Schedule
Week-by-week topics, readings, and due dates.
The schedule is subject to change (will announce in class).
| Week | Dates | Class and recommended progress | PrairieLearn | Due |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug. 31 – Sep. 2 | Course overview and MBot overview; Lab 1-1: Set up MBot (Checkpoint 0); Lab 1-2: Drive MBot (Checkpoint 0) | HW 1 | — |
| 2 | Sep. 7 – Sep. 9 | Labor Day — no class; wheel calibration and PID control; Checkpoint 1: wheel calibration and PID tuning | HW 2 | Checkpoint 0 — MBot Intro Assignment due Sep. 10 |
| 3 | Sep. 14 – Sep. 16 | Odometry and rotate-translate-rotate control; Checkpoint 1: continue PID tuning, improve firmware, and build a motion controller | HW 3 | — |
| 4 | Sep. 21 – Sep. 23 | Send waypoints and tune for Checkpoint 1; Setpoint Challenge practice and challenge | HW 4 | Add/drop deadline Sep. 21; Checkpoint 1 (Setpoint Challenge) report and videos due Sep. 27 |
| 5 | Sep. 28 – Sep. 30 | Occupancy mapping and Bresenham’s algorithm; Checkpoint 2, Task 2.1: Mapping | HW 5; HW 6 | — |
| 6 | Oct. 5 – Oct. 7 | Monte Carlo Localization and particle filters; Checkpoint 2, Task 2.2: Localization | HW 7; HW 8; HW 9 | — |
| 7 | Oct. 12 – Oct. 14 | SLAM review: action and sensor models; Checkpoint 2, Task 2.3: SLAM | — | — |
| 8 | Oct. 19 – Oct. 21 | Fall Study Break — no class; Midterm competition practice and competition | — | Checkpoint 2 (SLAM Challenge) report, including maze-run video, due Oct. 25 |
| 9 | Oct. 26 – Oct. 28 | Midterm written exam; written-exam review and oral-exam practice; midterm oral exam | HW 10 | — |
| 10 | Nov. 2 – Nov. 4 | Path planning and A*; Checkpoint 3, Task 3.1: Path Planning | HW 11 | — |
| 11 | Nov. 9 – Nov. 11 | Frontier exploration; Checkpoint 3, Task 3.2: Map Exploration; Task 3.3: Localization with unknown (optional extra credit) | HW 12; HW 13 | — |
| 12 | Nov. 16 – Nov. 18 | Escape Challenge; finish Checkpoint 3 submissions; begin Checkpoint 4: Camera Calibration | — | Checkpoint 3 (Escape Challenge) report and video due Nov. 18 |
| 13 | Nov. 23 – Nov. 25 | Checkpoint 4: Camera Calibration (continued); Thanksgiving Recess — no class | HW 14 | Checkpoint 4 (Camera Calibration) video due Nov. 24 |
| 14 | Nov. 30 – Dec. 2 | Advanced SLAM methods: visual odometry, ORB-SLAM, loop closure, bundle adjustment, and semantic SLAM; Checkpoint 5: semantic mapping and mini-ORB-SLAM simulation | — | — |
| 15 | Dec. 7 – Dec. 9 | Course wrap-up and Q&A; final written exam; final oral exam | — | Course evaluation due Dec. 11; Checkpoint 5 due Dec. 13 |
Key dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Sep. 10 | Checkpoint 0 — MBot Intro Assignment due |
| Sep. 21 | Add/drop deadline |
| Sep. 27 | Checkpoint 1 — Setpoint Challenge report and videos due |
| Oct. 25 | Checkpoint 2 — SLAM Challenge report and maze-run video due |
| Oct. 26 | Midterm written exam |
| Oct. 28 | Midterm oral exam |
| Nov. 18 | Checkpoint 3 — Escape Challenge report and video due |
| Nov. 24 | Checkpoint 4 — Camera Calibration video due |
| Dec. 9 | Final written and oral exams |
| Dec. 11 | Course evaluation due |
| Dec. 13 | Checkpoint 5 due |