MOB: Introduction to Mobile Robotics

Welcome to Introduction to Mobile Robotics

My name is Mohan Sridharan and I am the organizer for the "Introduction to Mobile Robotics". I am a Professor of Robot Systems in the School of Informatics and you can find out more details about my research on my web site.

Introduction

Robots are increasingly being used in different application domains such as healthcare, agriculture, and transportation. However, to enable widespread use of robots, we need to address multiple open problems in knowledge representation, reasoning, control, and learning. This is an introductory course in robotics that seeks to understand these challenges the current state of the art in addressing these challenges. In particular, the course will focus on three main modules at the introductory level:

(i) Probabilistic state estimation (2 weeks)

(ii) Localization and mapping (including sensor and motion models) (3 weeks)

(iii) Sequential decision making and control (4 weeks)

Delivery Methods

The course will be delivered in the form of: (i) in-class lectures (will be recorded); and (ii) in-class tutorials.

This year, we will also have guest lectures by members of the UoE's award-winning EUFS team. These lectures will focus primarily on the Robot Operating System (ROS) and Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) .

Assessment

Written Exam 60%, Coursework 40%. The coursework assessment will be released in October and you will have 2-3 weeks to finish and submit it.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course, you should be able to: 

• recall and explain the essential facts, concepts, principles and ethical concerns of mobile robotics and related concepts, demonstrated through written answers in examination conditions.
• describe and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of some specific sensor and motor hardware; and some specific software for sensory processing and perception, demonstrated through written answers.
• employ useful software and tools (e.g. robot simulator, robotic operating sys-tem) to solve a core problem of mobile robots, and will show a working system via proof-of-concept simulation environments.
• in writing a joint report, identify problem criteria and context, discuss design and development, test, analyse and evaluate the behaviour of typical mobile robots they have developed in simulation.

** NB: To avoid confusion, we want to stress that this is a totally different course compared to an outdated course Introduction to Vision and Robotics (INFR09019) that is no longer taught in our school. 

We will primarily explore a probabilistic treatment of the challenges in robotics, while also briefly discussing other formulations (e.g., based on logics, hybrid methods). The specific methods discussed may vary depending on how we make progress but the syllabus and specific topics are provided in the "Schedule" section below.

Delivery Method:

The course will be delivered through a combination of: (1) live lectures; (2) tutorials; and (3) (optional) online discussion forum.