Announcement
Because of the overwhelming interest in the class, we have redesigned the course material and the format of the class.
As in previous years, the class will be a project-oriented class where a combination of homework exercises and laboratory experiments will train students in bringing theory to practice. Because of the diverse backgrounds, the class will be divided into three sections. All sections will be required to complete the assigned homework, an in-class exam (which is new this year), and a laboratory project (Project 1). Project 1 will be done in groups of 2 or 3 in the GRASP lab during designated grasp hours. Each section will pursue a second project (Project 2).
Section 1 will consist of C/C++ aficionados. They will complete a group project (2-3 per group) involving vision based control of an off-the-shelf micro UAV in a room/lab and time of their choice.
Section 2 will consist of MATLAB experts who are also familiar with C. They will also complete a group project (2-3 per group) involving vision based control of the KMel Nano plus in the GRASP Lab during designated lab hours.
Section 3 will consist of students that are moderately skilled in Matlab. They will complete individual projects involving multiple robots performing tasks requiring trajectory planning with safety and task allocation.
While we will take your preferences into account, the MEAM 620 staff will assign you to one of the sections. Independent of which section you are in, expect to spend a significant amount of time on MEAM 620!
Finally, you should be be prepared for the first assignment, is a warm up exercise designed to familiarize yourself with the basic tools you'll be expected to master in MEAM 620. This will also give you a sense of the pace in the class. This first (graded) exercise will be due on the first day of class (January 14, 2015) and will be assigned on December 23. The exercise will involve implementing a graph search algorithm in MATLAB. This assignment will be submitted via the turnin system which is an automated submission and testing system, via your ENIAC Linux server account. We will provide you with an empty function you will need to write and an example testing script. You will be able to test your code with systems a couple days before the assignment deadline. There will be no deadline extensions for this first assignment.
If you have any questions email the course email address. Otherwise, good luck in your finals, have a great winter break and see you on Jan 14 next year.
MEAM 620 staff