experience with ROS but had never created a sim from scratch." - Nikita

The constraints you need to finally start creating robots

All beginner Roboticists face the same 10 problems:

If you're reading this, chances are one (or more) of these problems are keeping you up at night (and keeping you from creating robots).

And chances are, you know you are struggling with these problems - which is why you're on this page in the first place.

Whether it's to build a simulation, learn if robotics is the right career for you, or solve a problem with robotics at work, creating robots is something that's been on your list for a while.

  • Slogging Through Theoretical Online Tutorials

  • Long & Complex System Setup That Isn't Easy On Windows

  • Hard to discern "old" tutorials from recent ones

  • Difficult to find re-usable patterns from tutorials

  • Running out of motivation after a day or two

  • Hard to create a unique robot

  • Don't have other roboticists to learn with

  • Struggle to showcase work to employers, colleagues and investors

  • Aren't sure how to pick a starting project

  • Get lost trying to find the right ROS package for their project

Stop Doing Basic Tutorials

The biggest mistakes beginner roboticists make? Doing the basic ROS tutorials (i.e. pub/sub), spending hours setting up Linux or trying to learn the maths "first".The good news is: these are easy to fix.All you have to do is commit to a project, use a prebuilt simulation environment, and play with and modify the robot.If you do this, you will walk away with practical robotics experience, a working simulation and the intuition that comes from tinkering with robots.

Stop Building Motor Controllers

The second big mistake Beginner Roboticists make is trying to start with hardware.The reason is because we are taught in school to focus on fundamentals first, and what's more fundamental than building a robots motor controller?But this is false.Instead, you should be focused on how the overall robotic system works. You want to become a roboticist, not an electronics engineer.And focusing on the robotic system is exactly what you'll be doing inside Become A Roboticist.

Welcome to Become A Roboticist

What You Get

Upon joining, you'll unlock a 28-day curriculum packed with tutorials and frameworks that will help you become a roboticist.

  • 📹 52 Video lessons covering everything you need to know to build robot simulations with ROS and Gazebo

  • 🧨 BONUS ACCESS to a debugging cheat sheet and a video on deploying your simulation to a real robot

  • 📺 Video modules on designing robots with FreeCAD, configuring sensors in ROS and controlling robots with Python

  • ✍🏼 Templates and examples for you to download and use (that will save you hours of headache in the future)

  • 🧠 Weekly Q&A sessions to reinforce everything you've learned (and make sure nobody gets left behind)

Why It Matters

Other courses charge you thousands of dollars, only to wave their hands in the air with "theory."And by the end, you leave with a bunch of notes that sit in a folder for eternity. Meanwhile, you're still confused and unsure about the next step to take.But Become A Roboticist is about moving quickly, taking action, and keeping a tight feedback loop.In just 4 weeks, you'll simulate a wheeled robot, simulate a robot arm and build your own unique robot.And you will leave with the tools to tackle your own robot project.

Want a sneak peek of some of the frameworks I teach?Take my FREE 5-Day Course

Meet Your Instructor!

Dr. John Vial, PhD

Hi, I'm John Vial. I have a PhD in robotics from the Australian Centre Of Field Robotics. I have worked in autonomous systems teams for large Iron Ore Mining companies and I have worked in startups and small robotics businesses.I have strong background in the Robotics Operating System. I want to help anyone become a social roboticist as humanity will require more and more robots to adapt to climate change.

Live Call Schedule

You unlock all content immediately and can then join the next cohort.
Next cohort dates: 12th December 2024 - 16th January 2025. All live sessions are recorded with and shared with all students afterwards.
The live sessions are streamed from Perth, Australia at 10AM on Friday, which will be 7 PM PST (8PM PDT) on the Thursday night beforehand.

Live Session #1: Your First Robot - KRYTN the coffee robot
(Thursday 12th December 7 PM PST/Friday 13th December 10 AM AWST)Live Session #2: Your 2nd Robot - MACI Robot Arm
(Thursday 19th December 7 PM PST/Friday 20th December 10 AM AWST)No live session on the 26th December/27th December for Christmas Break

Live Session #3: Simulating Your Own Robot - Part 1
(Thursday 2nd January 7 PM PST/Friday 3rd January 10 AM AWST)Live Session #4: Simulating Your Own Robot - Part 2
(Thursday 9th January 7 PM PST/Friday 10th January 10 AM AWST)Live Session #5: Celebration Call - Show Off Your Robot
(Thursday 16th January 7 PM PST/Friday 17th January 10 AM AWST)

Daily Video Course Curriculum (29 Videos)

All videos are between 5-30 minutes long and come with course notes. They are designed so that you can quickly learn what you need and spend your time creating robots.

Week 1 Plan:📺 Day 0: 3 Ways To Get Setup with Robotics - The Easy Way, The Hard Way and The Dangerous Way📺 Day 1: The Right Way And The Wrong Way To Drive A Robot📺 Day 2: How Robotic Systems Communicate And How You Can Listen📺 Day 3: Robot Eyes: Why You Need To See Through Them📺 Day 4: Don't Let Your Robot Become Lost - How To Give It A Map📺 Day 5: Self Driving Robot? How To Make A Robot Autonomous📺 Day 6: How To Control An Autonomous Robot With Code Instead Of A GUI📺 Day 7: How To Use CAD To Create Custom Robot Links

Week 2 Plan:📺 Day 8: How To Add Your Custom Link To Your Robot📺 Day 9: 3 Steps To Finding Problems To Solve With Wheeled Robots & How To Choose Between Them📺 Day 10: How To Control A Robot Arm - The Easy Way📺 Day 11: 7 Useful Commands That Will Let You Interrogate Any ROS 2 System📺 Day 12: 3 Steps To Designing A Simple Gripper In CAD📺 Day 13: How To Install A Gripper On Your Robot Arm In Simulation📺 Day 14: How To Setup The ROS 2 Standard For Joint Control and How To Control Joints

Week 3 Plan:📺 Day 15: The Easy Way To Setup Your Robot Arm - Configuring MoveIT 2📺 Day 16: How To Control A Full Robot Arm With Code📺 Day 17: How To Create A Gazebo World - Adding Something To Pickup📺 Day 18: How To Stop Your Robot Arm From Hitting Things - Adding Collision Avoidance📺 Day 19: How To Find Problems That Robot Arms Can Solve and How To Choose One📺 Day 20: A Starter Template For Designing Wheeled Robots In CAD For ROS📺 Day 21: 3 Things To Consider When Choosing Your Robot Project

Week 4 Plan:📺 Day 22: How To Use Photos To Quickly Create Realistic Robot Models In CAD📺 Day 23: Exporting Your Robot From CAD And Configuring ROS 2 Control So You Can Teleoperate It📺 Day 24: 3 Tips To Create A Compelling Environment For Your Robot📺 Day 25: 2 Important Sensors To Consider Adding To Your Robot📺 Day 26: How To Iterate On A Robot Simulation To Make It More Realistic📺 Day 27: How To Configure Mapping & Navigation So Your Custom Robot Can Be Autonomous📺 Day 28: How To Control Your Custom Robot With Code To Make It Really Autonomous

Plus 23 Bonus Videos To Help Beginners Get Going Faster And Deep Dives For The More Experienced

General Bonuses:📺 How To Publish Your Robotics Work On Social Media Such As LinkedIn or X📺 3 Example Robot Simulations Created From Images Of Real Robots📺 A Quick Primer on Threads And Callbacks When Writing ROS 2📺 How To Look Like A Hacker With No Effort: Quickly Using The Linux Command LineFundamentals of robot modelling:📺 3 Tips To Rapidly Build Models In FreeCAD📺What is A Transform and Why It Will 10X Your Understand Of ROS 2📺 Play With Your Sensors Parameters to Understand What Your Mapping System Needs📺 How To Describe Your Robot In Code And Stop Repeating Yourself With XACRO

Conceptual Frameworks:📺 Using The 4S Framework To Rapidly Build CAD Models📺 Using The SOLn Framework To Build Your Robots SoftwarePackaging And Version Control📺 Why You Should Create A Package For Your Robot And How To Do It📺 Quickly Get Your Packages Dependencies Using rosdep so you don't have to share install scripts📺 Easily Get Other Peoples Code Using Version Control, VCS and SSH📺 Why You Should Upload Your Robots Code To GitHub and How To Do It

Real World Robots & Tools📺What To Watch Out For When Moving Your Robots Simulation To A Physical Robot📺 Building Robots That Use Different Steering Approaches Beyond Differential Drive📺 Building Web Interfaces So Non-engineers can control your robot.Computer Vision📺 Setting Up Jupyter So You Can Manipulate Images With Python

Advanced Gazebo📺 Using Gazebo Pluigns To Make Your Simulation More Realistic📺 Using blender to make your robots shine!📺 Using Your Phone Camera To Create Amazing SimulationsAdvanced Manipulators:📺 How To Add An Arm To Your Mobile Robot📺 Using Vision To Allow MACI to Grasp Anything Using AI

Finally commit to overcoming your fear of ROS.

Do you struggle to setting up your computer to run Ubuntu for ROS?Or do you find yourself starting ROS tutorials but never finishing them?Maybe you're familiar with the dread of trying to find ROS examples that work on your version of ROS?Or perhaps you waste time asking Chat GPT and finding yourself tied in knots?

You're not alone.

In fact, you're just like the Become A Roboticist alumni used to be - before they joined.And after going through Become A Roboticist, these problems became a thing of the past.And from there, some went on to get jobs at robotic companies, build their own robot simulations, or use their new knowledge to lead robot deployment teams.You're one click away from making the commitment to yourself to finally overcome ROS tutorial hell and unlock the skills to create robots.

Join Become A Roboticist

100% Refund and Rollover Policy

We want your Become A Roboticist investment to be 100% risk free.So, if you complete the course materials and find the course isn't for you within 14 days of starting it, we will refund 100% of your investment.And if you find after enrolling that your schedule is busier than you thought, we will roll you forward into a future cohort at zero additional cost.However, part of what makes Become A Roboticist work is the financial accountability. If you do not engage with the course materials or fail to take action (i.e. you did not post to LinkedIn or X) during the course, this does not qualify for a refund.

Join Become A Roboticist

Become A Roboticist -
Cohort Enrolment

  • 🎥 Live workshop sessions with examples, walkthroughs, and Q&A sessions for students

  • 💻 50+ video curriculum you can take at your own pace (with lifetime access to these recordings)

  • ✍️ Templates and frameworks to help you find projects, configure ROS and develop your own models

  • 🎬 LIFETIME ACCESS to session recordings

  • ⭕️ Private community of roboticists with channels for getting help and robotics topics

  • ✍️ Leave with templates for creating your own robotic systems with ROS and Gazebo

  • 🔒100% refund or rollover policy if you complete the tasks and the required posts within the first 14 days

  • 🪟 Use your Windows 10/11 or Apple computer to simulate robots

  • ▶️ Unlock course content immediately and join the current or next cohort

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does this cost?

Other courses charge upwards of $5000 to help you learn ROS.But our goal with Become A Roboticist is to keep it accessible while still charging enough to keep you accountable.The full price of the course is $600.

Can I gift enrollment of Become A Roboticist to a friend?

Absolutely! And what a tremendous gift indeed.To do so, simply enroll using your email address.Then, send an email to "[email protected]" with the subject line GIFT TRANSFER REQUEST and we will send you further instructions.

What's the time commitment?

Life is busy. We know you don't have time to program robots all day.Which is why this course is designed to be done in less than 60 minutes per day.On top of this simple, daily robotic tasks, there are (optional) live sessions every week as well as a self-paced curriculum.

Is this just another YouTube robotics course?

On the surface, this might look like just another course on the subject of robotics and ROS.But beneath the surface, what you're really getting is an immersive cohort-based course and community that ensures you take action, holds you accountable, and moves you along to building robots with ease.

May I Get Financial Assistance?

We know that for some the course fees can be alot of money.Unfortunately this course isn't subsidized by a university or government and so we cannot give out free or discounted lessons.If you would like to sponsor some seats for disadvantaged groups, please contact us at [email protected]

Is this a ROS 1 or ROS 2 Course?

This course will take you through using ROS 2 jazzy and Gazebo Harmonic.
These are Long Term Supported versions of ROS and Gazebo.

Can I use my Mac laptop?

Yes, you can use a Mac.

Can I do this course on Ubuntu? Do I still need Docker?

Yes, you can do it on Ubuntu, you don't need Docker but it's recommended.

I have a corporate PC, can I do this course?

You will need the most recent Windows updates and be able to run WSLv2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux), as well as install programs. You should ask your IT team for admin access, or use your own personal laptop if you can.

I'm late for this cohort, or the next one doesn't suit? Can I do it right now?

We run periodic cohorts, but if you want to you can do it at your own schedule. Just buy the course, join the discord and get started on your robotics journey.

What kind of computer do I need?

Ideally an intel or AMD CPU, running an updated Windows 11 with an Nvidia GPU and at least 16 GB of RAM.
You will also need about 30+ GB of free hard drive space available.

I'm worried I'll get busy during the course, how long will I have access to the material?

Don't worry, you'll have access to the course materials after the course finishes.
There is no end date when it is scheduled to disappear! All the videos are hosted as unlisted videos on YouTube. This means that even if the site goes down you will still be able to access the recordings if you have the link.
Also if you find that you unexpectedly become too busy to do the course, you can apply to be rolled over into the next cohort free of charge.

Will my boss be upset to see that I'm posting about robotics?

Don't worry, this a common fear beginners have.
Fear not, it's unlikely that you're boss will be worried about your posts on robotics, especially if you don't do robotics as part of your job right now.You might even convince them that it is a good for them as you will be gaining a new and valuable skill that you could apply to help the company.

Do I need to buy a robot for this course or is it simulation only?

This challenge is simulation only, you won't need to buy a robot.
However, it does discuss what parts of this system will be transferable to a real robot (ans: most of it) and what extra things you will need to do if you want to build a real robot using ROS.

But I want to build a robot anyway, what do you suggest?

I'm looking into some simple and cheap robots designed for robotics learning to recommend along with the challenge. Chat with John in the discord to find out what robots are currently being considered.