The field moves quickly. So much of the material dates quickly. Joining a professional association such as IEEE or IFR and regular reading of publications – magazines and journals – is essential.

1. The Handbook of Robotics is a massive book. But is amazingly good at giving a broad sweep of the field.
2. Robotics, Vision and Control: Fundamental Algorithms in MATLAB by Peter Corke is an excellent introductory text with online Matlab examples.
3. Probabilistic Robotics by Sebastian Thrun et al. gives an excellent grounding in statistical and machine learning methods for robotics.
4. For people starting out in robotics I recommend the brilliant LEGO MINDSTORMS by Laurens Valk. It provides practical ways to teach and inspire the next generation of roboticists.
5. I also recommend people read some inspiring science fiction to get motivated! You can’t go past Isaac Asimov and his classic I, Robot.

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