Nowadays computers are ubiquitous. Their usefulness depends on the software installed in them.
I focus here on developing various types of software. For example, these are web applications or for computer control of various devices.
Electronics is a branch of technology that uses knowledge of physics to design, build and develop electrical devices. Without electronics, there would be no computers today. Currently, all devices, both those in robotics and those controlled by computers, are electronic devices. Therefore, we should know the basics of electronics because it will be helpful in various projects
Robotics is an interdisciplinary field of computer science and engineering, in which we often use very sophisticated precise mechanisms controlled by computer systems with very refined software. This is a field for very experienced teams of professionals. The results of their work can be seen everywhere. Robots are on production lines in factories, they are used in medicine for surgical procedures, they are also used in smart homes, and so on.
However, we have plenty of hobbyists who like to build various types of electronically controlled vehicles, driving, floating or flying. I think each of us has played with an electric train or a remote-controlled car, or maybe a flying drone. Perhaps you used ready-made toys or maybe you built them, for example, from LEGO bricks. This is what you can call "hobby robotics" or "small robotics".
Here I am going to discuss various topics, some will be useful for hobbyists, but a few of them will be an introduction to the issues of professional robotics.
Physics is the basic natural science. Its goal is to discover the basic laws of nature that can explain all phenomena related to matter, motion and energy. Physics is a natural science that involves the study of nature in order to understand how the universe behaves. I will not explain the meaning of physics, we all well know that this discipline of science is the basis of all fields of science and technology.
We have many different branches of physics. They can be divided into classical and modern physics. Without solid state physics, there would be no semiconductors and therefore no computers. There is more and more talk about quantum computers. These are computers that use the phenomena of quantum mechanics (this is one of the branches of modern physics).
When may developers sometimes need knowledge of physics?
The answer is simple. For example, when they want to create colorful graphics in their applications. It's good to understand how different colors are made.
Almost always, if you want to understand how something works, you will need to use some knowledge of physics. I think I have given you enough reasons to learn some physics.
This website is not a physics textbook.
This is not a site dedicated to studying physics in depth. There is only a little bit of content and software to help you learn some laws of physics. The content presented in this section has been useful in my computer science and electronics classes. Also when I teach robotics, I have to consider some aspects of kinematics, and this is physics also.
Sometimes I help someone learn physics and then it inspires me to develope some computer simulations or other applications that illustrate simple physical phenomena. I thought that instead of losing them somewhere, I could put them here.
When I create virtual gadgets here, I usually think about some real technical devices that are commonly used in practice, or ones that we only know that they exist - we have never had them. For example, when we want to develop an application for remote control, we need a device that we will control in this way. However, we don't want to waste time building such a device, and we don't want to spend money to buy it. After all, we can use virtual hardware instead, maybe mine.
A gadget does not have to be a mechanical or electronic device. I also treat various applications as gadgets, they can be various useful tools for work, entertainment or fun. It can be some kind of calculator, widget or software that has some very specific purpose and use.
Instead of considering what a gadget is, maybe I should write like that, in this part I put everything that does not fit into the titles of the other sections.
I am active in various projects. Therefore, my web pages may have different logos, for example as the ones below.
I was born just a few years after creating the world's first computer. It was ENIAC and just think it didn't contain any ICs or transistors. I grew up with computers, my youth is the youth of computers, they are with me constantly.
I am a PhD in Physics, but I have always been more interested in computer control technique in physical experiments than physical theories.
This is still the case today, my passion is computer control of various devices. I've also tried using these techniques in robotics.
I like to share this passion with others. I do it in academic laboratories, at lectures and here on the Internet.
I would like to infect my passion to IT beginners as well. It is for them I develop various tutorials and build electronic devices and show how to create software to control them. Computer control requires knowledge of computer programing but also electronics. Of course, other technical skills are also useful, and also at least the basics of physics. To facilitate entry into the world of electronics, I have prepared an online laboratory where you can experiment with simple electronic devices.
Is it all useful? Rate it yourself.