Must Learn Top Programming Languages For Robotics In 2020
AI and automation are already transforming the world for better. From robotics in public security to healthcare robots and robots in education — this technology is changing society at large.
The number of robots used worldwide has grown three-fold in the last two decades, nearly 2.25 million. The implication is getting intense, but we need not fear, the robots are here to boost economic growth and productivity.
Well, if you’ve considered getting into a career in the robotics industry, you ought to learn the programming languages first.
With AI becoming the next tech revolution, a career in robotics is set to boom. Agriculture, healthcare, medicine, and manufacturing are just a few of the industries that thirst for more automation.
To get started you need to get to the basics first. To help you further, we have compiled a list of the topmost programming languages you will need to become a robotics engineer.
You will find more than 1500 programming languages used by developers worldwide, which is impossible for all to learn. However, since you’ve picked your niche i.e. robotics, we will talk about the most popular programming languages AI engineers need to pick.
👉C and C++
Many people have come to terms stating C and C++ programming languages stand number one when it comes to robotics. The reason is simple, many hardware libraries used in robotics uses one of these languages for their product development.
Best features of the libraries:
- Allows real-time performance
- Matured
- Interacts with low-level hardware
C and C++ are not as simple as Python or MATLAB. It might take a long time while implementing the same functionality using a C programming language with more lines of codes. But with robotics being dependent on real-time performance, C and C++ are the closest to what robotics may have in the standard language.
👉MATLAB
Like Octave, MATLAB is a high-performance programming language used for technical computing. This language helps integrate visualization, computation, and programming in an easy-to-use environment where both problems and solutions are expressed in similar mathematical notation.
Since MATLAB is quite popular amongst beginners, this language is widely used to analyze information and to build a control system.
You can also find a popular robotics toolbox for MATLAB that is extensively used to build a robotics system.
👉Python and Ruby
Python is considered as one of the high-level programming languages extensively used to design embedded systems in a robot. One of the major reasons why Python is considered a key player in the Robots Operating System (ROS).
Some of the examples include Arduino and Raspberry Pi.
Whereas Ruby can also be used in robotics, but it depends on the project you’re working on. Ruby writes high-level code to control low-level features and your focus is less on the performance. Some existing examples are, the MORPHA project used Ruby for implementing the reactive control part for a robot (the Siemens service robot).
If you compare Python and Ruby programming languages, you will also notice that Python is likely to be preferred in robotics.
👉Pascal and Basic
Both Pascal and BASIC languages are also called the classic “Big Daddy” of the programming languages. These are fundamental scripts used in multiple industrial robot languages. Though they are outmoded, they’re still considered as a good starting point for programming industrial robots.
If you’re looking to initially start training robots in a few micro monitors such as BasicX, Parallax u, and Basic Micro then learning Pascal is highly recommended.
👉Java
It gets much easier for a computer science candidate or AI engineers to get into robotics since Java would have been their first choice of language.
Java is an interpretive language just like MATLAB and C#, thus it doesn’t require to be compiled in machine code.
The Java Virtual Machine is reliable, fast, and is a secured programming language providing great features to a robot accelerating the machine to perform tasks like humans. JAVA Media framework and Speech API are used when visual images need to be received and processed.
👉C# and.NET
C# and .NET being the primary programming languages for Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio, it is said to be an ideal choice to use C# if you intend to use the system. Also, C# is used for Virtual Reality Engines.
Since C# is complex, you wouldn’t prefer learning this language first. C and C++ can be your preferred choice.
👉Scratch
Scratch is a visual programming language that was designed for budding roboticists and new programmers (kids/adults ranging between the age of 8–16) whose keen interest lies in creating robots. Scratch has been used by more than thousands of developers from across the world.
Scratch programming is easily achievable by dragging and connecting the blocks. The languages used is a combination of JavaScript, ActionScript, and Squeak.
While technology and innovation keep growing, the level of our comfort has grown. And with software automating almost every task we carry out today, we are looking for a more comfortable life. How eager are you to be a part of it?
