COGS 220 - Autonomous Robotics Design Competition

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

This course gives students with an interest in robotics an opportunity to explore basic principles of robot design and programming in a hands-on laboratory environment. The specific nature of the task to be accomplished varies each year, but in all cases the problems to be solved require thinking about the key issues that confront any robot designer: How is the robot situated in its environment? How does the design of the robot’s body affect its intelligence? What are the optimal strategies for programming flexible intelligence in the robot (e.g., behavior-based or reactive systems, world modeling and planning systems, hybrid systems)? Students are organized into teams with balanced skill sets and compete to complete the assigned task most effectively in an end-of-semester competition. The design and construction components of the course are supported by classroom instruction in basic electronics, hardware design and building techniques, and relevant programming skills. Josh de Leeuw.

Prerequisite(s): Either COGS 211, CMPU 102, or permission of the instructor.

Students who have neither COGS 211 nor CMPU 102 as prerequisites may still have sufficient background to take the course depending on other skills and should consult with the instructor about readiness to take the class.

One 75-minute period and one 3-hour lab.

Course Format: CLS