|
UCSB “Introduction to Robotics”
ME170A/ECE181A, Fall 2011
Instructor: Francesco Bullo
This is the website for the UCSB course ME 170A / ECE 181A “Introduction
to Robotics”, Fall 2011 (lecture times during period: Th.22sep2011
through Fri.02dec2011). This information is available at the URL
http://motion.me.ucsb.edu/ME170A-Fall2011. A pdf version of this
documentation and of the ABET syllabus for this course is available on the
course website.
Description
Motion planning and kinematics topics with an emphasis on geometric
reasoning, programming and matrix computations. Motion planning:
configuration spaces, sensor-based planning, decomposition and sampling
methods, and advanced planning algorithms. Kinematics: reference frames,
rotations and displacements, kinematic motion models.
Course Learning Outcomes
An ability to apply knowledge of geometry, graph algorithms and linear algebra to robotic systems
An ability to use a numerical computing environment, such as Matlab, to solve engineering problems
An ability to formulate and solve planning problems in robotics
An ability to formulate and solve kinematics problems in robotics
Prerequisites
Eng 3 and either ME 17 or ECE 130C (concurrent enrollment is allowed).
Knowledge of basic concepts in matrix theory (matrix multiplication,
traces, determinants, eigenvalues), differential equations, and familiarity
with Matlab programming.
Lecture Time and Place
Buchanan Hall 1930, TueTh 12:30pm-1:45pm
Course credit
Units: 4, including 3 units of lecture, 1 unit of computer lab per week
Textbook
Weekly lecture notes will be made available in pdf format.
Instructor
Professor Francesco Bullo
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Email: bullo-at-engineering.ucsb.edu
Website: http://motion.me.ucsb.edu
Office hours
Place: Room 2325, Engineering Bldg II
Time: Tues 2:00pm-3:20pm
If you have any questions about the course, please send me email. I will
try to respond as quickly as possible. Additionally, I will share
questions that are particularly good (and their answers) with the rest of
the class by broadcasting my answer to the entire class.
If you plan to come to office hours for questions about homework, please be
prepared to show attempts at solving the problem that you prepared before
coming.
Teaching Assistant
Anahita Mirtabatabaei, anaheata-at-gmail.com
Office hours Time: Wednesday 2pm-3pm and Thursday 2pm-3pm
Office hours Place: CAD Lab = “Auhll Student Center” (Engineering II Pavilion, room 1401)
Please come to office hours with prepared questions. Due to time
constraints, only limited help will be given for Matlab debugging problems.
Grading
Your grade will be assigned roughly according to the following percentages.
Homework and Projects 40%
Midterm 30%
Final 30%
Partial credit might be given whenever the overall performance is low. If
answers are not accompanied by satisfactory explanations (e.g., all
intermediate steps, clearly readable handwriting), no credit will be
given.
Exams and quizzes will be closed book and closed notes. You may prepare an
exam aid (cheat sheet) in your own handwriting, consisting of one,
one-sided sheet (letter size, 8.5x11in) for the midterm and one, two-sided
sheet for the final exam. No calculators/tablets/cellphones are allowed
during the exams (they would be useless anyway).
In exceptional cases, I reserve the right to give extra points for
excellent performance on the final. Please, do not count on it as a way to
avoid doing homework assignments.
Homework will be typically assigned on Thursday and will be due the
following Thursday (7 days later). No late homework will be accepted
without prior approval. Approval is automatic the first two times you
ask: to announce late homework you must send me and Anahita (the TA)
email by midnight the day before. Late homework will automatically lose
20% of the grade and no late homework will be accepted after 5pm on the
following Monday.
Computer Access & Matlab
I expect all of you to be familiar with the College of Engineering
computer laboratories. Some of the homework and all computer laboratory
assignments will require working knowledge of Matlab.
A matlab primer is available in the handout section of the course website.
Collaboration Policy
Collaboration Policy for this course
Academic Dishonesty @ Wikipedia
|