ARO: Advanced Robotics
Welcome to Advanced Robotics
This course will be a Masters degree level (also open to UG students) introduction to core areas in robotics: kinematics and dynamics of robots; robot control, robot control theories; motion planning; optimisation and a light touch of robot learning.
Lectures on these topics will be complemented by a practical that exercises knowledge of these techniques on a robot in the physics simulation, motivated by tasks such as manipulation. Particularly, in order to bridge the gap between lectures and the virtual lab sessions, the course also provides tutorials dedicated to the practice of programming and the implementation of algorithms -- a step-to-step guidance from the equations to code.
The aim of the course is to present a unified view of the field, culminating in a practical involving the development of an integrated robotic system that embodies the key elements of the major algorithmic techniques. NOTE: This is a 20 pt course, as opposed to the standard 10 pt courses since this covers two topics: robotics & control and a practical element.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this course, you should be able to:
- analyse the fundamental principles and the essential concepts in canonical robotics topics, evaluate the suitability and applicability of the algorithms given a robotics problem. Identify, propose and develop robotic solutions to solve practical robotic tasks
- program and implement theoretical algorithms using common programming languages, and develop proficiency in debugging the code
- use common robotics-related software, and use simulation tools to successfully set up robotic tasks and environments
- write up and deliver a technical and scientific report, and demonstrate analytical and critical thinking to explain the positive and negative results of the tasks, and evaluate the performance by using quantifiable metrics
- increase awareness of health and safety issues while working with real robotic systems, acquire knowledge of basic safety procedures of operating robotic and / or electronic systems, learn practical skills in using physical emergency devices and implementing software safety measures
Course Outline
This is a fast-paced course that starts with the fundamentals and then proceeds to go in-depth with core elements in robotics. The focused topics cover: kinematics, dynamics and control; digital control systems; optimisation, robot motion planning; and robot learning.
The aim of the course is to present essentials in robotics, articulated robots in particular, culminating in a robotic lab practical. The lab involves the development of an integrated robotic system which embodies the major algorithmic techniques used in real-world robotic applications. To bridge the lectures on algorithms and lab sessions, the course also provides tutorials dedicated to the practice of programming and the implementation of algorithms - from the equations to code.
Lectures on these topics will be complemented by labs that exercise knowledge of a cross section of these techniques, based on realistic tasks driven by real-world applications, such as dual-arm robot manipulation. The practical lab is done in pairs and carried out mostly in simulation, with a demonstration on the real robot at the end of the course.
If things go well another hardware lab will be run towards the end of the semester where the students will get to play with actual robot parts.
Schedules for lectures, tutorials and labs
Lectures
Lecture sessions, Monday 13:10 - 15:00, week 1 - week 10.
Additional lectures (guest lectures etc) on some Tuesdays 10:00 - 11:00. Announced during the semester in the weekly announcement.
For tutorials and labs, you need to work in pair and distribute yourselves evenly around the proposed slots.
Tutorials
Live sessions:
Mondays: 15:10 - 16:00 or 16:10 - 17:00 week 2 - week 7.
Labs (coursework 2 and 3)
Tuesdays: 13:10 - 14:00 or 14:10 - 15:00 from week 3 to week 8
Hardware Labs
Thursdays: 14:10 - 15:00 or 15:10 - 16:00 from week 4 to week 7.