EEE 447/547   Introduction to Robotics

Spring 2025-2026

office hours: by appointment (please send an e-mail first)

1. robot arms (manipulators)
   • robot arm kinematics
     -forward manipulator kinematics
     (joints, actuators, degrees of freedom, rigid body transformations, translation, rotation, scaling transformations, composite transformations, center of rotation, Euler angles, homogeneous coordinates and transformations, composite homogeneous transformation matrix; links, joints and their parameters, Denavit-Hartenberg representation, arm matrix)
     -inverse manipulator kinematics
     (methods of solution: numerical, closed-form; workspace; 6-DOF manipulator solution)
     -velocity kinematics and the Jacobian
     (derivation of the Jacobian, linear and angular velocity Jacobians, singularities)
   • robot arm dynamics
     forward and inverse dynamics
     equations of motion (dynamics equations)
     equivalent formulations:
     Lagrange-Euler formulation
     Newton-Euler formulation
     Generalized d'Alambert formulation
     
   • planning of manipulator trajectories
     (artificial potential fields, probabilistic road maps, polynomial trajectories)
2. mobile robots
   • mapping, simultaneous localization and mapping
   • trajectory planning
   • navigation
   • obstacle avoidance
3. sensing systems
   • range sensing
     time-of-flight (ultrasonic, laser-based)
     triangulation (stereo disparity, active triangulation, active stereoscopic)
     structured light
     known target size
     optical flow
   • proximity sensing
     (magnetic, capacitive, ultrasonic, optical, microwave)
   sensor calibration
   • dead reckoning
     odometry
     inertial navigation systems (INS)
   • heading sensors
     gyroscopes
     active beacons
     sensors for map-based positioning

Grading:
midterm exam (40%), final exam (40%), 2 announced quizzes (10% each)

There will be a make-up exam at the end of the semester that will cover all the topics. This may be an oral exam. You may take the make-up exam if you have a medical report or special permission on the day of the Midterm or the Final Exam. We will only accept medical reports or special permissions that are approved by the Dean's Office (Please do NOT bring us a copy of your medical report or special permission as they are sent to us through the Dean's Office.).

There will be some suggested problems from the textbook or other sources will not be collected and graded.
There will be a number of discussion/problem-solving sessions conducted by the teaching assistant.

Minimum Requirements to Qualify for the Final Exam:

• To attend the midterm exam and get a grade >=32

Reference Books:
Introduction to Robotics, Analysis, Systems, Applications, S. B. Niku, Prentice Hall, 2001.
ROBOTICS: Control, Sensing, Vision, and Intelligence, K. S. Fu, R. C. Gonzalez, C. S. G. Lee, McGraw-Hill, 1987. (Chapters 1-4 and 6).
Springer Handbook of Robotics, B. Siciliano and O. Khatib (Eds.), 2008.
B. Siciliano, L. Sciavicco, L. Villani, G. Oriolo, Robotics---Modelling, Planning and Control, Springer, London, UK, 2009. Also in Italian as Robotica---Modellistica, Pianificazione e Controllo, McGraw-Hill Libri Italia, Milano, I, 2008.
L. Sciavicco, B. Siciliano, Modelling and Control of Robot Manipulators, 2nd ed., Springer-Verlag Advanced Textbooks in Control and Signal Processing Series, London, UK, 2000; 1st Edition, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY, 1996.
Navigating Mobile Robots: Systems and Techniques, J. Borenstein, H. R.Everett, L. Feng, AK Peters, 1996.
Sensors for Mobile Robots, H. R. Everett, AK Peters, 1995
Introduction to Robotics: Mechanics and Control, J. J. Craig, Addison-Wesley, 1989.
Introductory Robotics, J. M. Selig, Prentice Hall, 1992.
Fundamentals of Robotics: Analysis and Control, R. J. Schilling, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Robot Manipulators, R. Paul, MIT Press, 1981.
Robot Motion, M. Brady et al., MIT Press, 1983.
Robot Tactile Sensing, R. A. Russell, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Robot Vision, B. K. P. Horn, The MIT Press, 1987.

Reference Journals and Magazines:
IEEE Transactions on Robotics (previously IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation)
IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics
IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence
IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control
International Journal of Robotics Research
International Journal of Robotics & Automation (IAESTED)
Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems (Kluwer Academic)
Journal of Robotic Systems(Wiley)
Autonomous Robots
The Industrial Robot
Robotics World
Robotics Today
The Robotics Review (MIT Press)
IEEE Spectrum