The course is divided in to four equal sections:

  • Planning
  • Dynamics and Control
  • State Estimation and
  • Distributed Algorithms
Lecture Date Topic
1 Jan 15 PLANNING: Introduction, planning via graph searches, methods for cell decomposition and skeletonization of workspaces Attach:introtomotionplanning.pdf
2 Jan 20 PLANNING: A* search Attach:astar_meam620.pdf
3 Jan 22 PLANNING: Real-time planning and re-planning I (incremental, anytime and agent-centered graph searches) Attach:realtimeplan1_meam620.pdf
4 Jan 27 PLANNING: Real-time planning and re-planning II (incremental, anytime and agent-centered graph searches) Attach:realtimeplan2_meam620.pdf
5 Jan 29 PLANNING: Sampling-based planning (PRM, RRT) Attach:samplingbasedplan_meam620.pdf
6 Feb 3 PLANNING: Planning under uncertainty I (minimax formulation, minimax A*, MDPs, value iteration, policy iteration, RTDP) Attach:planunderuncertainty1_meam620.pdf
7 Feb 5 PLANNING: Planning under uncertainty II (POMDPs, incomplete information states, belief state-spaces) Attach:planunderuncertainty2_meam620.pdf
8 Feb 10 DYNAMICS and CONTROL: Rigid body transformations, Representations of SO(3) and SE(3), Lagrangian Formulation Attach:Dynamics_Control_1.pdf
9 Feb 12 DYNAMICS and CONTROL: Lie algebras, Lie bracket, Nonholonomic systems Attach:Dynamics_Control_2.pdf
  • Project 1 due on Friday, Feb 13 (by email)
10 Feb 17 DYNAMICS and CONTROL: Lagrangian formulation for nonholonomic systems, Differential drive robot Attach:Dynamics_Control_3.pdf
11 Feb 19 DYNAMICS and CONTROL: Stability, Lyapunov theory, Controllability Attach:Dynamics_Control_4.pdf
12 Feb 24 DYNAMICS and CONTROL: Control of a differential drive robot, Path following controllers Attach:Dynamics_Control_5.pdf
13 Feb 26 DYNAMICS and CONTROL: Chained forms, Backstepping algorithms Attach:Dynamics_Control_6.pdf
14 Mar 3 DYNAMICS and CONTROL: Navigation functions Attach:Dynamics_Control_7.pdf
  • Project 2 is due on March 8. Submission through blackboard
15 Mar 5 ESTIMATION: Basic Probability Theory and Kalman Filtering, Slides
  • Start of final project
16 Mar 17 ESTIMATION: Kalman Filter and the Extended Kalman Filter, Adaptive Filtering, Slides
17 Mar 19 ESTIMATION: Unscented Kalman Filter, Adaptive UKF, Monte Carlo Sampling, Particle Filters
18 Mar 24 ESTIMATION: Robot motion models, Sensor models, Multi-Hypotheses tracking, Project Description
19 Mar 26 ESTIMATION
20 Mar 31 ESTIMATION Project Details Project Map
21 Apr 2 DISTRIBUTED ALGORITHMS: Hybrid Systems, Graph Theory
22 Apr 7 DISTRIBUTED ALGORITHMS: Minimum Spanning Tree Algorithm, Algebraic Graph Theory and Applications
23 Apr 9 DISTRIBUTED ALGORITHMS: Networked Systems, Distributed vs. Centralized Control, Consensus Algorithm
24 Apr 14 DISTRIBUTED ALGORITHMS: Consensus Algorithm (cont'd), Multi-Agent Flocking
25 Apr 16 DISTRIBUTED ALGORITHMS: Auction Algorithm for the Assignment Problem
26 Apr 23 DISTRIBUTED ALGORITHMS: Distributed Connectivity Control
27 May 6 Final project presentations
  • Submission of final project
28 May 8 Final project presentations