What’s New and Exciting? Summer 2019

It’s summer time! How did 2019 fly by so fast?

Back in December, I started these updates as a way to 1) provide valuable updates to the LR community; and 2) keep myself accountable for all the things I say I’m going to do. Somehow I thought I could get away with posting an update every month (which I did up through April), but I’ve missed out on updates for May, June, and July.

As a result, I decided to combine these months into one quarterly update to give you the lowdown on what’s new and exciting at Learn Robotics. I also decided, after about 4 cups of coffee, (this is what I drink), that I’m not going to do monthly updates anymore. I think quarterly updates are more appropriate because then I have so much more to talk about. It is actually NEW & EXCITING stuff! (Fitting, right?!)

Oh, and by the way, this update is the BIGGEST update we’ve had to date!

Hello, my name is Liz

But, before I get to that, let me re-introduce myself. We have a lot of new folks hopping on everyday, so I want to reiterate the fact that this blog is about robots, but not written by robots. (See what I did there? ?)

I’m Liz, the creator of Learn Robotics. (You can see my beautiful face in the featured image, above.) It’s my goal to help over 1 Million people gain skills in robotics, electronics, and programming in a fun and interactive way. You don’t have to be an engineer to build robots; however, you do need to understand key concepts in technology.

Sometimes you want to build cool things, and other times you actually have a problem you’re trying to solve.

My articles, projects, and courses (shameless plug) are aimed at the novice, hobbyist, student, and engineer. Sometimes you just want to build cool things, and other times you actually have a problem you’re trying to solve. I’ve been in both scenarios, and I’m always grateful for the lessons I’ve had along the way.

I’ve done my best to document key takeaways for anyone looking to gain robotics skills. If you have a question or a suggestion, be sure to leave them in the comments below, but for now, let’s get along with this update!

Popular Robotics Articles this Quarter

This is the part of the update where I say Thank You! Thanks for checking out this article. Without you reading, I wouldn’t have anyone to teach, and without anyone to teach, I’d just be a hermit in my apartment, building robots by myself (and what fun is that?!).

To quote Sam Dullard aka SQUID, “I’ve counted, I recounted, and I counted again… The numbers don’t lie.”

Here are the most popular robotics articles of the quarter!

Forget the Arduino IDE: Here are 5 Alternatives
Home Automation using Google Assistant
Should you upgrade your Mid-2012 MacBook pro?
Face Tracking with OpenCV, Python, and Arduino
Four Steps to Writing an Arduino Program

Check them out, and give the projects a try. You can always tag #learnrobotics on social media to be featured on our Instagram and Facebook pages!

BTW did you notice the update?

If any of my OG readers are here (hey there ?, welcome back!), you’ll notice the site has gotten a bit of a facelift. I have a slight case of perfectionism syndrome (any of you have it, too?). And with it, comes a regular update to the theme and layout of the LR blog.

This iteration is BY FAR my favorite version of the site, and I hope you like it too. I wanted to create a site that had a better user interface for articles, courses, and the user profile.

When you take a course with me (which you should), you’ll see that you have your own profile with everything in one place. It’s a lot more convenient than trying to hunt down one page with account info, another with order history, and a third with the courses. I want to make things as easy as possible to use, so I went ahead and performed this overhaul behind-the-scenes.

Here’s a little before & after of the site.

Pretty nifty, eh?! In addition to the new site, I also launched our first-ever Global Robotics Competition.

Calling all Robot Builders!

Do you make robots? Would you like to make robots? Want to win prizes? If you said yes to any of the above, then you’ll want to check out the Global Robotics Competition!

The goal is to design, build, and program Mini WIFI Robots. The challenge is based on the Mini WIFI eBook created by our very own WolfxPac.

The competition is open for entries August 1st – August 31st, so you have one month to create an entry and submit your demo video.

We have some pretty awesome prizes too, including LR Winner’s T-shirts, $450 in LR Course credits, and Robotics Prize Packs. I’ll be releasing more details on the mystery robotics kit over the next few weeks, so be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook for the Special Announcement!

Competition slots are open for enrollment, today! So snag your spot inside the contest. You don’t want to miss it!

Thanks again for all of your support, and if you’re half as excited for everything we have in store as I am, share this article on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or wherever your favorite online hangout is.