CS491/691 (X) TOPICS: Introduction to Robotics

Spring 2004
New: Final Contest results
Videos coming soon


General Information Course Description Laboratory Syllabus Assignments/Grading Announcements



Instructor: Monica Nicolescu

E-mail: monica@cs.unr.edu
Office: SEM 239
Phone: (775) 784-1687
Office hours: TBA

Teaching/laboratory assistant: TBA

E-mail:
Office:
Phone: TBA
Office hours: TBA

Time and Place

Tuesday: 1:00pm-2:15pm, SFB 103
Thursday: 1:00pm-2:15pm, SEM 342A

Required Textbooks

The Robotics Primer, 2001.
Author: Maja Mataric' (available in draft form at the beginning of the semester)
Robotic Explorations: An Introduction to Engineering Through Design, 2001.
Author: Fred G. Martin



Course description

This is a hands-on course on introduction to robotics, relying on the use of LEGO-based robots. The course will present the basic concepts in robotics, such as sensors, actuators, and will describe the most important approaches to robot control. Students will have the opportunity to apply the concepts covered during the lectures in the laboratory sessions, by constructing their own robots and developing controllers for various robotic tasks. The class will have a lecture and a laboratory component. Each week, the lectures will be held on Tuesdays, and the laboratory sessions will be held on Thursdays. More details regarding the lectures and the laboratory sessions will be posted on the web page soon.

Prerequisites

The class requires good programming skills and that you should be familiar with the C programming environment. For the undergraduate section, a letter grade of B+ and better in CS 201 is recommended.
 



Laboratory

The laboratory sessions will be focused on building and programming LEGO based robots. The robots will be equipped with a Handy Board microcontroller that can be programmed using Interactive C. A reference on the Handy Board and Interactive C can be found here.
Date Lab Session Readings Assignments

Jan 22

Building our first robot Section 2.2.1 (Martin) ---

Jan 29

Our first Interactive C program HandyBoard Technical Reference Prepare for the Tunnel Contest

Feb 5

The Tunnel Contest HandyBoard Technical Reference Prepare for the Corner Escape Contest

Feb 12

The Corner Escape Contest HandyBoard Technical Reference, Fred Martin textbook Lab report & code submission

Feb 19

Braitenberg Vehicles HandyBoard Technical Reference, Fred Martin textbook Lab report, code submission, quiz

Feb 26

Line Following HandyBoard Technical Reference, Fred Martin textbook ---

March 4

Line Following Contest HandyBoard Technical Reference, Fred Martin textbook Lab report, code submission, quiz

March 11

Harvesting Contest-Preparation HandyBoard Technical Reference, Fred Martin textbook ---

March 25

Harvesting Contest HandyBoard Technical Reference, Fred Martin textbook ---

March 30

Final contest preparation
Note the day change (Tuesday)!!
HandyBoard Technical Reference, Fred Martin textbook ---

April 8

Final contest preparation HandyBoard Technical Reference, Fred Martin textbook ---

April 15

Final contest preparation HandyBoard Technical Reference, Fred Martin textbook ---

April 22

Final contest preparation HandyBoard Technical Reference, Fred Martin textbook ---

May 4

FINAL CONTEST: noon-2:15pm --- ---

May 6

Hand back the robot kits: noon-2:00pm --- Final project report due
Teams
Team # Students

Team 1

Jigna Bhatt, Yan Ha, Christopher Miles

Team 2

Michael Mangoba, Robert Sandstrom, Amanda Walter

Team 3

Woody Boles, James Call, Kevin Moffat

Team 4

Brent Devaney, Adam Olenderski, Sebastian Smith

Team 5

Jitnapa Mahaviriyakul, Andrew Klempau, Sohei Okamoto

Team 6

Stanley Sexton, Anil Shankar, Kai Xu

Team 7

Christopher McClendon, Oscar Sessions, Rebecca Zimmerman

Team 8

Kai She, Eric Fritzinger, Jeffrey Wallace

Final Competition Results:

  1. Team 6: Stanley Sexton, Anil Shankar, Kai Xu
  2. Team 8: Kai She, Eric Fritzinger, Jeffrey Wallace
  3. Team 4: Brent Devaney, Adam Olenderski, Sebastian Smith
  4. Team 5: Jitnapa Mahaviriyakul, Andrew Klempau, Sohei Okamoto
  5. Team 1: Jigna Bhatt, Yan Ha, Christopher Miles
  6. Team 7: Christopher McClendon, Oscar Sessions, Rebecca Zimmerman
  7. Team 3: Woody Boles, James Call, Kevin Moffat
  8. Team 2: Michael Mangoba, Robert Sandstrom, Amanda Walter

Competition Statistics:

  • Highest points score: Team 4 (30 points), Team 8 (18 points), Team 6 (11 points)
  • Most games won: Team 4 (6 games - winning streak), Team 6 (5 games), Team 8 (4 games)


Syllabus

Following are the topics that will be discussed, listed in the approximate order in which they will be covered.
  • Introduction, brief history of robotics, robot components
  • Effectors and actuators
  • Locomotion
  • Manipulation
  • Sensors (basic and complex)
  • Feedback control
  • Control Architectures: reactive, hybrid, behavior-based
  • Behavior coordination
  • Emergent behavior and learning

Class schedule

The topics presented and the lecture notes for each class will gradually be posted below as we cover them in the class. The assignments and their due dates will also be posted in this table. Please check this web page regularly for updates.

Date Topic Readings Assignments

Jan 20

Introduction Chapters 1, 3 (Mataric'),
Sections 1.1, 1.2.3 (Martin)
---

Jan 27

A brief history of robotics Chapters 2, 4 (Mataric'), Section 4.1 (Martin) ---

Feb 3

Actuators & Effectors Chapters 5, 6 (Mataric'), Section 4.4 (Martin) ---

Feb 10

Simple Sensors Chapters 7, 8 (Mataric'), Chapter 3, Section 6.1 (Martin) ---

Feb 17

Complex Sensors Chapter 9 (Mataric'), Chapter 6 (Martin) HW1 out

Feb 24

Feedback control Chapter 10 (Mataric'), Chapter 5 (Martin) ---

March 2

Control Architectures, Reactive Control Chapters 11, 12, 14 (Mataric') ---

March 9

MID-TERM --- ---

March 23

Reactive Control, The Subsumption Architecture Chapter 14 (Mataric') ---

April 1

Behavior-Based Control
Please note the day change (Thursday)!!
Chapter 16 (Mataric') ---

April 6

Behavior-Based Control, Behavior Coordination, Emergent Behavior Chapters 17, 18 (Mataric') HW2 out

April 13

Emergent Behavior, Deliberative Control, Hybrid Control Chapters 13, 15 (Mataric') ---

April 20

Robot Learning Lecture notes ---

April 27

Robot Learning, Future of Robotics Lecture notes ---

April 29

FINAL TEST (during class time) --- ---


Assignments and grading

Evaluation for this class will be based on your performance during the laboratory sessions, two mid-term exams and a final project. Regular participation in the laboratory sessions is required. If you are unable to attend a lab session you must inform me in advance.

Grading policy (tentative, subject to change):
Homeworks: 20%
Mid-term (1): 20%
Mit-term (2): 20%
Laboratory sessions: 20%
Final project: 20%

Late policy: No late submissions will be accepted.

Exam policy: Permission to take exams on other dates than scheduled will not be given, except for extreme medical emergencies.

Academic integrity: Students are encouraged to study together, however each student must individually prepare his/her solutions. Cheating or plagiarism are not permitted and will be sanctioned according with the UNR policy on Academic Standards. You should carefully read the section on Academic Dishonesty found in the UNR Student Handbook (copies of this section are on-line). Your continued enrollment in this course implies that you have read it, and that you subscribe to the principles stated therein.



Announcements

Announcements regarding the assignments or other updates will be posted on the class web page and also sent by e-mail.
  • During the week of March 29-April 2 we will switch the lectures and the lab: you will start preparing for the final contest on Tuesday March, 30 and the lecture will be held on Thursday, April 1 in our classroom.



Created by: Monica NICOLESCU (e-mail:monica@cs.unr.edu)
Last update: 03/25/2004