Free courses, books, hands-on exercises and research guides from the people who made them. Explore the ideas, practice in simulation, or work toward your first build.
78 resources · 12 topics · Third-party teaching material
Free refers to the linked learning material. Hardware, compute, certificates and reuse rights may differ. Levels and first activities are our editorial suggestions; we have not completed these activities.
Explore vehicle autopilot software through simulated sensor inputs and vehicle models.
Drones & flight
Tutorial
Intermediate
Computer
First activity & requirements
Try first
Set up SITL, start one supported vehicle and inspect its command and telemetry workflow.
What you need
The guide documents native Linux and Windows environments, including a Windows Mission Planner simulation option. Follow the setup path for your chosen environment.
What is free
Public SITL documentation; no flight controller is needed for software-only simulation.
Keep in mind
ArduPilot covers aircraft, rovers and other vehicles. Choose the correct vehicle-specific example.
Original resource Access checked 2026-09-30 · English · Source reviewed
Construct a household simulation task by configuring a scene, objects, robot and task in BEHAVIOR/OmniGibson.
Research tools & methods
Research reproduction
Advanced
GPU / workstation
First activity & requirements
Try first
Read the installation requirements, then follow the quickstart's environment configuration.
What you need
The inspected requirements specify Ubuntu 22.04+ or Windows 10+, at least 32 GB RAM and 8 GB VRAM, with RTX 2070 as a minimum example. Follow the source installation instructions.
What is free
Public quickstart and code; simulator dependencies, asset terms and compute requirements are separate.
Keep in mind
At the recorded check, Docker installation was temporarily unavailable and PyPI installation was marked forthcoming. Simulation and task definitions are substantial; start with the quickstart before larger experiments.
Explore a ROS 2 stack and tutorials for coordinating small aerial robots.
Drones & flight
Tutorial
Advanced
Physical robot
First activity & requirements
Try first
Begin with the setup and usage documentation, then inspect a tutorial's launch configuration.
What you need
ROS 2 and the selected Bitcraze flight hardware/positioning setup for physical experiments.
What is free
Public documentation and code; aircraft, radios and positioning equipment are separate.
Keep in mind
Match firmware and ROS versions. The provider reports intermittent unicast packet loss as a known firmware bug and marks advanced tutorials as under development.
Columbia / MIT / Toyota Research Institute authors
Inspect a published imitation-learning method through notebooks, experiment configurations, logs and checkpoints.
Robot learning
Research reproduction
Advanced
GPU / workstation
First activity & requirements
Try first
Start with the state-based notebook, then compare its configuration with a published experiment.
What you need
The introductory Colab notebook has hosted-runtime limits. Local simulation benchmark reproduction specifies Linux with an NVIDIA GPU; the macOS environment lacks full benchmark support.
What is free
Public reproduction code and notebooks; hosted runtimes and dataset terms remain separate.
Keep in mind
The repository includes both simulated and real-world workflows. Real-robot reproduction needs additional hardware and setup.
Original resource Access checked 2026-09-30 · English · Source reviewed
Explore modular activities combining robotics theory, code and experiments around small autonomous vehicles.
Mobile robots & navigation
Exercises
Intermediate
Computer
First activity & requirements
Try first
Choose a learning experience and check whether it uses simulation, physical hardware or both.
What you need
Python/Docker setup; account and hardware requirements depend on the learning experience.
What is free
Public learning documentation; some platform features require accounts and hardware is purchased separately.
Keep in mind
Activities include solutions; exercises do not. The manual warns that MOOC activities still use daffy code and documentation, even though this page belongs to the ente manual.
Original resource Access checked 2026-09-30 · English · Source reviewed
Study an aerial robotics simulator's installation, navigation and sensor-data workflow.
Drones & flight
Research reproduction
Advanced
Computer
First activity & requirements
Try first
Follow the quickstart, then inspect how a simulated quadrotor exchanges data with the renderer.
What you need
C++/Python toolchain and the documented rendering/simulation dependencies.
What is free
Public instructions and code links; local hardware and component terms are separate.
Keep in mind
The inspected quickstart uses Python 3.6; its ROS route names older ROS/Gazebo pairings and protobuf 3.0.0. Compatibility with newer environments is unverified here.
Start with an accessible introduction to robot learning and how it relates to classical robotics.
Robot learning
Course
Beginner
Read or watch
First activity & requirements
Try first
Read the introduction, then work through the released classical-robotics unit.
What you need
Basic Python; introductory algebra helps. A physical robot is not required for the reading sequence.
What is free
The released course units are free to read.
Keep in mind
At the source check, reinforcement learning, imitation learning and foundation-model units were marked Coming Soon. This is not a complete seven-unit course.
Learn to create simulation scenes and reinforcement-learning environments with Isaac Lab's worked examples.
Simulation
Tutorial
Advanced
GPU / workstation
First activity & requirements
Try first
Start with an empty scene, then add a rigid object before constructing a learning task.
What you need
The inspected guide specifies Ubuntu 22.04 or Windows 11, 32 GB RAM and 16 GB GPU VRAM. Follow its NVIDIA driver requirements and release-matched Python; use the recommended Isaac Sim pip plus Isaac Lab source installation to include example scripts.
What is free
How-to material and example source are public. Hardware, cloud compute and component license terms are separate.
Keep in mind
The main documentation tracks development and may differ from stable releases. Follow one release's installation and tutorials together.
Learn mechanical, electrical and software integration through JPL's six-wheel open rover build documentation.
Build & program robots
Build guide
Advanced
Physical robot
First activity & requirements
Try first
Read the build roadmap and component list, noting the wiring-first sequence before mechanical assembly.
What you need
The provider estimates roughly $1,600 and at least 100 person-hours, plus tools including soldering equipment and a multimeter. These are upstream estimates, not current quotes.
What is free
Build documentation and source are public; the rover itself is not free.
Keep in mind
The project has multiple hardware generations. Follow one revision's parts and instructions rather than combining versions.
Original resource Access checked 2026-09-30 · English · Source reviewed
Build intuition for noisy sensors and state estimation through an executable Python book.
Perception & estimation
Book / notes
Intermediate
Computer
First activity & requirements
Try first
Start with the introductory notebook and vary the noise in a worked filtering example.
What you need
Python/Jupyter and the book's dependencies; basic algebra and probability help.
What is free
Notebook text and source are publicly available; hosted notebook providers may impose limits.
Keep in mind
The author prioritizes teaching over efficiency and warns that early implementations may be numerically unstable. Use the repository's environment instructions.
Original resource Access checked 2026-09-30 · English · Source reviewed
Compare quadrotor control and reinforcement learning in a compact PyBullet simulation repository.
Drones & flight
Research reproduction
Advanced
Computer
First activity & requirements
Try first
Run the PID example before comparing it with the single-drone hovering learning example.
What you need
The current instructions use Python 3.12 and warn that PyBullet must build locally beyond Python 3.10. Provider-tested platforms are listed; none were tested by us.
What is free
Public code and local simulation examples; no aircraft required.
Keep in mind
The current refactoring differs from the original IROS 2021 code. Use the paper branch when reproducing that publication.
Original resource Access checked 2026-09-30 · English · Source reviewed
Learn how LeRobotDataset v3 stores episodes, video and metadata and exposes them for training.
Research tools & methods
Tutorial
Intermediate
Computer
First activity & requirements
Try first
Inspect a small dataset's metadata and load selected frames before building a training pipeline.
What you need
Python and a matching LeRobot release; the linked main guide requires a source installation. Dataset size determines storage and decoding needs.
What is free
Public format documentation and code examples; each dataset has its own access and reuse conditions.
Keep in mind
Release guidance is inconsistent: the main banner names stable v0.6.1 while the installation text calls v0.4.0 support forthcoming. Check documentation against your chosen release.
Original resource Access checked 2026-09-30 · English · Source reviewed
Learn the workflow for collecting demonstrations, training a policy and evaluating it with LeRobot.
Robot learning
Tutorial
Intermediate
GPU / workstation
First activity & requirements
Try first
Read the imitation-learning walkthrough and identify its recording, training and evaluation stages.
What you need
Python; physical collection needs compatible hardware, while training needs suitable compute.
What is free
Documentation and library source are public. Robots, training hardware and cloud services are separate expenses.
Keep in mind
The linked main documentation requires installation from source; its banner points pip users to stable v0.6.1 at the recorded check. Match library, dataset and guide versions.
Explore accelerator-based robot-learning environments for locomotion and manipulation.
Robot learning
Research reproduction
Advanced
GPU / workstation
First activity & requirements
Try first
Load a provided environment and inspect its training configuration before starting a run.
What you need
Python 3.10+ and a supported GPU/backend environment for the documented training workflow.
What is free
Public environments and training examples; accelerator time is not supplied.
Keep in mind
The authors document GPU-precision effects on training stability and differences between the current and paper-reproduction training scripts. Use the relevant reproducibility notes.
Original resource Access checked 2026-09-30 · English · Source reviewed
Learn the control workflow for a small robot arm through the manufacturer's setup and operation guides.
Build & program robots
Build guide
Intermediate
Physical robot
First activity & requirements
Try first
Read the controller-launch and keyboard-teleoperation steps, checking their prerequisites first.
What you need
For physical ROS operation, the guide names a PC with a DYNAMIXEL Starter Set or OpenCR. Arm hardware is separate and the base plate is excluded.
What is free
The guide is free to read; arm hardware and power/control accessories are separate.
Keep in mind
Match the ROS distribution and hardware. The e-Manual announces migration to ROBOTIS Docs; this original guide was accessible at the check, but its replacement needs rechecking.
Investigate visual-inertial estimation by setting up the research software and its evaluation dependencies.
Perception & estimation
Research reproduction
Advanced
Computer
First activity & requirements
Try first
Read the installation and dataset guidance, then plan one recorded-data evaluation with a fixed configuration.
What you need
C++ build environment, Eigen, OpenCV and Ceres; ROS support depends on the documented platform.
What is free
Public setup and evaluation documentation; dataset storage and local computation are separate.
Keep in mind
The guide documents Ubuntu 20.04 with ROS Noetic or ROS 2 Galactic among its older pairings. These are provider-reported configurations; newer environments are unverified here.
Original resource Access checked 2026-09-30 · English · Source reviewed
Reproduce visual or visual-inertial SLAM examples using recorded EuRoC or TUM-VI data.
Perception & estimation
Research reproduction
Advanced
Computer
First activity & requirements
Try first
Build the documented environment and run one supplied dataset sequence before comparing configurations.
What you need
The provider lists Ubuntu 16.04/18.04, C++11 or C++0x, Pangolin, OpenCV and Eigen3. Trajectory evaluation also needs Python and NumPy; these are provider-tested configurations, not tested by us.
What is free
Source and reproduction instructions are public; consult dataset providers for their terms.
Keep in mind
The README identifies the V1.0 research release and legacy dependencies. No accuracy or successful build claim is made here.
Original resource Access checked 2026-09-30 · English · Source reviewed
Learn an imitation-learning experiment from dataset download through training and result inspection.
Robot learning
Tutorial
Advanced
Computer
First activity & requirements
Try first
Use the quickstart notebook or run the documented small experiment and inspect its logs.
What you need
Python and the documented environment. The example uses robosuite v1.5.1 for rollouts, or disables rollouts to run without it; larger visual-policy runs need more compute.
What is free
Public tutorial and code; Colab has its own account and resource limits.
Keep in mind
The tutorial introduces the workflow; reproducing published results requires matching datasets, configurations and compute.
Original resource Access checked 2026-09-30 · English · Source reviewed
Learn autonomous racing through lectures and labs on braking, reactive driving, mapping and planning.
Mobile robots & navigation
Course
Intermediate
Computer
First activity & requirements
Try first
Start with the ROS 2 introduction lab and simulator before considering a racecar build.
What you need
The inspected Lab 1 uses ROS 2 Foxy on native Ubuntu or Docker for package, node and launch-file exercises. Later simulator activities and physical racing labs have additional requirements.
What is free
Public course-kit material; a physical car and in-person instruction are separate.
Keep in mind
The current course-kit title is RoboRacer, formerly associated with F1TENTH. Follow the version used by each lab.
Explore forward and inverse kinematics, Jacobians and robot models in Python.
Motion planning
Exercises
Intermediate
Computer
First activity & requirements
Try first
Load a supplied arm model and compare forward kinematics with an inverse-kinematics solution.
What you need
Python 3.10 or later. On Windows, the README says pip collision checking is unavailable because coal has no Windows wheels and documents a conda alternative; neither route was tested by us.
What is free
Public examples and code; printed companion books are separate.
Keep in mind
Windows Swift support is unresolved: the installation section says other features work normally, while troubleshooting says Swift is unsupported and offers a hotfix. The numerical kinematics activity avoids that optional visualization path.
Original resource Access checked 2026-09-30 · English · Source reviewed
Understand how ros2_control connects controllers to hardware interfaces through a mobile-robot simulation lesson.
ROS & robot software
Tutorial
Intermediate
Computer
First activity & requirements
Try first
Trace the controller-manager diagram and identify the hardware interface and controller in the example.
What you need
ROS 2, a compatible Gazebo setup and familiarity with robot description files.
What is free
The written article is publicly accessible; real-robot continuation requires hardware.
Keep in mind
The inspected lesson mixes gazebo_ros2_control and gz_ros2_control names. A matching runnable configuration remains unresolved; use the conceptual explanation before attempting setup.
Original resource Access checked 2026-09-30 · English · Source reviewed
Learn basic robot assembly and Python control using a Raspberry Pi and a wheeled chassis.
Build & program robots
Build guide
Beginner
Physical robot
First activity & requirements
Try first
Review the complete parts list, then follow the motor and chassis assembly steps.
What you need
The specified Raspberry Pi, motor controller, chassis, power and tools.
What is free
The written build guide is free; all physical components are separate.
Keep in mind
The inspected page lists the chassis as out of stock and several original parts as no longer stocked. Sourcing parts or checking substitutes is necessary before attempting this older guide.
Follow the practical sequence for assembling, configuring motors and calibrating an SO-101 arm.
Build & program robots
Build guide
Intermediate
Physical robot
First activity & requirements
Try first
Read the motor-configuration and calibration steps before beginning assembly.
What you need
An SO-101 configuration, correct power supply, tools and a compatible host computer.
What is free
The guide is free; motors, printed parts, electronics, tools and other hardware are not included.
Keep in mind
The linked main documentation requires a source installation; the banner names v0.6.1 for stable pip users. Match the guide version and keep leader/follower configurations distinct.
Original resource Access checked 2026-09-30 · English · Source reviewed
Learn the TurtleBot3 simulation workflow before moving to a physical mobile robot.
Mobile robots & navigation
Tutorial
Intermediate
Computer
First activity & requirements
Try first
Select the instructions for your ROS distribution and launch the corresponding Gazebo world.
What you need
A supported ROS/Gazebo computer; no physical TurtleBot required for simulation.
What is free
Public simulation instructions and associated packages.
Keep in mind
Choose a single ROS/Gazebo version. The e-Manual announces migration to ROBOTIS Docs; the original guide was accessible at the check, but its replacement needs rechecking.
Original resource Access checked 2026-09-30 · English · Source reviewed