Is Starting a Robotics Startup the Key to Silicon Valley Riches?

[creepypasta13]

I hope this isn't a dumb question but here goes: I am an incoming graduate student in Physics, but I have recently considered quitting my graduate studies since I would rather work on more interesting practical problems. So I am considering quitting the program to start a startup, possibly related to computer software or robotics. I would like to get rich like many others have in Silicon Valley. I am also considering staying in my phD program and just doing research in an area of Physics that uses lots of programming, such as computational materials science or astrophysics, as opposed to string theory.

I have read a few of Paul Graham's essays, and I think starting a startup would suit me well because I am willing to take the risks involved in it and work the long hours to have a chance at winning the LOTTERY, as opposed to taking a low-stress, comfortable good-paying job working in a cubicle. The main problems at the moment are that I have poor programming skills (and have taken no classes at all relating to robotics)and that I have no friends that are interested in programming, robotics, or in a startup. But I have been considering joining a club on campus with other grad students that are interested in forming a startup

I have always been fascinated with robots (since I used to love anime like Gundam) and I have recently been more interested in robotics startups, but I can't find much information as to how previous startups formed. I just know that the founders of Irobots met as EE grad students at MIT. Does anyone recommend any books that describe how previous robotics startups formed and became rich?

 

[jack001]

to learn robotics, you need to learn the basics that is NC/CNC. I would recommend you to go through a book named CIM(computer integrated manufacturing) by zimmer and groover.

 

[Curl]

You got this all figured out wrong on many levels:

1) You're not going to succeed in robotics if you don't know anything about it. There are people who have been into that stuff since they were kids - they have a dominant advantage over you. In a nutshell: you'll be crushed by the competition.

2) If you're in Physics thinking its boring and you're more appealed by the "practical problems", you're in physics for the wrong reasons. You almost wasted your time in undergrad.

3) If you think you're going to repeat what happened in silicon valley, "getting rich" like they did in the old days, then I got news for you...

You should step back and think this over from the beginning. I'm not saying all this to kick your idea in the face, I'm giving legitimate advice (and a good reality check).

 

[Allenman]

Research arduino. It's an open sourced microprocessor which is very good for starting out in robotics, and it can do just about anything with the right coding. Everyone who uses arduino submits their code to the open sourced community. You won't even really have to write code as long as you can find someone else's project, but you should read it because everyone puts notes in their code to explain what each bit of coding is for.

I was in my university's robotics club for some time and we used arduino's for EVERYTHING.