Educational robotics beyond ROS: a custom library for direct transfer of Webots controllers in the Turtlebot3

We describe a novel masters-level projects class that teaches robotics along the traditional robotics pipeline (dynamics, state estimation, controls, planning). One key motivational part is that students have to directly apply the algorithms they learn on a highly constrained compute platform, effectively making a robot fly. We teach nonlinear algorithms as deployed in state-of-the-art flight stacks such as PX4. Didactically, we rely on two core concepts: 1) avoidance of provided black-box software infrastructure, and 2) usage of the safe and efficient programming language Rust that is used on the PC (for simulation) and an STM32 microcontroller (for robot deployment). We discuss our methodology and the student feedback over two years with ten students each. Teaching material: https://imrclab.github.io/teaching/flying-robots

To prepare students for upcoming trends and challenges, it is important to teach them about the helpful and important aspects of modern technologies, such as robotics. However, classic study programs often fail to prepare students for working in the industry because of the lack of practical experience, caused by solely theoretical lecturing. The challenge is to teach both practical and theoretical skills interactively to improve the students' learning. In the scope of the paper, a project-based learning approach is proposed, where students are taught in an agile, semester-spanning project how to work with robots. This project is part of the applied computer science degree study program Digital Technologies. The paper presents the framework as well as an exemplary project featuring the development of a disassembly software ecosystem for hardware robots. In the project, the students are taught the programming of robots with the help of the Robot Operating System (ROS). To ensure the base qualifications, the students are taught in so-called schools, an interactive mix of lectures and exercises. At the beginning of the course, the basics of the technologies are covered, while the students work more and more in their team with the robot on a specific use case. The use case here is to automate the disassembly of build block assemblies.

The persistent challenge in scaling authentic manipulator education within university laboratories is a structural dichotomy: commercial digital twins are often cost-prohibitive and rigidly scripted, whereas open-source robotics middleware (ROS) imposes steep technical and syntax barriers for novices. To resolve this logistical and educational friction, this paper proposes a scalable four-tier communication architecture tailored for sustainable robotic curricula. Rather than focusing on software application design, our study examines the underlying data exchange mechanisms required to bridge visual conceptual environments with physical robotic endpoints, utilizing the Graphical Open-Source Platform (GOSP) as a reference implementation. Our work details the framework's technical integration of 3D visual armature modeling with a robust ROS middleware backend, emphasizing the serialization, routing, and encapsulation of intricate communication routines. Preliminary sim-to-real validation using multi-axis spatial trajectories confirms that encapsulating these communication pipelines provides sufficient fidelity and a hardware-agnostic pathway. By bridging virtual design and physical execution, our architectural blueprint offers a viable infrastructure for engineering education.