Guide

4. Robotics (12-18 months)

This phase is organized into four lecture tracks (each has its own folder and Lecture-01.md). Start with Advanced Robot Operating System, then proceed in order or jump by topic.

#	Track	Folder / lecture
1	Advanced Robot Operating System (ROS / ROS 2, Nav2, SLAM, MoveIt 2)	Advanced Robot Operating System/Lecture-01.md
2	Industrial and Embedded Robotics (ROS-I, embedded, Docker, Gazebo / Isaac Sim)	Industrial and Embedded Robotics/Lecture-01.md
3	Advanced Perception and AI for Robotics (applied ROS 2 perception loop, deep learning perception, robot learning)	Advanced Perception and AI for Robotics/Lecture-01.md
4	Multi-Robot Systems and Swarm Robotics	Multi-Robot Systems and Swarm Robotics/Lecture-01.md

Each Lecture-01.md is a full lecture: learning objectives, worked conceptual sections, tables/diagrams where helpful, self-check questions, and links to the next/previous track.

Extended timeline (18-36 months): Lectures 3–4 include the expanded topics that were previously labeled “Phase 2 (Significantly Expanded)” in older versions of this file (deep perception, robot learning, multi-robot / swarm). All of that material now lives in Lecture-01.md for tracks 3 and 4.

---

Recommended courses (online)

Use these structured courses alongside each lecture’s Recommended courses section. Official ROS 2 and vendor docs stay the source of truth; courses help when you want guided projects, browser-based simulators (e.g. The Construct), or university-style theory. Full catalog (The Construct): Robotics & ROS courses.

• §1 — ROS 2 core, Nav2, MoveIt (maps to Lecture 1)

  • ROS 2 Basics in Python or ROS 2 Basics in C++ — pick one language first, then add the other.
  • TF ROS 2 — frames and robot_state_publisher patterns.
  • Intermediate ROS 2 — launch, parameters, QoS, lifecycle.
  • ROS 2 Navigation and Advanced ROS 2 Navigation — Nav2-style stacks.
  • ROS 2 Manipulation Basics or ROS 2 Manipulation & Perception — MoveIt 2–style manipulation.
  • Robotics Specialization (University of Pennsylvania) — aerial robotics, planning, perception, mobility, capstone; strong on math and control (often MATLAB in assignments; not ROS-version-specific).

• §2 — Simulation, embedded Linux, Docker, industrial context (maps to Lecture 2)

  • Introduction to Gazebo Sim with ROS 2 and Mastering Gazebo Simulator — Gazebo Sim + worlds/models.
  • Docker for Robotics — containerized dev and deploy.
  • Linux for Robotics — shell, permissions, workflows (ROS 1 in the title; skills transfer directly).
  • C++ for Robotics / Python 3 for Robotics — language prep before ROS 2 nodes.
  • Nvidia Isaac Sim documentation — tutorials; see ROS 2 tutorials when bridging to ROS 2 work.

• §3 — Applied perception, tracking, control, drones (maps to Lecture 3, Part A)

  • Kalman Filters — estimation intuition tied to mobile robots.
  • ROS 2 Perception — sensors and perception stack in ROS 2.
  • Behavior Trees for ROS 2 — ties to Nav2 / high-level behaviors.
  • ROS 2 Control Framework — ros2_control and hardware interfaces.
  • Programming Drones with ROS — complements PX4/MAVLink self-study from docs.
  • State Estimation and Localization for Self-Driving Cars (Coursera) — Kalman, EKF, UKF, particle filters (transferable to tracking and fusion).
  • ETH Zürich Autonomous Mobile Robots (edX) — kinematics, localization, mapping, planning (theory; pair with ROS 2 projects).
  • ETH RSL Programming for Robotics (ROS) — official ROS 2 lecture materials (free outline/readings; on-campus course; use as a syllabus alongside your own labs).