Introduction

Welcome to "Physical AI & Humanoid Robotics," an open-source textbook designed to guide you through the exciting and rapidly evolving world of embodied intelligence.

What is this book about?

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the core concepts, tools, and techniques required to build intelligent robots that can perceive and interact with the physical world. We will journey from the foundational principles of robotics and the Robot Operating System (ROS) 2, all the way to the cutting edge of AI-driven robotics with Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models.

How to use this book

This book is structured to be followed sequentially, especially if you are new to robotics. Each chapter builds upon the concepts introduced in the previous ones.

• Start with the Preface to understand the philosophy and approach of this textbook.
• Follow the Weekly Breakdown for a structured learning path.
• Set up your environment using the Lab Setup Guide.
• Dive into the core modules:
  • Module 1: ROS 2 Fundamentals
  • Module 2: Gazebo & Unity Simulation
  • Module 3: NVIDIA Isaac Platform
  • Module 4: Vision-Language-Action Systems

The best way to learn robotics is by doing. We strongly encourage you to follow along with the hands-on exercises and projects in each chapter.