This
is the first of a two-quarter course sequence that addresses the
problems of controlling and motivating robots to act intelligently in
dynamic, unpredictable environments. In this first course, topics will
include mobile robot kinematics, motion planning, and control. To
demonstrate these concepts, we will be looking at mobile robots and
assignments will be done in MATLAB and USARSim. USARSim is a high
fidelity simulation environment built on the Unreal Tournament game
engine and allows for realistic simulation and control of virtual
robotic agents. Students are required to purchase the Unreal Tournament
2004 game. Lectures will be complemented by project-based assignments,
discussions and in-class student presentations. The final project will
be a robotics competition in USARSim where teams are tasked to program
their robots to autonomously navigate through obstacle courses of
varying difficulty.
Prerequisites
Linear Algebra and Ordinary Differential Equations.
NOTE: It is EXTREMELY important that you follow the installation
instructions in the USARSim Manual EXACTLY. READ the installation directions
FIRST before you install.
