(2) Then try to build something based on turtlebot or similar platform. Start with just something you can make roam around your house and do stuff.
(3) If you can afford to budget something like $5k+ to it overall, it will be a lot easier. I have seen people try to do everything on a shoestring and it makes things a lot harder. The reason is hardware is hard, and you can move a lot faster if you can just throw things at it. E.g. instead of getting 1 Rasberry Pi or Jetson, get 2-3. Get extra cameras, get 2 extra bases.
A buddy and I got a fully working robot roaming around the house doing basic stuff (chasing dogs, etc) in about 3 months, but we both would just show up with new parts. Having a 3d printer is helpful to make things looking good, but not necessary.
Well it sounds like you’re a bit beyond being a just hobbyist if you’re pursuing formal education. Sorry if this is just me being ignorant , but does your masters programs have any career resources you could look into?
We first tried with a raspberry pi based autopilot, it crashed and we rebuilt it again and again until we realized the GPS was broken.
Example code from the project for inspiration: https://github.com/bachelor-2020