I've tinkered with arduinos and stepper motors/stepper controllers. I built a CNC mill. But I'm hoping there are components that I can plug together and just focus on the software side using existing hardware modules.
by jonkiddy on 6/11/16, 1:40 PM
by NinoScript on 6/11/16, 2:13 PM
by esac on 6/11/16, 11:22 PM
ROS, ROS, ROS
all our robots are on ROS and you get visualization and simulation tools, 90% of the things you'll ever need come from apt-get (ubuntu make everything easier) but the real deal is Gazebo and stage for simulation and the wiki is full of tutorials
by gregatragenet3 on 6/12/16, 6:58 AM
I wanted to get into robotics as a way to get up to speed on neural nets and reinforcement learning. I found the Lego EV3 kits to have a good mix of sensors motors and supporting parts. The EV3 bricks run Linux, there's a distribution for them called ev3dev, and they'll even run ipython notebooks.
I'm now looking at getting a BrickPy for it as the EV3 brick doesn't do FP, so not good for NN's.
by asfarley on 6/12/16, 5:22 AM
I would skip your search for the "right stack" and think about working on real, profitable applications. Develop whatever needs to be developed to solve a real problem. Most things calling themselves 'robotics stacks' nowdays are overblown and add more complication than they're worth.
by asimuvPR on 6/12/16, 5:18 AM
Depends on what you want to build. A popular hobby stack is built around the Arduino. It will allow you to plug in a fair amount of parts.
Figure out what you want to build first. Then send me an email and I'll try and guide you in tve right direction.
by reitanqild on 6/11/16, 5:54 PM
Piggybacking on this: anyone has good ideas/sources for mechanical parts like gears and stuff?
My hobbyist alternatives right now are lego or pulling stuff apart.
by Tomte on 6/12/16, 1:38 PM
Lego Mindstorms. You can program them in "real" programming languages if you want to.