Robotics is the discipline of perceiving and manipulating the physical world through computer-controlled mechanical devices. Robots today have evolved from the hefty and caged industrialnarms of the past to increasingly complex machines capable of performing challenging tasks in ourndaily environment. Be it the planetary rovers on Mars, drones making deliveries, or self-drivingnvehicles on our streets, it is necessary that robots are mobile if we want to achieve our objectivenof robots operating in our daily environment. The objective of this course is to help the studentsnrealize the fundamental problems encountered while developing mobile robots that actnautonomously in complex environments, and share the corresponding solutions/algorithms.nTopics covered in the course include mobile robot locomotion and kinematics, probabilisticnfoundations of environment perception, probabilistic map-based localization and mapping, andnmotion planning. Since the discipline of robotics is inherently multidisciplinary, the course is opennto DSSE students from any major, and sufficiently prepares a DSSE student cognitively fornbuilding autonomous mobile robots.
