IOT-ROBOTICS-ROS | 2 Days Workshop at IIIT Bangalore

AI-IOT-ROBOTICS-ROS

Venue: IIIT Bangalore

Address: 26/C, Hosur Rd, Electronic City Phase I, Electronic City, Konappana Agrahara, Karnataka 560100

Content will be covered from basic to advance level.

Duration: 2 Days (14-16 HRS)

Eligibility: Open to all, including B.Tech, B.E., undergraduate and postgraduate students, college students, school students, and anyone interested in AI, IoT, Robotics, and ROS.

Workshop Objective & Final Project Goal

Build an AI-powered object-following robot that: - Uses ESP8266 for communication

- Receives commands from a laptop

- Uses IoT protocols for communication

- Uses OpenCV + MediaPipe + YOLO for vision - Uses ROS for software architecture

- Detects and follows an object

- Avoids obstacles

- Stops near the target object

DAY 1 – Electronics, Robot Building & IoT

Session 1 : Introduction to Electronics & Embedded Systems Theory

- What is a microcontroller?

- Arduino architecture

- Input vs Output

- Digital signals

- Sensors and actuators

- Understanding voltage, current and GPIO

Activity 1 : Digital Input & Output

Programs:

- LED Blink

- Multiple LED patterns

- Push Button Input

- LED controlled using button

Learning Outcome:

- Understand Digital Read() - Understand Digital Write()

Session 2 : Serial Communication Theory

- What is UART?

- Serial Monitor

- Data transmission basics

Activity 2

- Read user input from Serial Monitor

- Control LEDs using serial commands - Create simple command interface

Learning Outcome: Human-to-Microcontroller communication

Session 3 : Robot Building Workshop

Hardware Assembly

- Chassis assembly

- Motor driver integration

- Wheel mounting

- Power connections

- ESP8266/Arduino integration

Activity 3 : Robot Movement Programming Programs:

- Forward

- Backward

- Left

- Right - Stop

Learning Outcome:

- Create a fully functional mobile robot

Session 4 : IoT Fundamentals

Theory

- What is IoT?

- Client-Server Architecture

- Local vs Internet Communication - TCP vs UDP

Session 5 : WiFi & Access Point Mode

Theory

- Station Mode

- Access Point Mode - Network basics

Activity 4

- Configure ESP8266 as Access Point - Connect laptop/mobile

Session 6 : HTTP Communication

Theory

- Requests and Responses - GET and POST

- REST Concepts

Activity 5

- Send commands to ESP8266 using browser - Control robot through HTTP

Session 7 : MQTT Communication

Theory

- Publish/Subscribe Model - Broker Architecture

- Real-time communication

Activity 6

- Publish messages

- Subscribe to robot commands - Remote robot control

Session 8 : UDP Communication Theory

- Low-latency communication

- Use cases in robotics

Activity 7

- Send movement commands using UDP

Day 1 Deliverable Students will have:

✓ Functional robot

✓ Serial communication ✓ WiFi connectivity

✓ HTTP control

✓ MQTT control

✓ UDP communication

DAY 2 – AI Vision & ROS

Session 1 : Introduction to Computer Vision Theory

- What is OpenCV?

- Image processing basics

- Camera fundamentals

Session 2 : OpenCV Activities

Activity 1

- Webcam access - Image capture

- Drawing shapes - Color detection

Session 3 : MediaPipe

Theory

- Landmark detection

- Human pose estimation

Activity 2

- Hand tracking

- Body tracking

- Gesture recognition

Session 4 : YOLO Object Detection

Theory

- AI Object Detection - Bounding boxes

- Confidence scores

Activity 3

- Detect everyday objects - Real-time object tracking

ROS Fundamentals

Session 5 : ROS Overview Topics:

- What is ROS?

- Why ROS?

- ROS Architecture

- Nodes and communication

Session 6 : Environment Setup

Activity

- WSL Installation

- ROS Installation

- Workspace Creation

Learning Outcome:

- Create first ROS workspace

Session 7 : ROS Topics

Theory

- Publisher

- Subscriber

Activity

- Create Publisher Node

- Create Subscriber Node - Exchange messages

Session 8 : ROS Messages

Activity

- Standard Messages - Custom Messages

Session 9 : ROS Services

Theory

- Request/Response communication

Activity

- Service Server

- Service Client

Session 10 : ROS Launch Files

Activity

- Create Launch Files

- Start multiple nodes together

Session 11 : Docker for ROS

Activity

- ROS Containers

- Running ROS inside Docker

Final Project : AI-Powered Object Following Robot Components Used

- ESP8266

- Robot Chassis

- OpenCV

- MediaPipe

- YOLO

- ROS

- MQTT/HTTP Communication

Project Flow

1. Camera captures video

2. YOLO detects object

3. ROS node processes detection

4. ROS publishes movement commands

5. IoT communication sends commands to ESP8266
6. Robot moves toward object

7. Obstacle avoidance logic prevents collision

8. Robot stops near target

Deliverables

✓ Object detection

✓ Object tracking

✓ ROS communication

✓ ESP8266 integration

✓ Robot movement

✓ Obstacle avoidance

✓ End-to-end AI robotic system

Workshop Outcome

By the end of Day 2, students will have learned:

- Electronics Fundamentals - Arduino Programming

- Serial Communication

- Robot Building

- HTTP

- MQTT

- UDP

- OpenCV

- MediaPipe - YOLO

- ROS Topics

- ROS Services

- ROS Messages

- ROS Launch Files

- Docker Basics

- AI-Powered Robotics Integration

Final Achievement:

Build a complete AI-enabled autonomous robot from scratch.