RBE 550 – Motion Planning

Instructor:

Zhi Jane Li

Office: 85 Prescott 223C

Email: zli11 [at] wpi.edu

Time & Location: Wed (AK219) & Fri (at FI105), 12:00-1:20pm

Office Hour: Wednesday, 2:00-3:00pm at Instructor’s office

Overview:

This course covers motion planning algorithms and their applications on mobile robots and manipulator robots (arms and hands). Topics include search algorithms, combinatorial and sampled based motion planning methods, manipulation and grasping planning, and path planning with non-holonomic constraints. It also addresses the motion planning problems that involve uncertainty and human-robot interaction. Students will work on individual assignments that involve research paper review and implementation of motion planning algorithms in Matlab and Python, and work team projects on a tele-nursing manipulator mobile robot using python and C/C++.

Prerequisites:

Undergraduate Linear Algebra, kinematics and dynamics in robotics, experience with 3D geometry, and programming experience in Matlab, python and C/C++ in ROS framework.

Reference book:

• Choset, H., Lynch, K. M., Hutchinson, S., Kantor, G., Burgard, W., Kavraki, L. E., & Thrun, S. Principles of robot motion: theory,algorithms, and implementations. MIT press. (2005).
• Steven M. LaValle, Planning algorithms, Cambridge University Press, 2006

Course Syllabus:

• Here

Course schedule:

• Here

Grading:

1. In-Class Participation and Preparation 10%

   • Attendance to lecture 3%

     Students missing three or more lectures will lose all the 3% for attendance

   • Active participation 7%

     Students are required to actively ask and answer questions from the instructor and from each other in class, and answer each other’s questions on the Piazza forum. To avoid miscalculation, student will submit a note with the listed summary of what questions they have asked and answered by the end of the lecture, and submit a one-page summary of the discussion they have participated in on the Piazza forum.

2. Quizzes 20%
3. Assignments 25%
4. Literature Review 10%
5. Course project 35%
   • Project proposal 10%
   • Project proposal Presentation 5%
   • Project report 10%
   • Final presentation 10%

Lecture Slides:

Resources:

• A guideline for project evaluation by Jane Li
• Springer Handbook Of Robotics, 2nd edition, by Bruno Siciliano (available via WPI library)
• Feedback Systems: An Introduction for Scientists and Engineers, 2nd Edition, by KJ Astrom and R. M. Murray
• Linear Algebra Review and Reference by Zico Kolter (updated by Chuong Do)
• Probability Review
• How to convert a continuous system to a discrete system
• How to read a paper by Dmitry Berenson
• How to Write a Conference Paper by Dmitry Berenson
• Research Paper Review Guidelines by Dmitry Berenson
• Presentation Guidelines by Dmitry Berenson
• Presentation Grading Sheet by Dmitry Berenson
• Project Proposal Guidelines by Dmitry Berenson
• Project Progress Report Guidelines by Dmitry Berenson

The instructor reserves the right to modify the course outline and policies mentioned in this syllabus at any time during the term.