CSCI1108 (2016)

Introduction to Experimental Robotics 2016

Instructors

Professor:

 Dr. Thomas Trappenberg (tt@cs.dal.ca)  

 Office: Room 4216 in Mona Campbell Building on Coburg RD 

 Office hour: write email

Teaching Assistants:

TBA

Course Description

This is a hands-on introduction to robotics and problem solving in uncertain environments. Students will learn about the challenges that robotic systems face when interacting with the world around it and the challenges that we face in designing and programming the robots. Students will investigate both the hardware and software aspects of robotics and learn how to apply the empirical method to model the robot and its environment. Students will program robots to solve a variety of tasks and report their findings in technical and laboratory reports. Complementary skills such as team work, project management, and technical writing will be stressed throughout the course.

Classes will be structured in a flipped-style lab format. Students are expected to prepare for each lab on their own, through readings provided by the instructor. Students will work in groups in the lab on a tutorial to reinforce the concepts covered in the readings. The instructor and TAs will be on hand to guide the students through the labs and provide assistance when needed. A summary discussion will be held at the end of each lab to reinforce the fundamental ideas learnt during the lab.

In addition to the in-lab tutorials, a small (1 week) and a large (4 weeks) project will be a part of student evaluation. In these projects students are expected to apply the concepts and techniques they have learnt during the tutorial lab sessions. A weekly one hour joint tutorial will be used for quizzes and special topics.

Learning Outcomes

• Describe attributes of effective teams and team work.
• Work in a team on a shared project.
• Formulate a plan to accomplish a team project spanning multiple weeks.
• Write a technical report describing and justifying the design and implementation of a project.
• Program a robotic system to accomplish tasks of moderate complexity.
• Use sensors and actuators in a robotics applications.
• Use states and transitions to model the behaviour of a robotic system.
• Apply various techniques to identify and recover from faults.
• Apply occupancy grid mapping and gradient search to solve simple problems.
• Explain the application of uncertainty and linear regression to robotics.
• Identify some of the challenges in robotics and mechanisms for overcoming these challenges.
• Formulate a hypothesis about the characteristics of a robot's sensor or actuator that can be answered by a controlled experiment.
• Implement a controlled experiment to charcterize a robot's sensor or actuator.
• Analyze the data from a controlled experiment of a robot's sensor or actuator, and formulate a linear model of the sensor or actuator.
• Describe factors that may adversely affect the controlled experiment of a robot's sensor or actuator.

Announcements

Free ESL (English as Second Language) workshops

http://www.dal.ca/faculty/cce/programs/english-as-a-second-language/programs-and-courses/workshops-for-international-students.html

The Career & Leadership Development Centre will be hosting a Summer Job & Career Fair on Wednesday February 5 from 11-3pm in the McInnes Room, Student Union Building.

Course Material

Simulator: Dr Alex Brodsky wrote a simulator and visualizer for the Thymio called thor. The package is available at:http://www.cs.dal.ca/~abrodsky/other/thor.zip. An updated visualiser is at http://www.cs.dal.ca/~abrodsky/other/Hammer.jar, though the new version is also included in the complete package.

The archive contains four files:

 thor : a mac os x executable for the simulator server
 HammerApplet.jar : the visualizer (written in Java)
 *.hmr : a couple environment files that you can loaded into 
 HammerApplet: a maze and a follow the line.

To use the simulator, which can be used without the visualizer, either run thor locally, or use the remote server that I run at exa.cs.dal.ca. The standard port for the Ameba protocol, which links the Ameba development environment to the robot uses port 33333.

To use the simulator, simply run the Ameba Studio. When the connection dialog comes up, simply select the top option (Network/TCP) and enter the host. Either localhost if you are running the server locally, or exa.cs.dal.ca. The default port should already be set. The Aseba studio development IDE will load, but the simulated robot will be treated as if it is in a sensory deprivation tank.

To give the simulated robot an environment to run in, use the HammerApplet visualizer. Simply run the jar file by clicking on it or java -jar HammerApplet.jar from the command line. Create your own environment by adding, dragging, and modifying objects (both solid objects (green) and table marks (black). Feel free to move and manipulate the robot as well. You can also load and save environments (see the .hmr files).

To connect the visualizer to your simulated robot, ensure “Show hidden variables” is checked in the View menu of the Aseba Studio, and note three hidden variables: _id, _passwd[0], _passwd[1]. There are corresponding fields in the visualizer’s top left control panel that need to be set to these. Set the host field in the visualizer to localhost or exa.cs.dal.ca, and the default port 33334 should already be set. Click the Connect button, and the visualizer will connect to the server and send it the environment you created. You can then run programs in Ameba Studio as if you were running them on a real robot.

Grading Scheme

• Small Robotics Project
  • [Project Evaluation] (75\% of project mark)
    

Due at start of the project presentation lab. Each group submits one program to complete a specified task. All members of the group are assigned the same mark for the project.

• • [Project Report] (25\% of project mark)
    

Due the following Monday. Each group submits a single report describing their project and all members of the group are assigned the same mark for the paper.

• Large Robotics Project
  • [Project Evaluation] (50\% of project mark)
    

Due at start of the of the last lab. Each group submits three programs designed to participate in the ``Robot Olympics. All members of the group are assigned the same mark for the project.

• • [Project Report] (50\% of project mark)
    

Due the following Monday. Each group submits a single report describing their project and all members of the group are assigned the same mark for the paper.

• • [10\%] Lab Reports
    

At the end of each tutorial and project work period each group submits a brief lab report detailing what they accomplished, who was present, and answering a number of specified questions (See course notes for lab report forms.) All members of the group are assigned the same mark.

• • [20\%] Quizzes
    

There are 4 quizzes that evaluate knowledge of the course content learned throughout the term.

• • [30\%] Final Exam
    

There will be a two hour final exam that will be scheduled by the Registrar.

Notes

• To pass the course students must pass both the individual component of the evaluation comprising the Quiz and Final exam portion of the marks, and the group component comprising the projects and lab reports.
• A student's project evaluation may be lowered if they do not contribute sufficiently to the project.
• Grades will be assigned using the letter grade scale in Section 17.1 of Dalhousie Academic Calendar.

Student Accommodation

Students may request accommodation as a result of barriers related to disability, religious obligation, or any characteristic under the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act. Students who require academic accommodation for either classroom participation or the writing of tests and exams should make their request to the Advising and Access Services Center (AASC) prior to or at the outset of the regular academic year. Please visit www.dal.ca/access for more information and to obtain the Request for Accommodation Form A.

A note taker may be required as part of a students accommodation. There is an honorarium of $75/course/term (with some exceptions). If you are interested, please contact AASC at 494-2836 for more information. Please note that your classroom may contain specialized accessible furniture and equipment. It is important that these items remain in the classroom, untouched, so that students who require their usage will be able to participate in the class.

Academic Integrity & Plegarism

(Based on the sample statement provided at http://academicintegrity.dal.ca. Written by Dr. Alex Brodsky.)

Please familiarize yourself with the university policy on Intellectual Honesty. Every suspected case will be reported.

At Dalhousie University, we respect the values of academic integrity: honesty, trust, fairness, responsibility and respect. As a student, adherence to the values of academic integrity and related policies is a requirement of being part of the academic community at Dalhousie University.

What does academic integrity mean?

Academic integrity means being honest in the fulfillment of your academic responsibilities thus establishing mutual trust. Fairness is essential to the interactions of the academic community and is achieved through respect for the opinions and ideas of others. Violations of intellectual honesty are offensive to the entire academic community, not just to the individual faculty member and students in whose class an offence occurs. (see Intellectual Honesty section of University Calendar)

How can you achieve academic integrity?

• Make sure you understand Dalhousies policies on academic integrity.

• Give appropriate credit to the sources used in your assignment such as written or oral work, com- puter codes/programs, artistic or architectural works, scientific projects, performances, web page designs, graphical representations, diagrams, videos, and images. Use RefWorks to keep track of your research and edit and format bibliographies in the citation style required by the instructor (http://www.library.dal.ca/How/RefWorks)

• Do not download the work of another from the Internet and submit it as your own.

• Do not submit work that has been completed through collaboration or previously submitted for another assignment without permission from your instructor. • Do not write an examination or test for someone else.

• Do not falsify data or lab results.

These examples should be considered only as a guide and not an exhaustive list.

What will happen if an allegation of an academic offence is made against you?

I am required to report a suspected offence. The full process is outlined in the Discipline flow chart, which can be found at: http://academicintegrity.dal.ca/Files/AcademicDisciplineProcess.pdf and in- cludes the following:

1. Each Faculty has an Academic Integrity Officer (AIO) who receives allegations from instructors.

2. The AIO decides whether to proceed with the allegation and you will be notified of the process.

3. If the case proceeds, you will receive an INC (incomplete) grade until the matter is resolved.

4. If you are found guilty of an academic offence, a penalty will be assigned ranging from a warning to a suspension or expulsion from the University and can include a notation on your transcript, failure of the assignment or failure of the course. All penalties are academic in nature.

Where can you turn for help?

• If you are ever unsure about ANYTHING, contact myself.

• The Academic Integrity website (http://academicintegrity.dal.ca) has links to policies, defini tions, online tutorials, tips on citing and paraphrasing.

• The Writing Center provides assistance with proofreading, writing styles, citations.

• Dalhousie Libraries have workshops, online tutorials, citation guides, Assignment Calculator, Ref- Works, etc.

• The Dalhousie Student Advocacy Service assists students with academic appeals and student discipline procedures.

• The Senate Office provides links to a list of Academic Integrity Officers, discipline flow chart, and Senate Discipline Committee.

Request for special accommodation

Students may request accommodation as a result of barriers related to disability, religious obligation, or any characteristic under the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act. Students who require academic accommodation for either classroom participation or the writing of tests and exams should make their request to the Advising and Access Services Center (AASC) prior to or at the outset of the regular academic year. Please visit www.dal.ca/access for more information and to obtain the Request for Accommodation – Form A.

A note taker may be required as part of a student’s accommodation. There is an honorarium of $75/course/term (with some exceptions). If you are interested, please contact AASC at 494-2836 for more information.

Please note that your classroom may contain specialized accessible furniture and equipment. It is important that these items remain in the classroom, untouched, so that students who require their usage will be able to participate in the class.