Teacher: Frank van der Stappen
Motion and manipulation are key issues in the field of robotics and automation, but also play a major
role in virtual environments and games. We will study models and planning problems for tasks that
involve motion or manipulation. The motion planning problem is concerned
with finding a path for an entity between an initial and final placement during which it avoids collision with
the obstacles that are present in its environment. Our study of manipulation planning will concentrate on grasping
and tasks involving simple actions such as pushing. The emphasis in manipulation will be on the design of
industrial systems that are based on simple hardware elements performing simple physical actions.
Geometry is a major parameter in the definition, modeling, and planning of manipulation and motion tasks.
Parts of Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the online book Planning Algorithms by Steven M. LaValle, parts of Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 of the book Mechanics of Robotic Manipulation by Matthew T. Mason, and parts of Chapters 1 and 2 from the no longer available book Fundamentals of Robotics: Analysis and Control by Robert J. Schilling. Copies of the relevant pages of the latter book will be made available for reference. These chapters are supplemented by slides and class-room notes.
The test covers all material treated in class plus all designated chapters from the aforementioned books. The grade for the written test should be at least 5.0 to pass the entire course. An example of a written test can be found here (in ps-format).
The 15-minute discussions will take place in Centrumgebouw Noord C226. The first discussions are scheduled for Monday November 16:
| Wed Sep 9 | 15:00-17:00 | Introduction. | - |
| Fri Sep 11 | 9:00-11:00 | L: Section 3.1; S: Sections 2.1. | slides(ppt) |
| Wed Sep 16 | 15:00-17:00 | NO CLASS! | - |
| Fri Sep 18 | 9:00-11:00 | S: Sections 2.2, 2.3, 2.4. | slides(ppt) |
| Wed Sep 23 | 15:00-17:00 | S: Sections 2.5, 2.6, 2.7. | slides(ppt) |
| Fri Sep 25 | 9:00-11:00 | L: Sections 2.8, 2.9, 3.2, 3.3 | slides(ppt) |
| Wed Sep 30 | 15:00-17:00 | No Class: Teacher sick | |
| Fri Oct 2 | 9:00-11:00 | L: Sections 3.4, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 | slides(ppt) |
| Wed Oct 7 | 15:00-17:00 | L: Sections 5.1, 5.2, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6 | slides(ppt) |
| Fri Oct 9 | 9:00-11:00 | L: Sections 5.5, 5.6, 5.3 | |
| Wed Oct 14 | 15:00-17:00 | notes on collision detection; L: Section 6.1 | |
| Fri Oct 16 | 9:00-11:00 | L: Sections 6.2, 6.3, 6.4 | slides(ppt) |
| Wed Oct 21 | 15:00-17:00 | M: Sections 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, | slides(pdf), |
| Fri Oct 23 | 9:00-11:00 | M: Sections 2.6, 3.2, 3,3, 4.1, 4.2 | slides(ppt), slides(pdf), slides(pdf), slides(ppt) |
| Wed Oct 28 | 15:00-17:00 | M: Sections 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.6, 5,7, 7.4 | slides(pdf), slides(pdf), slides(ppt) |
| Fri Oct 30 | 9:00-11:00 | Example exam January 3, 2007 (see above) |
L = Planning Algorithms by Steven M. LaValle,
M = Mechanics of Robotic Manipulation by Matthew T. Mason,
S = Fundamentals of Robotics: Analysis and Control by Robert J. Schilling.