Essential tools, kits, and resources for building and designing robots. From beginner maker kits to advanced simulation tools.
Where to buy components locally and communities to join for mentorship.
Robu.in: Best for motors,
sensors, and official Raspberry Pi/Arduino boards.
Robocraze: Excellent for
student kits and affordable clones.
Electronic Spices: source
for raw components (wires, LEDs, capacitors) at wholesale rates.
Context: Acknowledging that IITs can be insular, e-Yantra is
specifically a government-funded outreach mission for Tier-2 & Tier-3
colleges. It actively funds and sets up labs in hundreds of non-elite
institutions to break the "closed lab" barriers.
Check eYRC Competition →
T-Works (Hyderabad): India's largest prototyping center
(Government-backed Open Access).
IKP Eden (Bangalore): Hardware incubator associated with makerspaces.
Don't get stuck assembling kits.
True engineering value comes from designing custom actuators and writing original
control logic, not just plugging in pre-made servos. Move from "Consumer" to "Designer"
as fast as possible.
Hardware platforms and starter kits for hands-on robot building. Choose based on your skill level and project goals.
Arduino: Best for real-time control, simple sensors, and motor control. Easier to start, lower power consumption. Great for learning electronics fundamentals.
Raspberry Pi: Best for computer vision, AI/ML, complex processing, and internet connectivity. More powerful but requires more power and cooling. Great for advanced robotics projects.
Official Arduino starter kit with everything you need to begin building robots and interactive electronics projects.
Complete beginners, educators, anyone new to electronics. No prior experience required.
Build a light-following robot using photoresistors and DC motors. Learn sensor input and motor control basics.
Raspberry Pi-based robotics platforms for AI, computer vision, and advanced autonomous systems.
Python-based, with libraries for OpenCV (vision), TensorFlow (AI), and GPIO (hardware control).
Ready-to-use robots for learning without building from scratch. Great for classrooms and quick prototyping.
Community-designed robots with free plans, code, and building instructions. Learn from others' designs and contribute your own.
Learn from detailed documentation, customize designs for your needs, contribute improvements back to community, and build advanced robots without starting from scratch.
| Platform | Best For | Difficulty | Cost | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arduino | Real-time control, sensors, motors | Beginner | $20-60 | C/C++, Blockly |
| Raspberry Pi | AI, vision, complex processing | Intermediate | $35-75 | Python, C++ |
| mBot | Education, quick start | Beginner | $100 | Scratch, Python |
| TurtleBot | ROS learning, research | Advanced | $1000+ | ROS, Python, C++ |
Resources for documenting robot designs, collaborating with engineers, and planning robot behaviors.
Template for communicating robot design to engineers and stakeholders. Ensures nothing is forgotten in the transition from concept to implementation.
Engineers need clear requirements. Designers need to think through details. This template bridges the gap and ensures alignment.
Visual method for designing robot behaviors using state diagrams. Shows how robots respond to different situations.
Delivery robot states: Waiting → Traveling → Arrived → Delivering → Returning. Each state has specific behaviors and valid transitions.
Draw.io (free), Lucidchart, or pen and paper. Keep it simple and visual for team communication.
Best practices for productive collaboration between designers and robotics engineers.
Program robots without traditional coding. Visual programming tools make robotics accessible to non-programmers.
Drag-and-drop programming interface based on Google's Blockly. Used by many educational robots.
Sensor reading, motor control, logic (if/then/else), loops, timing, basic math. Builds to text-based code (C++ or Python) that you can view and learn from.
Beginners, classrooms, rapid prototyping of robot behaviors, learning programming concepts visually.
MIT's Scratch visual programming language extended to control physical robots and hardware.
Huge community, millions of existing projects to learn from, game-like programming environment, excellent for teaching kids and beginners.
Conceptual introduction to Robot Operating System (ROS) - the industry standard for serious robotics. Understanding ROS helps designers collaborate with professional robotics teams.
Not actually an operating system - it's middleware that provides structure for robot software. Think of it as a common language that robot components use to talk to each other.
Most professional mobile robots use ROS. Understanding its structure helps you communicate with engineers and understand system constraints and capabilities.
Don't need to code ROS as a designer, but understanding its concepts helps collaboration. Watch tutorials, play with ROS simulations, ask engineers to explain their ROS architecture.
Test robot designs and behaviors in virtual environments before building physical hardware. Save time and money through simulation.
Professional-grade open-source robot simulator. Used in education, research, and industry for prototyping and testing.
Test navigation algorithms, prototype robot behaviors, learn robotics without hardware, develop AI for robots, educational demonstrations.
Moderate. Great tutorials available. Easier than building physical robots for testing concepts.
The standard simulator for ROS robotics. Widely used in research and industry for mobile robots and manipulation.
ROS-based projects, mobile robot navigation, manipulation research, autonomous vehicle simulation, multi-robot coordination.
Requires ROS knowledge. More complex than Webots but industry standard for serious robotics development.
No-install robot simulators that run in your web browser. Perfect for quick experiments and learning.
No installation required, works on Chromebooks and tablets, great for classrooms, instant gratification for beginners.
Less realistic physics than desktop simulators, fewer advanced features, internet connection required.
Tools for understanding and visualizing robot path planning and motion algorithms.
Understanding how robots plan movement helps designers create realistic interaction scenarios and appreciate technical constraints.