Ask HN: How to get started with robotics as a hobbyist?

A simple “How do I start robotics?” post lit up Hacker News with three loud camps: the builders, the bookworms, and the toolchain truthers. The top vibe was pure hands-on: one voice said, “Just build a robot,” adding there’s no wrong way to hobby—the pep talk beginners needed. Then a curveball: another commenter dropped a grad-school-flavored path—read three papers on “integrated mental architecture” and even psychopathology—which had the thread asking, “Sir, this is a hobby shop.”

In the middle, a practical roadmap emerged: learn ROS—the Robot Operating System, basically a toolbox for robot software—start in a simulator, then grab a tiny self-driving-kit (“AMR,” a small rolling bot) and make it work in real life. Others pushed kits that “just work,” like a 3D-printed arm plus a small AI computer, so you get a win fast. And of course, someone did the classic HN drive-by with a one-word vibe drop: Duckietown. Cue jokes about “buying a duck” to learn robotics, “quack to the future,” and the eternal screwdriver vs syllabus showdown. The thread’s energy? Playful but pointed: build-now pragmatists vs paper-first perfectionists vs framework fans. The quiet consensus: start small, make it move, and have fun.