Source: https://mokxi.com/learn/path/robotics-capstone Updated: 2026-11-11 All paths # Robotics capstone: your own machine Pick a mobile robot or an arm and build it through seven milestones: a brief, sensors, closed-loop motion, control, safety, testing, and a demo and write-up for your portfolio. Free 7 lessons 7 h 3 chapters 3,840 XP Robotics · Expert +400 XP 0 of 7 done Start the course free Milestone 1: pick a machine Lesson plan for teachers What you will build ## 3 projects, built step by step 7 lessons in 3 chapters, about 7 hours on a simulated breadboard. Free, in your browser, every step checked by the simulator. Chapter 1 project ### Milestone 2: mechanics and sensors A maze solver on three Sharp distance sensors: read the sensor curve, find its blind spot, place the sensors around the chassis, and predict the path the robot logs before you run it. Open it in the simulator Chapter 2 project ### Milestone 4: autonomy or an operator Decide who drives: code or a person. A four-servo arm on two joysticks shows the operator side, with rate control, a dead band, joint limits that code enforces, and a reading you predict before you push. Open it in the simulator Chapter 3 project ### Milestone 7: demo and write-up Teach the record and playback arm a routine of your own, prove it survives a reset, predict its reading, then record your demo and write it up for your portfolio, with an honest look at the robotics technician path. Open it in the simulator The map ## Chapter by chapter Each lesson opens when the one before it is done, and each chapter ends in a project. Chapter 1 ## Plan and sense Choose the machine, write its brief, and pick and place its sensors. Open 350 XP ### Milestone 1: pick a machine Choose what you will build, a mobile robot or an arm, and write a one page brief for it. A robot vacuum shows what a brief has to pin down: what it does, what it senses and which behavior wins. 0 of 6 steps Start What is in it Project Locked 800 XP ### Milestone 2: mechanics and sensors A maze solver on three Sharp distance sensors: read the sensor curve, find its blind spot, place the sensors around the chassis, and predict the path the robot logs before you run it. 0 of 7 steps Chapter 2 ## Move and control Closed-loop motion you can measure, and who drives: code or an operator. Locked 350 XP ### Milestone 3: motion control Close the loop. A 2WD chassis counts wheel pulses, holds a speed with an integral controller on each wheel, keeps it when the battery sags, and drives an exact square by counting instead of timing. 0 of 6 steps Project Locked 800 XP ### Milestone 4: autonomy or an operator Decide who drives: code or a person. A four-servo arm on two joysticks shows the operator side, with rate control, a dead band, joint limits that code enforces, and a reading you predict before you push. 0 of 7 steps Chapter 3 ## Prove it Make it safe by design, test it like a technician, then demo and write it up. Locked 400 XP ### Milestone 5: safety A press guarded by a two-beam light curtain and an e-stop: interlocks checked before and during every move, a fault that latches until a person clears it, a fail-safe stop, and an honest line between a lesson and a safety device. 0 of 7 steps Locked 400 XP ### Milestone 6: testing Test your machine’s remote like a technician: a written plan, the happy path, the output checked instead of the log, a soak test, a fault injected on purpose, and a real bug found and written up. 0 of 7 steps Project Locked 740 XP ### Milestone 7: demo and write-up Teach the record and playback arm a routine of your own, prove it survives a reset, predict its reading, then record your demo and write it up for your portfolio, with an honest look at the robotics technician path. 0 of 7 steps Syllabus ## Every lesson in the course All 7 lessons, in order, each with what it covers. Any of them opens in the editor right away. Chapter 1 ### Plan and sense - Milestone 1: pick a machine Choose what you will build, a mobile robot or an arm, and write a one page brief for it. A robot vacuum shows what a brief has to pin down: what it does, what it senses and which behavior wins. - Milestone 2: mechanics and sensors A maze solver on three Sharp distance sensors: read the sensor curve, find its blind spot, place the sensors around the chassis, and predict the path the robot logs before you run it. Chapter 2 ### Move and control - Milestone 3: motion control Close the loop. A 2WD chassis counts wheel pulses, holds a speed with an integral controller on each wheel, keeps it when the battery sags, and drives an exact square by counting instead of timing. - Milestone 4: autonomy or an operator Decide who drives: code or a person. A four-servo arm on two joysticks shows the operator side, with rate control, a dead band, joint limits that code enforces, and a reading you predict before you push. Chapter 3 ### Prove it - Milestone 5: safety A press guarded by a two-beam light curtain and an e-stop: interlocks checked before and during every move, a fault that latches until a person clears it, a fail-safe stop, and an honest line between a lesson and a safety device. - Milestone 6: testing Test your machine’s remote like a technician: a written plan, the happy path, the output checked instead of the log, a soak test, a fault injected on purpose, and a real bug found and written up. - Milestone 7: demo and write-up Teach the record and playback arm a routine of your own, prove it survives a reset, predict its reading, then record your demo and write it up for your portfolio, with an honest look at the robotics technician path. Keep going ## The rest of your track Robotics capstone: your own machine is part of the robotics track, a ladder of courses from zero to expert. Track ### 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 every course on the track Kits ## Build it on your bench too Every lesson runs in the simulator with nothing to buy. When you want the real thing, these kits have the parts. Have a kit already? ### Find your kit Pick the starter kit you own and run every lesson in its manual with the same parts on the same pins. See every kit Questions ## About Robotics capstone: your own machine Is Robotics capstone: your own machine free? Yes. All 7 lessons of Robotics capstone: your own machine are free and run in your browser, with nothing to install and no parts to buy before you start. Do I need any parts? No. Every circuit is built on a simulated breadboard, and the simulator checks each step as you go. When you want to build it for real, the same parts and wiring work on a real bench. How long does Robotics capstone: your own machine take? About 7 hours: 7 lessons in 3 chapters, each one a few short steps. Your progress is kept, so you can stop after any lesson and pick up where you left off. What will I build? Each chapter ends in a project that puts it together: Milestone 2: mechanics and sensors, Milestone 4: autonomy or an operator and Milestone 7: demo and write-up. Where do I start? With "Milestone 1: pick a machine", and each lesson builds on the one before it. New to circuits? Electronics basics is the course that starts from zero.