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Degree Regulations & Programmes of Study 2010/2011
- ARCHIVE as at 1 September 2010 for reference only
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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Informatics : Informatics

Undergraduate Course: Intelligent Autonomous Robotics (Level 10) (INFR10005)

Course Outline
School School of Informatics College College of Science and Engineering
Course type Standard Availability Available to all students
Credit level (Normal year taken) SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) Credits 10
Home subject area Informatics Other subject area None
Course website http://www.inf.ed.ac.uk/teaching/courses/iar-4
Course description The aims of this course are to introduce the fundamental problems of producing real world intelligent behaviour in robots, some of the different kinds of information processing techniques and control architectures that have been developed, and how biological systems can be modelled on robots and contribute to their design.

The course is structured around a practical-based programme involving the construction of a series of small mobile LEGO vehicles of increasing sensorimotor sophistication. We will cover related sensing and control ideas, approaches, and organisational architectures. We consider some alternative types of mechanism suggested for the production of desired intelligent behaviour by both engineers (simple control theory) and biologists (e.g. muscle control, biomimetic robotics, learning).
Entry Requirements
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: Introduction to Vision and Robotics (INFR09019)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Students MUST NOT also be taking Intelligent Autonomous Robotics (Level 11) (INFR11070)
Other requirements Successful completion of Year 3 of an Informatics Single or Combined Honours Degree, or equivalent by permission of the School. A good grounding in mathematics and some knowledge of first-order differential equations will be useful. Experience in using Lego would be advantageous, or with building and repairing other mechanical structures, e.g. bikes.
Additional Costs None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites None
Prospectus website http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/visiting-exchange/courses
Course Delivery Information
Delivery period: 2010/11 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1) WebCT enabled:  No Quota:  None
Location Activity Description Weeks Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
CentralLecture1-11 09:00 - 09:50
CentralLecture1-11 09:00 - 09:50
First Class Week 1, Thursday, 09:00 - 09:50, Zone: Central. Room G.11, William Robertson Building
Delivery period: 2010/11 Semester 1, Part-year visiting students only (VV1) WebCT enabled:  No Quota:  None
Location Activity Description Weeks Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
CentralLecture1-11 09:00 - 09:50
CentralLecture1-11 09:00 - 09:50
First Class Week 1, Thursday, 09:00 - 09:50, Zone: Central. Room G.11, William Robertson Building
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
1 - Knowledge of robot control architectures, and understanding of the issues involved in programming real robots as opposed to simulators.
2 - Familiarity with current approaches to robotics, including reactive, subsumption, cybernetic, classical, evolutionary and multirobot approaches
3 - Understand the main issues and methods in mobile robot navigation systems
4 - Understand how to model and evaluate models of biological systems on robots
5 - Build and program a robot to do specified tasks, dealing with sensing and acting in the real world, evaluate the results and present the work in a written report.
Assessment Information
Written Examination 50
Assessed Assignments 50
Oral Presentations 0

Assessment
One assignment, carried out in groups of 2 or 3, accounts for 40% of the course marks. This requires you to build and program a robot using the kits, electronics, sensors and programming environments provided to perform a specified task, and to present the results in a written report. The other 10% of the coursework marks will be for satisfactory completion of the weekly goals towards this task, demonstrated in each practical session and in short progress writeups.

If delivered in semester 1, this course will have an option for semester 1 only visiting undergraduate students, providing assessment prior to the end of the calendar year.
Please see Visiting Student Prospectus website for Visiting Student Assessment information
Special Arrangements
Not entered
Contacts
Course organiser Dr Amos Storkey
Tel: (0131 6)51 1208
Email: A.Storkey@ed.ac.uk
Course secretary Miss Kate Weston
Tel: (0131 6)50 2701
Email: Kate.Weston@ed.ac.uk
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copyright 2010 The University of Edinburgh - 1 September 2010 6:10 am