Instructor
Dr. Cynthia Matuszekcmat@umbc.edu
ITE 331
Office hours: Monday 9:00-10:00am, Tuesday 10:00-11:00am, or by appointment.
TA: Nisha Pillai
ITE 343
Office hours: Wednesdays 4-7pm, or by appointment.
Note: This is not a class with a fixed lab and mandatory lab hours. Groups whose projects need it will be given access to Dr. M's research lab in ITE.
Course Description
The field of robotics is currently enjoying tremendous scientific, practical, and popular success. Robots vacuum our floors (iRobot's Roomba), entertain us (Sony's Aibo and Honda's Asimo), assist human doctors in performing delicate surgery, compete for the RoboCup soccer trophy, assist the elderly (a function that will become crucial as the baby boomers age), defuse bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan, map abandoned coal mines, assist in search and rescue missions (e.g., after hurricane Katrina), locate and remove land mines, and gather invaluable scientific data from the surface of Mars.This course will cover fundamental concepts, methodologies, and algorithms related to autonomous robotics, touching on mechanical, motor, sensory, perceptual, and cognitive aspects of the problem of building robots decide what to do on their own. Specific topics covered include manipulation, wheeled location, kinematic models and constraints, mobile robot maneuverability, motion control, sensors and sensing, perception, localization, belief representations, map representations, probabilistic map-based localization, autonomous map building, planning, reacting, and navigation architectures.
Coursework and Grading
This class will be largely paperless, and turn-in mechanism will be specified in each assignment
(usually Blackboard, Google forms, or email). Work is expected to be turned in on time. In general,
assignments are due at 11:59 pm on the due date, typically the night before the next class.
Do not assume a grace period, as we use automatic turn-in.
Not having internet access at the time it is due is not an excuse. If the turn-in service itself is down or
you have problems using it,
you should email me the assignment as a placeholder. Depending on the problem, I reserve the right to
assign a late penalty in these cases, particularly if this issue comes up repeatedly for a
particular student.
| Class participation (10%): | This class will be more like a seminar than a traditional lecture-based class. Students learn better when they actively participate in discussions. Therefore, you must come to class regularly and ask questions, answer other students' questions, make comments or observations relevant to the topic of discussion, etc. Throughout the semester I will make notes on the level of participation of each student. |
| Team participation (5%): | Since your team projects will be a significant part of your grade, it's important that teamwork be divided equally and fairly, and it's important to participate actively in discussions and work. You will occasionally be asked to describe what the current division of labor in the team is. |
| Projects (50%): | This is a projects class; a significant part of your grade will come from a project that you decide on and work on with a team. The project will be broken up into milestones, team evaluation, and final presentation, and will have a separate grading rubric. |
| Homework (20%): | There will be three large assignments (12%) and 8-10 smaller homeworks (8%). |
| Quizzes (5%): | In-class quizzes will be announced as needed, mostly for me to gauge how well you're following the material and adjust accordingly. Because there will be no midterm, the quizzes will also allow you to calibrate the type and difficulty of questions I will ask. |
| Final Exam (10%): | This will be a written exam at the published time. If you have exam conflicts or need special arrangements, please contact me as early as possible. |
Grading Penalties
Written assignments must be proofread with reasonable attention to spelling, clarity, and grammar. Programming assignments won't receive partial credit based on code that cannot be compiled or run. Assignments turned in electronically must be in the format specified; there will be a 10% penalty for turning in the wrong filetype (e.g., a Word document when PDF is specified). If the file is unreadable, corrupted, or otherwise ungradeable, the assignment will be returned without a grade, and may be resubmitted with a one-day late penalty applied. Only one such resubmission will be permitted per student per semester.Late work will be assessed a penalty as follows:
- 0-24 hours late: 20% penalty
- 24-48 hours late: 40% penalty
- 48-72 hours late: 60% penalty
- 72-96 hours late: 80% penalty
- More than 96 hours late: No credit
Extensions and Problems
Talk to me. If you are having trouble with time management, feel like I haven't provided enough time for an assignment, or have massive conflicts with other classes, we can talk about whether something should change – but I can't solve problems I don't know about. The sooner you bring me a problem, the more likely it is that I can help.Extensions for well-justified reasons may be made by request, in advance of the deadline; this helps you practice good time management. Typically such extensions are only granted once per student per semester, and only up to one week. Extensions are not automatic. Last-minute requests, or requests for extensions at or after the deadline, will be denied except in the most extenuating circumstances. Written documentation of extenuating circumstances (serious illness, death in the family) will be required.
Academic Integrity
Make sure you have read and understood the Class Academic Integrity Policy. I take academic integrity very seriously, and you are responsible for knowing what that means.Classroom Policies
No devices. Because you will be doing a significant amount of group work in class, you will likely want to bring a laptop with you. However, except when specified, laptops, computers, and phones must remain closed, down, or put away. For more about my reasoning, read this article.No eating. For similar reasons, I expect you to avoid eating in class.
Additional Course Information
Prerequisites
- CMSC 471/671, or permission of the course instructor. Students from EE, ME, and Comp. E are welcome.
Textbooks
- Introduction to Autonomous Mobile Robots, Second Edition, by Roland Siegwart, Illah R. Nourbakhsh, and Davide Scaramuzza, The MIT Press, 2011. Required. This text will serve as the primary source for lectures and material for homework assignments and exams.
- Mobile Robots: Inspiration to Implementation, second edition, by Joseph L. Jones, Anita M. Flynn, and Bruce A. Seiger, A. K. Peters, 1999. Recommended. This book provides lots of information useful to anyone who wants to build their own robot from scratch.
- A variety of technical papers will be used to supplement the textbooks. Links to these papers will be found in the course schedule.
Email Support
If you need help outside of office hours, you are welcome to send email to the instructor and/or the TA. However, you will receive a response in 24 hours or longer. If the question is general, you must post to the class discussion forum, and your email must include a link to that post.Communication
I am a strong believer in two-way communication. I expect all students to participate in classroom discussions, both by asking questions and by expressing opinions. In return, I will make myself available to answer questions, listen to concerns, and talk to any student about topics related to the class (or not). I welcome your feedback throughout the semester about how the course is going. I'm usually in my office and have an open-door policy; feel free to stop by outside of office hours.