Source: https://mokxi.com/learn/embedded Updated: 2026-11-11 All courses Embedded track # Embedded systems, from your first blink to firmware you can ship Arduino, ESP32, Raspberry Pi Pico and STM32: pins, timing, buses, motors, WiFi, registers and debugging, every lesson checked on a simulated board. Free 16 courses, 126 lessons, about 97 hours 4 levels Start at the first rung Embedded on the Arduino Uno The track ## Zero to expert, one course at a time Embedded systems are the computers inside things: the thermostat, the drone, the car door, the insulin pump. Learning them means learning two things at once, code and the hardware it controls, and this track teaches both together on boards the simulator runs cycle by cycle. It starts on an Arduino Uno with no experience needed, then moves to the parts every real product uses: I2C, SPI and UART, motor drivers, WiFi and MQTT, then down to the registers, timers, interrupts and debugger underneath the Arduino functions. The ladder ## Every course, by level Take them in order, or start on the rung that matches what you already know. Each course page lists every lesson. Level 1 ### Start from zero One board, a few pins and a sketch. 16 lessons · 12 h · Arduino Uno R3 ### Embedded on the Arduino Uno One board, twenty pins and a C++ sketch. From a lamp you switch to a game you can play. Open the course 9 lessons · 8 h · Arduino Uno R3 ### Interactive devices on the Uno Read people and sensors without blocking, control an output, then finish with two playable builds. Open the course Level 2 ### Build real devices Buses, motors, new boards and the network. 7 lessons · 4 h · Arduino Uno R3 ### Talk to chips: I2C, SPI and UART The three buses every sensor, screen and radio speaks, on the Uno: serial between two boards, I2C scans and shared buses, SPI screens and an SD card, the logic analyzer, and a weather station that uses them all. Open the course 7 lessons · 4 h · Arduino Uno R3 ### Motors and motion DC motors on a driver, the H bridge inside it, servos, a stepper on an A4988, an encoder that measures what the motor did, and a 2WD robot car with ultrasonic eyes and line sensors. Open the course 13 lessons · 11 h · ESP32-C3-DevKitM-1 ### Embedded on the ESP32-C3 A 32 bit RISC-V board at 160 MHz. Its own peripherals, its own 3.3 V rules, and a console at the end of it. Open the course 7 lessons · 6 h · Raspberry Pi Pico ### Embedded on the Raspberry Pi Pico A dual core Cortex-M0+ at 125 MHz. PWM on every pin, a 64 bit clock, and pins that do not forgive 5 V. Open the course 7 lessons · 3 h · Raspberry Pi Pico ### MicroPython on the Pico Real Python on a Raspberry Pi Pico: blink and the REPL, buttons and if, loops and PWM, a knob on the ADC, lists and functions on an LED bar, an OLED on I2C, and a reaction game boss. Open the course 7 lessons · 4 h · ESP32 DevKit V1 ### Connected devices WiFi, APIs, a web server, MQTT, ESP-NOW and BLE on the ESP32, and a device that keeps going when the network does not. Open the course Level 3 ### Go under the hood A professional board, the registers, datasheets and real debugging. 6 lessons · 6 h · STM32F411 Black Pill ### Embedded on the STM32F411 A Cortex-M4 at 84 MHz, where a pin is a port and a number and every peripheral starts with its clock switched off. Open the course 6 lessons · 2 h · Arduino Uno R3 ### Debug like an engineer The multimeter, the oscilloscope, the logic probe and analyzer, Serial done right, and a method that finds any fault. Ends with a boss: three bugs in one circuit. Open the course 6 lessons · 5 h · Arduino Uno R3 ### Under the hood Take the Arduino wrapper off: DDR, PORT and PIN, Timer 1 by hand, the vector table and interrupts, cycle-counted delays in a .S file, a bug read off a halt in the debugger, and a UART drawn by hand on a pin. Open the course 7 lessons · 6 h · Arduino Uno R3 ### Read datasheets and schematics The skill every hardware job asks for: schematic symbols, a first page, absolute maximum ratings, timing diagrams, register maps and pinouts, each checked on real parts. Ends with a sensor brought up from its datasheet alone. Open the course Level 4 ### Expert Control loops, real-time timing, low power and firmware that scales. 7 lessons · 7 h · Arduino Uno R3 ### Control systems: PID Feedback control on real physics: open and closed loops, P, I and D one at a time, tuning by the numbers, encoders, a balancing robot, and a motor that holds its speed whatever you throw at it. Open the course 7 lessons · 6 h · Arduino Uno R3 ### Scheduling and RTOS From a scheduler written by hand to FreeRTOS on the Uno: tasks and priorities, time slicing on the logic analyzer, queues, mutexes and priority inversion, starvation and the watchdog, and a four-task device. Open the course 7 lessons · 6 h · Arduino Uno R3 ### Low power products Make a battery last years: where an Uno’s current goes, sleep modes and wake sources, a power budget on a bare chip, measuring with a meter and an INA219, battery life checked against a draining cell, and a coin cell node. Open the course 7 lessons · 7 h · Arduino Uno R3 ### Firmware architecture How a whole device is put together on the Uno: a scheduler and state machines, ISRs that only record, drivers behind interfaces, checked settings in EEPROM, error codes and the watchdog, safe updates, and a layered multi-sensor boss. Open the course Outcomes ## What you will be able to do - Read inputs and drive outputs without blocking, using millis() timing and interrupts. - Wire and code I2C, SPI and UART devices, and read every byte on a logic analyzer. - Drive DC motors, servos and steppers, and connect a device to WiFi, MQTT and BLE. - Set up ports and timers by hand, read a datasheet and find faults with a meter and a scope. Careers ## Where this track leads The jobs these skills are used in every day, with what each one does and how to get there. Career ### Embedded firmware engineer Write the code that runs inside cars, drones, watches and every smart gadget. See the career Career ### IoT and connected devices developer Build devices that sense the world and talk to apps over Wi-Fi. See the career Career ### Robotics and automation technician Build, wire, program and fix the robots and machines in real factories. See the career Topics ## Looking for something specific? Each of these starts you on the right course and lesson for one subject. Learn Arduino ### Learn Arduino online, free, on a simulated Uno Real C++ on a modeled ATmega328P, checked step by step. No board to buy, nothing to install, and the same code runs on a real Uno later. Start here ESP32 ### An ESP32 course, from first light to WiFi and BLE Pins at 3.3 V, interrupts, a screen and NeoPixels on the ESP32-C3, then WiFi, a web server, MQTT, ESP-NOW and Bluetooth on the ESP32. Start here Raspberry Pi Pico ### A Raspberry Pi Pico course in C++ and MicroPython The RP2040 two ways: C++ with PWM on any pin and a 64 bit clock, or MicroPython with the REPL. Then a fight stick to finish. Start here STM32 ### An STM32 course for people who already know an Arduino The STM32F411, a Cortex-M4 at 84 MHz, where a pin is a port and a number and every peripheral starts with its clock off. Start here I2C, SPI and UART ### I2C, SPI and UART: talk to chips The three buses every sensor, screen and radio speaks. Scan a bus, share it, run two screens on one clock, log to SD, then read every byte on a logic analyzer. Start here IoT ### An IoT course where you build the connected devices Join WiFi, call an API, serve a page and publish over MQTT on an ESP32, then ESP-NOW, BLE and the devices people put around the house. Start here Motor control ### A motor control course: DC, servo, stepper and encoder Speed and direction on a driver, the H bridge inside it, angles on a servo, STEP and DIR on an A4988, and an encoder that measures what really happened. Start here AVR registers ### AVR registers: DDR, PORT, PIN and the timers by hand Take the Arduino wrapper off the Uno: set pins with registers, run Timer 1 yourself, follow the vector table and count cycles in assembly. Start here Firmware ### A firmware engineering course, hands-on The skills firmware jobs ask for: registers, timers and interrupts by hand, C++ structured for testing, a debugger halt and protocols bit-banged from scratch. Start here Advanced Arduino ### An advanced Arduino course for after the basics You can blink, read buttons and use millis(). Next: C++ classes and state machines, ports and timers by hand, and three buses on one board. Start here PID control ### Learn PID control by standing up a balance bot Read tilt from an IMU, see what the wheels do to it, then write and tune the PID loop that keeps a two-wheel robot upright. Start here MicroPython ### A MicroPython course on the Raspberry Pi Pico Real Python on a microcontroller: blink and the REPL, buttons, PWM, the ADC and an I2C screen, ending in a reaction game you write yourself. Start here MQTT ### MQTT on an ESP32: publish, subscribe and stay connected Topics, retained state and PubSubClient on a simulated ESP32, then the reconnect loop every real device needs. Start here Questions ## About the embedded track What is embedded systems programming? Writing the code that runs on a small computer inside a device, usually a microcontroller, where the program talks straight to pins, timers and buses rather than to an operating system. Which board should I learn embedded on first? The Arduino Uno. It is simple enough to understand completely, and everything you learn on it, from pins and timing to buses and registers, carries over to the ESP32, the Pico and STM32 later in the track. Do I need real hardware? No. Every lesson runs on a simulated board in your browser, and the same wiring and code work on a real board when you want to build it. How long does the embedded track take? Each course takes a few hours to a dozen. Most people can finish the first two rungs in a few weeks of evenings, and the later rungs go as deep as you want to take them. Tracks ## The other tracks 7 courses, 56 lessons, about 41 hours ### Coding track Python and C++ from your first print to classes, tests and state machines. Every program runs on a simulated board, so a bug is something you can see. See the track 11 courses, 102 lessons, about 60 hours ### Electrical track Current and voltage you can see, then transistors, op-amps, filters, power and PCBs. Every circuit runs in a real circuit simulator in your browser. See the track 21 courses, 141 lessons, about 98 hours ### Maker track Follow the starter kit you already own, then build a claw machine, a balance bot, a handheld console or an LED cube, each a short course checked by the simulator. See the track 15 courses, 107 lessons, about 82 hours ### Robotics track Motors, servos, sensors and PID control loops, then a rover, a claw machine and a balance bot, every lesson checked on a simulated board. See the track