10 Great Free Online Courses for Robotics

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Robotics is the ultimate conjunction of science and technology, as well as human interference. In general, robotics is the combination of science, engineering, and technology to create intelligent machines, called robots, which aim to replace or mimic the function of humans in some sort of job. Robots have come a long way since their inception and can replace many physical functions that humans would normally perform. They can make jobs easier and more efficient, help humans with everyday activities, and keep people safe.

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Disclaimer: Some courses may include an affiliate link. Courses were chosen first based on the methodology with affiliate links only added after the ranking was complete.

There are many different career paths involved with robotics, including robotic development, human-robot interface, mobility, programming, sensors, and manipulation. Many different types of people can find their jobs interlocking with robots, including engineers, software programmers, computer scientists, and technicians. Robotics is an incredible field to study since it is constantly evolving and becoming more intelligent to make life easier for the humans who create them. While pursuing a new course or specialization in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) field can seem quite daunting, a free online course can make your transition to a new career path or promotion much easier. It was hard to narrow the list down to just ten, but using our methodology, we’ve come up with what we consider the best of the best. Keep reading below if you want to discover the top ten free online courses for robotics.

Ranking Ten Free Online Courses for Robotics

1. Robotics Specialization

Provided by University of Pennsylvania via Coursera

Do you want to have the building blocks to start a new career in robotics? This specialization, or group of courses, offered by Coursera, allowed 60% of the students who completed it to start an entirely new career after finishing. Coursera is a learning website that aims to help students more forward in their professional careers, or start a new career path entirely. Coursera almost always offers shareable certificates for their courses, so students can use them to share on social media, LinkedIn profiles, or with future employers. Coursera is free to join and provides students with both free and paid specializations.

This specialization is at the beginner level of robotics and takes about 7 months to fully complete. The free online robotics course with certificate offers flexible deadlines that you can set yourself, meaning you can work at your own pace but also stay on track. The specialization dives into a lot of really interesting topics about robots, including how robots perceive their environment, robot movement, and how robots avoid obstacles. By the end of the robotics online course for beginners, you will have learned how to program a robot to perform complex movements.

Cost: Free

Certificate: Yes

Time to Complete: Approximately 7 months

Curriculum: Beginner

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

Start anytime and go at your own pace
Learn how robots move, complete tasks, etc
Earn shareable certificate

Cons:

Longer course, takes more than half a year to complete

2. Robotics

Provided by Columbia University via edX

Provided by Columbia University, this prestigious course on the edX website allows learners to understand the core techniques for the representation of robots that perform real-world tasks for humans. The course is free with the option to add a shareable certificate for $249, which could be shared alongside your resume or on your LinkedIn profile. This is a more advanced-level computer science course that is meant for advanced learners in the technology field who may not know anything about robotics. edX is an online education platform that offers an array of courses that are both paid and free from preeminent institutions.

In this free online robotics course with certificate, you will learn how to represent 2D and 3D spatial relationships, how to manipulate robot arms in a kinetic way, how to program and move mobile robots, how to plan complete robot systems, and how to develop applications for robots to use. The course is taught by Matei Ciocarlie, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Columbia. By the end of the ten-week course, you will have covered all of the fundamentals of robotics, including both the mind and body of the robot.

Cost: Free

Certificate: Yes (With $249 fee)

Time to Complete: Approximately 10 weeks

Curriculum: Advanced

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

Start anytime and go at your own pace
Learn the fundamentals of the “body” and “mind” of robots
Earn shareable certificate with a fee

Cons:

Certificate does not come for free upon completion

3. Begin Robotics

Provided by Future Learn

Future Learn is an online education platform that offers a rotating list of courses throughout the year, so the exciting new material is always changing. This introduction to robotics course is provided in partnership with the University of Reading and takes approximately one month to complete. The professors for this course are Richard Mitchell and William Harwin, who both work in robotics-related departments at the University of Reading. This course is 100% free to take but offers students the opportunity to get extra benefits for a $74 fee, which includes a certificate of completion for the course.

The four weeks of lessons in this course will cover topics like introduction to robotics, robot anatomy, cybernetics and control, and robot behaviors. By the end of the course, learners will be able to identify different forms of robot functions and know where they might be used, appreciate how robotics can be applied to many different uses, and know the appropriate commands that will allow a robot to complete a task effectively. The free online robotics course for beginners is specifically designed for anyone interested in robotics, you don’t need a fancy degree or any prior knowledge to start!

Cost: Free

Certificate: Yes (With $74 fee)

Time to Complete: Approximately 4 weeks

Curriculum: Beginner

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

Start anytime and go at your own pace
Learn robotic commands and applications
Earn shareable certificate with a fee

Cons:

Certificate does not come for free upon completion

4. Robotic Process Automation

Provided by LinkedIn Learning

Over 32,000 people have taken this class provided by LinkedIn Learning, which is a quick course that takes only about one and a half hours to complete. Robotic process automation (RPA) is essentially a sector of robotics that emulates the work of humans, hopefully changing the way we work. LinkedIn Learning is an online education platform that is fueled by the internet’s most popular professional networking site. While it is normally a subscription-based site, LinkedIn Learning offers a one-month free trial for new members. Additionally, many students currently enrolled in college can receive membership for free.

Throughout the free online robotics course, learners will be able to grasp the foundational, key concepts of robotic process automation, and learn where it can be best applied. Additionally, instructor Ian Barkin will show students a variety of global companies that are currently using robotic process automation to exemplify how it can be used. By the end of the course, students will be able to explain swivel-chair integration, identify when RPA can be most effectively employed, and list factors they should consider when evaluating an RPA software.

Cost: Free Try a free trial for Linkedin Learning.

Certificate: No

Time to Complete: Approximately 1.5 hours

Curriculum: Beginner

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

Start anytime and go at your own pace
Quick overview of robotic process automation concepts
See how RPA is implemented in modern companies

Cons:

Certificate does not come with course

5. Mechanisms and Motion – Robotics Focus

Provided by Udemy

This course, provided by Udemy, is mainly designed for students interested in 3D design who need to learn more about how mechanisms and robotics work. If you are someone who wants to work more on the design or conceptual side of robotics, this course is for you. Udemy is an educational online platform that provides thousands of courses to students on both free and paid levels, depending on the instructor and institution the course comes from. You can find many courses for 100% free on Udemy, including this five-hour online robotics course created by John Devitry.

You will need some prerequisites for this class as described on the course webpage, so it is certainly not designed for the beginner user. Instead, this course is designed to prepare students for a mechanical engineering course at the university-level. This course acts as the foundation of robotics design and is essentially where mechanical engineering and robotics intersect. Over the course of the class, students will look at various types of mechanisms that are used to build machines and robots.

Cost: Free

Certificate: No

Time to Complete: Approximately 5 hours

Curriculum: Intermediate to advanced

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

Start anytime and go at your own pace
Dives deeply into design concepts

Cons:

Certificate does not come with course
Requires design prerequisites
Aimed mainly at design students, those interested in conceptual robotics

6. Modern Robotics: Mechanics, Planning, and Control Specialization

Provided by Northwestern via Coursera

Provided by the prestigious Northwestern University, this robotics specialization allows students to take six exciting courses for free. While the specialization takes six months to complete, nearly 15% of students started a new career after finishing, and half of students got a pay raise or promotion after completing the specialization. As previously mentioned above, Coursera is an educational platform that allows students to engage in both paid and free classes and specializations to further or start their careers. Coursera is one of the preeminent massive open online course platforms, and they frequently partner with prestigious universities and institutions.

The courses within this specialization cover topics such as foundations of robot motion, robot kinematics, robot dynamics, robot motion planning, and robot manipulation. The specialization concludes in a capstone project that involves controlling the base of a robot and its robotic arm to complete a task. By the end of the free online robotics course with certificate, students will understand the mathematics of robotics and will have written their own robotics software. It is highly recommended that the six courses in the specialization are taken in order since students will build upon material they learn in earlier courses.

Cost: Free

Certificate: Yes

Time to Complete: Approximately 6 months

Curriculum: Intermediate

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

Start anytime and go at your own pace
Offered by preeminent US institution
Material builds as you move through specialization

Cons:

Required to know some programming language before starting

7. Learn Robot Operating System: Basics

Provided by SkillShare

Do you want to move into a competitive industry as a professional developer in robotics? Robot Operating System, also known as ROS, is currently being used in a wide variety of university settings and tech start-ups, and mastering it could be your key to moving into the robotics industry on the development end. This course is a SkillShare Premium course, meaning that you typically need a Premium membership in order to access it. However, SkillShare offers a 14-day free trial of Premium for new members, which is the perfect amount of time to dive into this short course, as it only takes one hour to complete.

ROS is the operating system behind a wide variety of robots, including aerial vehicles, manipulators, and wheeled mobile robots. If you need an introduction into the world of professional robotics programming, this course is the perfect start. The course also includes a class project that allows you to program your own ROS Nodes as if they were running on an actual robot. By the end of the free online robotics course, you will have a solid grasp on how to use ROS as well as how you can move into the world of robotics programming.

Cost: Free

Certificate: No

Time to Complete: Approximately 1 hour

Curriculum: Beginner

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

Start anytime and go at your own pace
Gives introduction to robotic programming and development
Offers good grasp on ROS

Cons:

Does not go over more basic robotics concepts

8. Introduction to Robotics Masterclass

Provided by QUT Robot Academy

QUT Robot Academy aims to connect students to short robotics lessons as well as masterclasses without having to pay for prestigious university education. Their videos and courses are university-level, helping students to prepare for and understand the technology of the future. The site is supported by the Queensland University of Technology in Australia, as well as the Australian Centre for Robotic Vision. The website has over 200 lessons for students to view for free, with some lessons even containing sample quizzes to test your knowledge.

The Introduction to Robotics Masterclass takes just under an hour to complete, and is taught by Professor Peter Corke from Queensland University of Technology. Corke is on the editorial board at several major robotics journals, and is more than qualified to teach students a basic introduction to robotics. By the end of the masterclass, students will have learned things like how robots have been represented in fiction, how robots have worked historically, how robots work today, the ways in which robots are human-like, why we need robots, and robots that will likely be working in the distant future.

Cost: Free

Certificate: No

Time to Complete: Approximately 1 hour

Curriculum: Beginner

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

Start anytime and go at your own pace
Offered by one of the most knowledgeable resources on robotics
Gives a wide, conceptual perspective on robotics

Cons:

Very short course
No certificate of completion

9. Introduction to Robotics

Provided by MIT Open Courseware

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, commonly known as MIT, is perhaps the most prestigious technological university in the USA. The average GPA at MIT is 4.17, meaning you need to be at the very top of your class to even consider going there. Luckily for those whose GPA’s might be a little lower, MIT Open Courseware offers students who don’t attend the university the opportunity to take some of their courses for free. This Introduction to Robotics course was originally taught in Fall 2005, but now the syllabus, lectures, and course materials are available for students to freely use.

The free online robotics course teaches students an overview of important robotics concepts that they will need to move forward, such as mechanisms, dynamics, and intelligent controls. Additionally, other topics in the course include things like motion planning, 3D simulation, embedded software, human-machine interface, and more. The course also includes two hands-on robotics projects where students will be able to produce two robots, one of them designed to perform navigation and manipulation for the purpose of disaster response. This is a very in-depth course that will leave students feeling challenged and impressed with their knowledge of robotics.

Cost: Free

Certificate: No

Time to Complete: Approximately one semester

Curriculum: Beginner

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

Start anytime and go at your own pace
Offered by one of the USA’s most prestigious universities
Offers the opportunity for two hands-on robotics projects

Cons:

No certificate of completion

10. Introduction to Robotics

Provided by Stanford University

Similar to the last course mentioned on the list, this course comes from a prestigious US university that offers one of its commonly taught courses online for free use. Stanford University, based in California, requires an average 3.96 GPA to attend, as well as an impressive application alongside your grades. This free online robotics course is taught by professor Oussama Khatib, who conducts research in human-centered robotics as well as human-friendly robot design. He is more than qualified to teach this course, and his many lectures are recorded and posted online for easy watching or listening.

The purpose of the course is to teach students a well-rounded understanding of robotics, which includes lessons on things like modeling, design, robot control, and motion planning. To effectively complete the course, you should watch the corresponding lecture and then complete the readings and problem sets that go along with it. There is also a midterm and final exam in the course, meaning you should be studying the material as you move through it. Lectures generally follow the format of the book, so it should be easy to follow if you read alongside the course.

Cost: Free

Certificate: No

Time to Complete: Approximately one semester

Curriculum: Beginner

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

Start anytime and go at your own pace
Lectures are recorded for anytime listening and watching
Taught by a highly qualified expert in robotics

Cons:

No certificate of completion

Frequently Asked Questions About Free Online Courses for Robotics

Robotics is currently the forefront of technology, both in America and across the world. Robotics is showing us that we have the capacity to make life much easier for humans, and replace many painstaking tasks with robots. Robots can save humans time, money, and energy, allowing them to ease their everyday lives and make time for more meaningful tasks. For these reasons, robotics is one of the most exciting industries you can move into as a working professional. For a lot of people, this career can seem incredibly daunting, and they may not know what they can do with a robotics certification.

Since the idea of robotics is incredibly mystifying and sometimes confusing, it may seem challenging or even not worth it to pursue a free online robotics course. We are here to convince you that it is certainly worth it and very rewarding! The courses on this list are all taught by trained professionals and experts in the field who want to help you and challenge your knowledge. If you have questions about starting one of these free online robotics courses, they are likely answered below.

Who Should Take A Free Online Robotics Course?

Anyone with an interest in the robotics field, mechanical engineering field, or design field can benefit from taking a free online robotics course. There are many different elements to robotics, including conceptual, kinetic, and mechanical. Let’s say you are a 3D designer who is interested in designing robots and working on the conceptual end. There’s a free course for you! Maybe you have a degree in mechanical engineering and are looking to re-route your career path toward robotics. There’s a free course for you, too!

Even if you don’t have any degree or experience at all, robotics is an incredibly interesting field. There are beginner-friendly courses that don’t require you to have any programming language or mechanical engineering knowledge. Maybe you are just interested in the concept of robotics and want to know how robots work on a more wide scale. There’s a free online course for you!

What Can I Gain From A Free Online Robotics Course?

As previously mentioned, there are a lot of avenues you can take with a robotics degree or specialization. Robots are a special kind of technology that take a lot of intelligent people to get them to work. Therefore, there are many different careers or jobs you can have in the robotics field, including:

Mechanical engineer: Most mechanical engineers start out with a degree in engineering from a college or university. Mechanical engineers design and create mechanical devices, which can include robots. Mechanical engineers also have the capacity to fix and test their devices until they work as designed.
Computer programmer: Typically, a Bachelor’s degree is required to have a career in computer programming, usually in a discipline like computer science or information technology. Computer programmers write code for programs that control robotic equipment. They also test their programs to make sure they run properly and fix any bugs.
Sales engineer: Sales engineers mostly sell technical mechanical or robotic equipment to companies. They might also research material for new products and evaluate the market to determine product need. Sales engineers typically study engineering or science to get to this career, and they need to be familiar with computers and robotic equipment.

Are Free Online Robotics Courses Difficult?

Robotics is an incredibly difficult field. In order to succeed in a career in robotics, it is necessary to have extensive knowledge on things like engineering, science, computer science, information technology, and more. However, this doesn’t mean that a career in robotics is impossible. While free online robotics courses might teach very complex and complicated material, the instructors are there to challenge you mentally, not make you feel defeated. So, yes, online robotics courses are definitely difficult, but that does not mean you won’t be able to complete them and learn exciting new material!

Are Free Online Robotics Courses Worth It?

Yes, definitely! Since all of the courses on this list come free of charge to you, there is literally nothing you can lose by taking one. You never know, one simple free robotics course could change your entire life by inspiring you to pursue a new career. One can never predict the doors that might open by pursuing new knowledge, so there is never any harm in at least attempting to complete one of these exciting free online courses.

Disclaimer: Some courses may include an affiliate link. Courses were chosen first based on the methodology with affiliate links only added after the ranking was complete.

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