Syllabus

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session

Labs: 1 session / week, 2 hours / session

Prerequisites

2.004 and 2.003.

This course is a restricted elective (professional subject).

Course Text

Asada, H., and J. J. Slotine. Robot Analysis and Control. New York, NY: Wiley, 1986. ISBN: 9780471830290.

This book will be supplemented by newly written lecture notes, which are a preliminary version of the book's second edition. While the book was originally written for graduate-level courses, the new lecture notes are primarily for undergraduate juniors and seniors, assuming 2.003 and 2.004 level background knowledge about dynamics and control.

Labs and Projects

Lab sessions are geared toward completion of two projects - a de-mining robot and a robot that finds and rescues disaster victims.

Grading Policy

ACTIVITIES PERCENTAGES
Mid-term Exam 30%
End-of-term Exam 30%
Homework 20%
Laboratory and Design Project 20%

Calendar

The calendar below provides information on the course's lecture (L) and lab (Lab) sessions.

SES # TOPICS KEY DATES
L1 Introduction
L2 Actuators and Drives
L3 Control Components Problem set 1 out
Lab 1 De-mining Robot: Embedded Robot Controller, I/O Interface, and PWM Amplifiers
L4 Control Software - 1 Problem set 1 due
Lab 2 De-mining Robot: Controller Software and Sensor Inputs
L5 Control Software - 2 Problem set 2 out
L6 Sensors - 1
Lab 3 De-mining Robot: Implement Basic Sensor-based Controls; Plan Strategy for De-mining Task
L7 Kinematics - 1 Problem set 3 out
L8 Kinematics - 2 Problem set 2 due
Lab 4 De-mining Robot: Refine De-mining Operations
L9 Differential Motion - 1 Problem set 3 due

Problem set 4 out
Lab 5 Rescue Robot: Stage A - Concept Design
L10 Differential Motion - 2
L11 Statics, Energy Method Problem set 4 due

Problem set 5 out
Lab 6 Rescue Robot: Stage B - Prototype Implementation
L12 Hybrid Position-force Control
L13 Compliance, End-effecter Design Problem set 5 due
Lab 7 Rescue Robot: Stage B - Prototype Implementation (cont.)
L14 Non-holonomic Systems Problem set 6 out
L15 Mid-term Exam
Lab 8 Rescue Robot: Stage C - System Integration
L16 Legged Robots, Multi-fingered Hands
L17 Dynamics - 1 Problem set 6 due

Problem set 7 out
L18 Dynamics - 2
L19 Computed Torque Control Problem set 7 due
Lab 9 Rescue Robot: Stage C - System Integration (cont.)
L20 Sensors - 2 Problem set 8 out
L21 Computer Vision
L22 Navigation - 1
L23 Navigation - 2 Problem set 8 due
Lab 10 Rescue Robot: Stage D - Testing
L24 Tele-robotics and Virtual Reality
L25 End-of-term Exam
L26 Check Out of Final Projects
L27 Project Demonstration