Engineering Rigor×Gothic Surrealism
Free, structured courseware from foundations through mechatronics. Built around CatBot — an open-source quasi-direct drive quadruped robot developed in Chicago.
Courses
6
Modules
13
Lessons
14
Hours
84h
Curriculum Tracks
Featured Courses
Engineering Foundations
First principles for mechanical systems
Build the analytical foundation every robotics engineer needs. This course covers statics, free-body diagrams, material behavior, and basic structural analysis — the tools you will reach for every time you design a load-bearing part.
Level
Intro
Modules
3
Lessons
4
Hours
12h
Electronics for Robotics
Circuits, sensors, and power systems
From Ohm's Law to motor drivers. This course builds practical electronics knowledge specifically for robotics: power regulation, sensor interfaces, communication protocols, and the electrical anatomy of a real actuator system.
Level
Intro
Modules
3
Lessons
3
Hours
10h
Kinematics & Dynamics
Motion analysis for multi-link robot systems
Analyze how robots move. Forward and inverse kinematics, velocity kinematics via Jacobians, and the dynamics equations that govern how forces produce motion. Built around the CatBot quadruped as the reference system.
Level
Intermediate
Modules
2
Lessons
2
Hours
16h
REQ: ENGINEERING FOUNDATIONS
QDD Actuator Design
Design and build a quasi-direct drive rotary actuator
The CatBot actuator is the hardware core of the platform. This course documents the design decisions, tradeoffs, and manufacturing considerations behind a low-reduction planetary quasi-direct drive actuator — from concept through CAD through first spin.
Level
Advanced
Modules
2
Lessons
2
Hours
18h
REQ: ENGINEERING FOUNDATIONS, ELECTRONICS FOR ROBOTICS
The Reference System
CatBot
CatBot is the open-source quadruped robot at the center of this curriculum. Every course is designed around understanding, building, or programming this system — from the first-principles statics that size its links to the control algorithms that make it walk.
The actuator is a custom quasi-direct drive design with an 8:1 planetary reduction, 14-bit absolute magnetic encoder, and Moteus-compatible CAN interface. CAD files will be released under an open-source license at launch.
Actuator Design Course →Actuator Spec
| Architecture | QDD Planetary |
| Gear Ratio | 8:1 |
| Peak Torque | 20 N·m (knee) |
| Cont. Torque | 8 N·m |
| Max Speed | 15 rad/s |
| Encoder | 14-bit Absolute |
| Interface | CAN (Moteus) |
| Supply | 48 V |