Basic concepts and tools for the analysis, design, and control of robotic mechanisms. Topics covered include foundations of kinematics, kinematics of robotic mechanisms, review of basic systems theory, control of dynamic systems. Advanced topics will vary from year-to-year, including motion planning and collision avoidance, adaptive control, and hybrid control.
Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.
This course is designed to be a challenging course for graduate students in the Robotics program. A well-prepared student would have a strong background in mathematics and engineering, including multivariate calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, controls or linear systems, and classical mechanics. Some of the incoming graduate students will not be "well-prepared" as defined above. They will be expected to put in substantial additional time and effort to address these gaps. We will suggest supplementary readings and problems for those who need them.
In the simulation parts of the course, students will be expected to edit, compile, and run C programs, or be able to write equivalent programs in some other language. Students will also be expected to be able to use Matlab and Mathematica.
Textbook: Robotics: Modelling, Planning and Control (Advanced Textbooks in Control and Signal Processing) by Bruno Siciliano, Lorenzo Sciavicco, Luigi Villani, and Giuseppe Oriolo, Springer 2008.
The textbook is a resource rather than something we directly follow. There are many other good textbooks available.