Do You Need to be an Expert to Join a Robotics Club?

Being involved in the robotics hobby doesn’t need to be a lonely affair. Sharing your creations with other enthusiasts and checking out their work to learn something new yourself can be an especially gratifying experience.

While the hobby is certainly amenable to isolation, there’s something special in being able to share it with others. You can document your nifty projects involving DC motor controllers and post them online but you can get a more immediate, and a more social, response by demonstrating it live in person.

It’s not for everyone, of course, but it’s something worth checking out.

Robotics clubs are a popular way of facilitating this kind of relationship between enthusiasts. These follow the same premise as other clubs: you pick a spot, you meet up, and you do something involving the hobby. A book club will talk about books. A horse-riding club will involve riding horses. And a robotics club… you guessed it, will talk about and involve robots.

The most common clubs you’ll see are tied to the events and competitions. These can be extremely daunting. They are often tethered to formal organizations from schools and companies, and the competitions themselves can be well above your skill level or at least not the kind of fun you had in mind when you started pondering the merits of discussing your hobby with others.

You may have turned away after seeing these clubs. "What use will they have for me and my brushed DC motor controllers?" you asked yourself. Well, it doesn’t have to be like this. These clubs are actually the minority; they’re just the loudest and most visible.

Connecting through a school is a quick way of finding possible clubs to join but it’s likely that there’s a web presence on a social media website or a meet-up site that will clue you in, too. The hobby, and sharing this hobby, is not limited to people with connections or to people who were in the right place at the right time.

In fact, you don’t need to be an expert to join a robotics club. If you’re just getting started with learning about DC motor controllers, you’re still welcome. If a club has a skill requirement, they’ll make it clear long before you approach them. Most clubs won’t have a skill requirement; it’s a little elitist, and things are a lot more fun when you can teach people new ways of approaching their robotics projects by showing them your own.

Don’t underestimate the advantages of getting involved with a club. Even if you are particularly talented already, you might learn something new or find yourself become a valuable resource for others. You can forge lasting relationships with peers of all ages and walks of life by learning or teaching, and you’ll be able to get some real mileage out of your robots outside of the garage by bringing them along to club meetings.

Whether you’re creating the newest advanced autonomous robot using brushed DC motor controllers or you’re just getting started with the basics of motion control, there is a club with a spot open for you. Get involved, make friends, and realize that robots become a whole lot more fulfilling when you’re not keeping your enthusiasm to yourself.

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