Looking for Guidance to Start Contributing to JdeRobot (Python, C++, ML, java)

[Anmolpandey23]

Hi everyone!
I’m Anmol, and I’m excited to start contributing to JdeRobot. I’ve been exploring the Robotics Academy, GitHub repositories, and past issues, and I’m very interested in contributing long-term.Before I dive in, I would love some guidance from mentors.

My Skills

• Python ,ML models, automation
• C++
• Machine Learning
• Web Dev: React/Next.js
• Tools: Git/GitHub, Jupyter

What I Need Help With

1. Which project or repository should I start with?

2. Are there recommended first issues for new contributors?
   If there is a specific repo that needs contributors right now, please let me know.

3. Any setup mistakes I should avoid?
   Since JdeRobot projects involve ROS, Gazebo, Python/C++, I want to ensure I start with the right environment.

I’m motivated to learn, contribute regularly, and become part of the community.
Any guidance from mentors would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

[jmplaza]

Nice to meet you @Anmolpandey23 ,

the best way to start contributing is using our software projects. I suggest you use our Unibotics web platform for robot programming and solve there one or two RoboticsAcademy exercises. Share here the demo videos of your working solutions and your questions. After that, playing with RoboticsAcademy repo is the natural next step and then become a RoboticsAcademy developer.

The landing process takes time, go ahead :-) you'll receive more feedback and guidance after the first steps.

Cheers!

[Anmolpandey23]

Hi @jmplaza

,

I wanted to update you regarding the issues I faced while attempting to run the Unibotics/JdeRobot vacuum cleaner simulation on my MacBook Air (Apple Silicon).

Despite following the official setup steps (Docker Desktop, backend container, Chrome browser), the simulation GUI was unable to start properly and consistently displayed errors like “127.0.0.1 refused to connect,” “No session for pid…,” and noVNC permissions policy errors. After troubleshooting, I discovered that these problems stem from a compatibility issue: the simulation backend and graphical components are built for Intel/x86-64 architecture but rely on complex desktop emulation inside Docker. On an M1/M2 Mac, even with Rosetta and x86 emulation enabled, Docker cannot reliably provide GUI support or connect internal services for these types of applications.

As a result, the simulation couldn’t run or update robot progress/score, even after trying multiple backend and code options.

For complete functionality, the simulation needs to be run on a native Intel/x86-64 system (physical PC, Intel Mac, or a suitable Linux/Windows/cloud VM) where Docker graphics and network communication are fully supported.

Please let me know if you want me to proceed with a remote VM solution, test on a different physical machine, or explore alternative approaches for assignment completion.

Best,
Anmol

[jmplaza]

Hi @Anmolpandey23 ,
uhm, you are right : the RoboticsBackend has been built for Intel/x86-64 architectures. That is the reference arch for Unibotics. I see two possible paths:

1. test Unibotics on a different machine.
2. focus on RoboticsAcademy, which uses the RADI (=RoboticsAcademyDockerImage) docker container and generate a RADI-mac image from source, targeting M1/M2 architecture. Instructions here: https://github.com/JdeRobot/RoboticsAcademy/blob/humble-devel/docs/generate_a_radi.md

I suggest to explore both paths.

[Anmolpandey23]

Hi @jmplaza ,

I wanted to update you on the issue with running the RoboticsAcademy simulation on my MacBook Air (Apple Silicon).

I followed your suggestion and tried the RADI workflow: I installed Docker, cloned the RoboticsAcademy repo, and used the build.sh script with the recommended parameters to build and run the RADI Docker image. The container builds and starts, but I still hit the same problems as before: the noVNC/GUI side fails with errors like “127.0.0.1 refused to connect”, “No session for pid …”, and “noVNC encountered an error: Disallowed by permissions policy”. The robot window and score do not update correctly.

From the docs it looks like the RADI/RoboticsAcademy images are built for linux/amd64 and rely on a full desktop + browser inside Docker, which seems to be unstable on my Apple Silicon machine even with Rosetta/emulation enabled. Because of this, the simulation doesn’t run reliably here despite following the steps you shared.

i don't have windows with me, I am only having mac at my place . Can you suggest me something else that i can do on my current machine.

Best,
Anmol

[Nitish4144]

Hello, as an aspiring gsoc 2026 applicant and a new commer to the opensourceing community, i would like to know if 'JdeRobot' is going to applying for GSoc 2026

[jmplaza]

Hi @Nitish4144 ,

yes, we JdeRobot org will apply for GSoC-2026.

Anyway GSoC is not a pay-per-code program, its mission is to introduce people to open source organizations such as JdeRobot. And our organization's particular goal is to attract long term contributors really interested on our AI and Robotics open source software projects.

[Nitish4144]

Hello,

Thank you for the response. I mainly wanted to understand what this journey could look like for me. I am currently exploring topics in AI and Robotics and working on a robotics project focused on automation and optimal-path planning. I am very interested in beginning my open-source contributions with JdeRobot and hope to grow into a long-term contributor to the organization.

I have reviewed the contributor roadmap and noticed that Robotics Academy targets ROS2 Foxy. Since I am currently using ROS2 Humble(on my pc as dual boot with windows ) for my project, I wanted to confirm whether it is acceptable to continue using Humble or if you recommend using Docker with ROS2 Foxy(and ROS1 Neotic) for development and compatibility.

Based on my skills (Python, C++, C, Java, computer vision, ROS2, RViz and frontend web development), I am particularly interested in contributing in the areas related to computer-vision or LLMs related fields

If the approach you previously suggested to user “Anmolpandey23” is still recommended(i am using AMD processor), I would greatly appreciate any resources or guidance to get started—especially documentation related to the Unibotics web platform and the overall development workflow.

I am very excited to contribute and would be grateful for any starter tasks or onboarding instructions.

Respectfully,
Nitish,
Thank you!.

[jmplaza]

Hi @Nitish4144 ,

in RoboticsAcademy we are working with ROS2 Humble (not Foxy anymore). Yes, I suggest the same path for you, just use Unibotics, then RoboticsAcademy as user and after that RoboticsAcademy as developer. In particular BasicComputerVision exercise at Unibotics and (visual) FollowLine exercise could be a good start. In RoboticsAcademy the upcoming Digital Image Processing one will be also good for you.