Instructions for robotics class projects
The project in this course represents a chance for you to develop and demonstrate your ability to do independent work. You are encouraged to form groups of 2-4 students. You can do an individual project, but I recommend that you try to find a match in a group. In a group project each student has to have individually identifiable content, ie a particular technical part and the corresponding writeup (identified with name) in the proposal and report.
If you are unsure what would make a good project feel free to email me and the TA with your thoughts. You could briefly outline 1, 2 or 3 project in a few sentences each, and ideally provide links to relevant paper(s) or web pages. We will respond with feedback on each of the ideas asap.
Proposal
Proposal For the proposal you are expected to have researched the available sources (books, papers, the web), and explored available software systems. Summarize your findings in the literature in 1-2 pages, appropriately citing your sources. The project should have some connection to topics in class, but you can also draw on other knowledge (e.g. from other classes). Write a clear description of your proposed project including motivations (why is it useful), a succinct description of the theory you plan to draw on (1 pages) and a workplan and schedule for your proposed work. An important tool for success is a stepwise plan with iterative testing and refinement. Instead of one big implementation followed by experiments, break it down into smaller simpler steps that can be tested independently.
Final Poject Report
In addition to above, describe in detail the work you did, describe the results (experimental and/or theoretical), and discuss their relevance and applicability. The format and quality of the report should be similar to a short (4-8 pages) research paper. Study the style and conventions in the papers you read for the proposal. If you are involved in a group project note that there must be individually identifiable content. That is you write individual parts/sections that combine into one report. In the first case the report should be focussing on what that individual did in the project (but briefly referring to other member parts foach person would write a technical chapter on their own (on their part. About 3-5 pages -- this is the "beef" of your contribution), and all the group members would collaborate on writing an introduction experiments and conclusions sections.
If you are curious about what previous students have done, here are the final project presentations and demo videos from previous robotics class:
2015:
Soccer Robot Project
Small Scale Robot Arm Manuipulation for Large Scale Robot with Feedback
EV3YE
Visual Servoing with mobile robots.
2014