The most important aspect of robotics is the software that controls it. This software guesses the robot’s surroundings and generates control signals to change them.
Programmers aspiring to work with robots should learn the right programming languages for their purposes. These include C and C++, Python, Java, and more.
Mindstorms
The NXTG software enables children to progressively learn about different areas of robotics while using an intuitive icon-based drag and drop programming interface that is easy for kids to use. This approach can help children develop a deeper understanding of the underlying science and math concepts while learning how to program their robots.
Mindstorms is an educational platform that can be used in classrooms and at home. It offers a wide range of resources to support learners and educators, including 48 tutorials that walk the learners through the basics of coding. The educational version of mindstorms comes with extra sensors and features that aren’t available in the retail version.
The first official Mindstorms product was the 8482 Technic CyberMaster lineup, which focused on combat and featured a radio-controlled programmable brick. This was followed by the EV3 series, which featured a redesigned master brick that offered a variety of improvements. The EV3 series also came with a more comprehensive collection of tools and resources for teachers.
C/C++
The most mature programming languages used in robotics are C and C++. They allow easy interaction with low-level hardware and provide real-time performance. These are also ideal if you need your robot to run fast (especially for control loops) and have strict hardware optimization requirements.
Python is also an increasingly popular language for robotics. It offers a good balance of speed, thanks to its library of fast and efficient code, and expressiveness, which is needed for complex algorithms. It also comes with a large number of free libraries, which can save you time by eliminating the need to write repetitive code.
Another option is MATLAB, which is widely used for analyzing information and building a control system. This is a high-performance language that combines computing, visualization and mathematics in an integrated environment. It is also a useful tool for prototyping and simulation, and can help you identify errors before production. This can save you a lot of money and time.
Java
Robots vary in the ways they sense the world, compute and act. They can use a variety of sensors, like cameras, gyroscopes or laser range finders and rely on everything from simple microcontrollers to large computers for their processing power. But they all share the same basic structure: They send sensor measurements to a computer or controller, which processes them and then acts upon them using motors or actuators. They repeat this sensing-computing-acting cycle over and over again in what roboticists call a feedback loop.
Programmers typically use a text-based programming language to write programs that control a robot. But it is not always easy to switch from one programming language to another, and each manufacturer has its own proprietary robot programming languages that engineers learn on the job. Fortunately, newer programming options like ROS Industrial and manufacturer-agnostic off-line programming are helping to standardize these tools.
C#/.NET
Robots are a combination of hardware and software. They are powered by energy which determines their functionality and applications. They need to be smart in order to perform the tasks required of them by humans. This is where programming enters the picture.
C and C++ are considered the most important programming languages in robotics because of their mature hardware libraries that enable a low-level interface and deliver real-time performance. Python is also a popular language as it allows easy interaction with the OS API and is highly customizable.
MATLAB (and its open source relatives like Octave) is very popular with some robotic engineers for analyzing data and developing control systems. It is also used to program some specific robot brands and provides a good foundation for aspiring robotics developers. Pascal was built to encourage productive programming practices and is a good choice for newcomers to the field of robotics. It is also a general-purpose programming language that can be used to implement neural network systems in robots.