Robotics: Circuits, Code, and Control
Bridge the gap between raw hardware and intelligent motion by mastering motor drivers, sensor filtering, serial protocols, and automated testing. Learn how to interface Arduino and Python into responsive, reliable robotic systems that behave predictably in the physical world.
Like Duolingo, but for Robotics: Circuits, Code, and Control. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
24 levels across 4 sections, about 48 minutes end to end, roughly 10 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Actuation and Motion Control; Sensing and Conditioning the Real World; Coordinating Microcontroller and Host Intelligence; and Robustness, Diagnostics, and Testing. It assumes you already know the basics.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Robotics: Circuits, Code, and Control
- Microcontroller GPIO pins are limited to tens of milliamps and burn out under motor loads
- DC motors demand stall currents dozens of times higher than direct logic pin ratings
- An intermediate driver uses tiny logic currents to switch a separate heavy load circuit
- A spinning motor coil stores energy in a magnetic field that collapses when switched off
- The collapsing field generates a reverse high-voltage spike capable of destroying silicon switches
- A reverse-biased flyback diode safely recirculates the inductive kickback current into the coil
- Motor inrush current at startup pulls battery voltage down sharply below the reset threshold
- A voltage drop on the logic rail triggers the microcontroller internal brownout detector
- Separating the motor power rail from logic while sharing ground prevents brownout resets
- PWM chops full supply voltage rapidly between fully saturated on and completely off states
- Switching transistors dissipate minimal waste heat when either fully conducting or non-conducting
- Linear resistance drops excess motor voltage by converting valuable battery energy into heat
- Activating opposing diagonal switches reverses the polarity of the voltage across the motor terminals
- Turning on both high-side and low-side switches on the same leg causes catastrophic shoot-through
- Shorting both motor terminals to ground creates counter-electromotive force for dynamic braking
- A hobby servo compares incoming pulse width against its internal potentiometer voltage
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Robotics: Circuits, Code, and Control the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
What happens to the current demand when a DC motor starts moving or gets jammed (stalled)?
Get it right to open this lesson and 23 more in the app.
Where Robotics: Circuits, Code, and Control takes you
- 1
Actuation and Motion Control
- Driving DC Motors Safely
- Controlled Positioning with Servos and Steppers
- 2
Sensing and Conditioning the Real World
- Reliable Sensor Interfacing
- Sensor Calibration and Noise Filtering
- 3
Coordinating Microcontroller and Host Intelligence
- Bidirectional Serial Communication
- Non-Blocking Architecture and State Machines
- 4
Robustness, Diagnostics, and Testing
- Automated Testing for Robotics Software
- Power Integrity and Electrical Debugging
4 sections · 8 units · 24 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Robotics: Circuits, Code, and Control is taught in the Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
More Technology on Tomo
Designing Electronic Systems
Bridge the gap between simple breadboard circuits and robust, functional hardware systems. Learn how to condition analog signals, manage power and switching loads, coordinate noisy digital communication, and track down real-world hardware bugs.
Building Autonomous Mobile Robots
Learn how to turn code and raw electronics into a smart, self-driving machine. Connect motor drivers and microcontrollers, establish reliable power, coordinate software with ROS 2, and guide your robot through unknown rooms using LiDAR and SLAM.
Hardware Control with Arduino and ESP32
Level up from blinking LEDs to responsive, power-smart microcontroller systems. Learn to handle dual-voltage circuits, write non-blocking firmware, debug digital buses, and keep projects running on battery.
Circuit Design for Arduino
Bridge the gap between microcontroller code and reliable hardware. Learn how to drive high-power loads, clean up noisy sensor readings, stabilize power delivery, and protect components from catastrophic damage.
Practical Circuit Engineering
Bridge the gap between schematic diagrams and working bench hardware. Learn to select components, drive real-world loads, condition analog signals, and diagnose parasitic gremlins.
Writing Reliable Arduino Code
Move beyond beginner sketches full of delays and fragile logic. Learn how to write non-blocking, responsive Arduino firmware that handles sensors, inputs, and complex behaviors without freezing or crashing.
Start Robotics: Circuits, Code, and Control today.
Download Tomo, search Robotics: Circuits, Code, and Control, and play your first lesson in under a minute.