Course Overview

This is an introduction to robots by designing them. This semester, the whole course will be focused on reviving and redeveloping the “MCP Robot,” a student-built mobile robotic vehicle. We will be entering the MCP into the Intelligent Vehicles Ground Competition, which happens in Michigan in June 2007.

Topics will be selected via discussion and as they emerge from project work. They are likely to include:

power and energy
drivers
hardware architectures
software architectures
assembly language / low-level coding of subsystems
robot/machine vision
project management

Please feel free to suggest topics as they relate to the main task.

Key Dates

Saturday, March 24, 2007 -- Botfest Exhibition. We will be demonstrating the MCP at Botfest, held across the street at the Costello Gymnasium
June 8 – 11, 2007 -- IGVC event.

Grading

Students will be expected to:

independently research topics
make in-class presentations
participate in class discussions
work in teams
document their work on the project Wiki
prepare written reports in a more formal manner
creatively apply theory to practice
creatively abstract principles from hands-on experience

Deliverables

There will be various deliverables presented over the course of the semester. The first assignment is ready now:

Lab1