Josh Roy

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Josh Roy is a pioneer in accessible robotics education, best known for developing the PiDrone—a low-cost, autonomous educational drone powered by Raspberry Pi and Python. His flagship 2018 paper, "PiDrone: An Autonomous Educational Drone Using Raspberry Pi and Python" (37 citations), introduced a transformative hands-on curriculum where students build, program, and test their own drones from scratch. This work redefined how introductory robotics courses can be taught, making complex aerial systems affordable and approachable for undergraduates. Roy’s major contribution lies in bridging the gap between theoretical robotics and practical engineering, empowering students to incrementally master autonomy, sensor integration, and control algorithms. His platform has been adopted in multiple university settings, inspiring a new generation of roboticists. Beyond citations, Roy’s impact is measured by the countless students who launched their careers through his open-source designs and project-based pedagogy. A passionate educator and engineer, he continues to champion democratized access to cutting-edge technology, proving that the best way to learn robotics is to fly one.