From CAD to Robot: Getting Started in Robotics Simulation Without Hardware

​You don't need a robot to start robotics. You need a laptop and the design skills you already have.

​Most people think robotics starts with money: hardware, sensors, motors, a lab. It doesn't. It starts with simulation. In this live session, I'll show you the exact pipeline I use to take a design from SolidWorks all the way to a moving, simulated robot. No hardware required.

​What you'll learn:

• ​Why simulation is the real starting point for robotics, not an afterthought

• ​How a CAD design becomes a URDF, a robot's complete digital definition

• ​How to bring that robot to life in Gazebo and visualize it in RViz

• ​The free tools and low-spec laptop alternatives you can start using this week

• ​Where this path leads, including AI-driven robotics (VLA/VLM), for those who want to go deeper

​Want to rebuild it yourself?

​The webinar is free. For anyone who wants to go further, I've put together a complete resource pack:

• ​The step-by-step build manual

• ​The full SolidWorks files

• ​The URDF

• ​The complete ROS 2 package, with the robot running in both Gazebo and RViz

• ​The simulation world

• ​A beginner-friendly setup guide

• ​A Linux/Ubuntu cheat sheet

• ​The session slides

​Everything you need to recreate what I demo live on your own machine. Details on how to get it will be shared during the session.

​This is for you if you're an engineering student, a recent grad, or a designer curious about robotics, and you've been putting it off because you think you need hardware first.

​This is not for experienced ROS or robotics developers looking for advanced content. This is a starting point, not a deep dive. Stick around anyway; there's a path to that too.

​Your host

​I'm the founder of VESTO, a motion graphic designer turned robotics engineer, industrial designer, and published researcher who has spent years teaching people the bridge between design and tech. This webinar is that bridge, live.

​Registration takes one click below. No sign-up forms beyond this page, no social posts, nothing to prove. Just save your seat.