In our ROS-aerial community working group, we had a meeting a few weeks ago to discuss education and tutorials within Aerial Robotics (see the ROS discourse thread here). The general conclusion was that there should be more courses and tutorials since the learning curve is too steep. But… is that actually the case? According to a LinkedIn post by Kimberly, asking for suggestions, we found out that might not be true! There are loads of tutorials out there! So in this blog post, we will provide an overview of the suggested tutorials and the ones that have materials available online.
Online books
One of the first suggestions was to explore the online free book titled ‘Small Unmanned Aircraft: Theory and Practice.’ This book has been written by Randy Beard and Tim McLain of Brigham Young University, and it covers everything from the absolute basics of coordinate frames and quadrotor dynamics to path planning and cameras. It is a must-read for anybody starting in UAVs and Aerial robotics.
The physical book can be found here: http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9632.html
The available PDFs can be accessed on GitHub: https://github.com/randybeard/uavbook“
Courses specified on Aerial Robotics
Here are some suggestions for courses specifically focused on Aerial Robotics. These received the most recommendations! Many universities have made their courses available online, accessible to anyone interested.
Coursera offers the ‘Robotics: Aerial Robotics’ course as part of the Robotics specialization. Taught by Prof. Vijay Kumar from Penn University, this 4-week course covers the mechanics and control of aerial vehicles using Matlab. It starts from 1 dimension and gradually progresses to the 3rd dimension in simulation. The course is part of a paid educational program, but you can audit the lessons for free.
Link: https://www.coursera.org/learn/robotics-flight
Udacity has been offering a course on Aerial Vehicles for quite some time. The lessons are taught by top names in the industry and cover key aspects of Aerial Robotics, such as motion planning, controls, and estimation, with lab assignments involving a real drone. The course duration is 4 months, and access is available for a fee.
Link: https://www.udacity.com/course/flying-car-nanodegree–nd787
The University of Maryland offers a course on Autonomous Aerial Robotics, making all videos, slides, and assignments available. Taught by Nitin J. Sanket and Chahat Deep Singh, the course covers everything from basic control and dynamics to full autonomy. It’s a comprehensive resource for aerial robotics. The course utilizes the Parrot Bebop 2.0, and while a Mocap system is required, you may explore the possibility of adapting the course to a different platform.
Link: http://prg.cs.umd.edu/enae788m
Additionally, there’s the course ‘Applied Control System 3: UAV Drone (3D Dynamics & Control)’ which is part of a series by Mark Misin. This course delves deep into the dynamics, control, and modeling of quadrotors.
Link: https://www.udemy.com/course/applied-control-systems-for-engineers-2-uav-drone-control/
Courses specified on Robotics applied to UAVs
Here are some suggestions for courses that focus on robotics but utilize UAVs/drones to demonstrate the implementation of the studied materials.
‘Visual Navigation For Autonomous Vehicles’ is a course available on MIT Open Courseware, taught by Prof. Luca Carlone. As the name implies, the course primarily focuses on autonomous navigation for any autonomous vehicle. It includes exercises where students implement vision algorithms on both ground robots and drones. Additionally, the course covers working with ROS and applying the knowledge to a simulated drone in Unity.
Link: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/16-485-visual-navigation-for-autonomous-vehicles-vnav-fall-2020/
The ‘Bio-inspired Robotics’ course at the University of Washington, led by Prof. Sawyer Fuller, explores the realm of drawing inspiration from nature rather than reinventing the wheel. It covers various robots inspired by creatures capable of swimming, walking, hopping, and of course, flying. Lab assignments in this course involve working with a Crazyflie drone.
Link: https://faculty.washington.edu/minster/bio_inspired_robotics/
Brown University offers a course called ‘Introduction to Robotics,’ taught by Prof. Stefanie Tellix. While the introduction covers generic robotics, the focus of the full course is on building and programming the Duckiedrone. The course dives straight into autonomy and also teaches students how to work with ROS.
Link: https://cs.brown.edu/courses/cs1951r/
Update (4th of July)
Princeton University (see this blogpost) have also decided to release their ‘Intro to Robotics’ lectures and materials for the public. Can’t believe I forgot this one!
Link: https://irom-lab.princeton.edu/intro-to-robotics/
Youtube tutorials
If you’d like to start hands-on right away, here are a couple of suggestions for YouTube tutorials or series about aerial robotics.
Drone Programming with Python: This popular tutorial/course teaches viewers how to program a real drone using Python with the DJI Tello. It offers a great opportunity for anyone looking for a short and enjoyable project to undertake, especially on a rainy day, while still working with a real platform.
Link: https://youtu.be/LmEcyQnfpDA
Intelligent Quads YouTube Channel: This channel is entirely dedicated to creating autonomous UAVs, covering topics from Ardupilot to MAVlink to ROS and Gazebo. It appears to be a valuable resource for beginners in the field of autonomous UAVs.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/@IntelligentQuads
But wait, there is more!
There are some extra recourses for you to also take a look at.
- University of Twente UAV Centre: The University of Twente has created a portal with a variety of UAV-related courses. You can find a wealth of information and educational materials on their website. Link: https://www.itc.nl/facilities/centres-of-expertise/uav-centre/
- Self-Driving Car Specialization: If you are interested in learning more about SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) and sensors, this specialization is tailored for self-driving cars but the theory can be useful for drones as well. Link: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/self-driving-cars
- Autonomous Navigation for Flying Robots: This older course is still highly relevant for anyone interested in autonomous navigation for flying robots. It offers valuable insights and knowledge. Link: https://www.edx.org/course/autonomous-navigation-for-flying-robots
- Drone Dojo: For those looking to build their own drones, Drone Dojo provides useful instructions and courses to get started on DIY drone projects. Link: https://dojofordrones.com/
- Bachelor Majors in UAV Engineering: If you are fully committed to pursuing a career in aerial robotics, both Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the University of North Dakota offer full bachelor’s majors in becoming a UAV engineer. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University: https://erau.edu/degrees/bachelor/unmanned-aircraft-systems University of North Dakota: https://und.edu/programs/unmanned-aircraft-system-operations-bs-aero/
To conclude
Indeed, it appears that there are plenty of courses and tutorials available for people interested in getting started with aerial robotics. The range of resources is vast, and it’s possible that we might still be missing some, which could lead to a part 2 of this blog post in the future! And perhaps also we would need to delve into these to see why the learning curve is considered steep. However, aerial robotics is not an easy subject anyway so perhaps it is good to start from the basics. Nevertheless, this compilation should provide a solid starting point for anyone eager to delve into the world of aerial robotics. A major thank you to everyone who has contributed so far (linked to in the original LinkedIn post); your valuable input has made this possible!