MIT: Independent Activities Period: IAP

IAP 2015 Activities by Category - A.I. and Robotics

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Interactive Robotics Group Lab Tour

Hands-On Aerospace

Add to Calendar Jan/16 Fri 10:00AM-11:00AM Stata by D-elevators, Bldg 32 ground floor, please be prompt.

Enrollment: Enrollment may be limited to 15, advance sign-up requested

The Interactive Robotics Group (IRG) focuses on integrating robots and autonomous systems to work alongside people in time critical and safety critical applications.  We work on the development of algorithms and technologies that allow humans and robots to work together safely and efficiently. From fast scheduling algorithms that enable humans and robots to share workspaces with dynamically changing temporal and spatial constraints, to the study of multi-agent interaction and problem solving, to the analysis of the effects of motion-level robot adaptation on human-robot team fluency, the Interactive Robotics Group's research deals with many aspects of human-robot interaction. The tour of the IRG will feature research videos, posters, a live demonstration of our safety system running on an industrial robot, as well as a demo of human-aware motion planning.

[This activity is part of the Hands-On Aerospace series sponsored by Aero/Astro running Jan 12-16.  Participants welcome at individual sessions, priority may be given to registered 16.680 class members and undergraduates.  See Hands-On Aerospace listing for full schedule.]

Sponsor(s): Aeronautics and Astronautics
Contact: Naomi Schurr, (310)561-0286, hands-on-aerospace@mit.edu


Introduction to Controls & Aerospace Controls Lab Tour

Hands-On Aerospace

Add to Calendar Jan/14 Wed 10:00AM-11:30AM 33-116, will walk to Bldg 41 for tour

Enrollment: Enrollment may be limited. Advance sign-up requested but not required.

 

Come learn about control and its applications in aerospace in this introduction by Professor Jonathan How.

The introduction will be followed by a tour of Professor How's Aerospace Controls Laboratory (ACL), which researches topics related to autonomous systems and control design for aircraft, spacecraft, and ground vehicles. Theoretical research is pursued in areas such as: decision making under uncertainty; path planning, activity and task assignment; estimation and navigation; sensor network design; robust control, adaptive control, and model predictive control. A key part of ACL is RAVEN (Real-time indoor AutonomousVehicle test ENvironment), a unique experimental facility that uses a Vicon motion capture sensing to enable rapid prototyping of aerobatic flight controllers for helicopters and aircraft; robust coordination algorithms for multiple helicopters; and vision-based sensing algorithms for indoor flight.

 

[This activity is part of the Hands-On Aerospace series sponsored by Aero/Astro running Jan 12-16.  Participants welcome at individual sessions, priority may be given to registered 16.680 class members and undergraduates.  See Hands-On Aerospace listing for full schedule.]

Sponsor(s): Aeronautics and Astronautics
Contact: Naomi Schurr, 310-561-0286, hands-on-aerospace@mit.edu


Introduction to Numerical Optimization in Design

Bo Yang Yu, Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering

Enrollment: Sign-up highly preferred
Sign-up by 01/04
Limited to 30 participants
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions

If you are interested in what is optimization and how it can be used in engineering design, or if you need to use optimization tools for your research but find most optimization courses too math intensive, this is the course for you. The goal of this course is to make you comfortable with different types of numerical optimization methods through the use of hands-on MATLAB demos and “just enough” mathematical detail.

This short course consists of four lectures. The first two lectures will cover the role of numerical optimization in engineering design, and introduce commonly used optimization algorithms. The last two will be tutorials on the use of MATLAB for design optimization.

Both graduate and undergraduate students from all disciplines are welcome. Prior knowledge in numerical methods is useful but not necessary. Basic understanding of MATLAB syntax will be necessary to follow the demos

Sign-up form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Zb_EeUXkFAm0X7R-WqGGjRF0kOrUua1UUXTns3ZJeOs/viewform

Sponsor(s): Mechanical Engineering
Contact: Bo Yang Yu, BYYU@MIT.EDU


Add to Calendar Jan/06 Tue 10:00AM-11:30AM 3-370
Add to Calendar Jan/07 Wed 10:00AM-11:30AM 3-370
Add to Calendar Jan/08 Thu 10:00AM-11:30AM 3-370
Add to Calendar Jan/09 Fri 10:00AM-11:30AM 3-370

Bo Yang Yu - Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering


RACECAR - Rapid Autonomous Complex-Environment Competing Ackermann-steering Robot

Prof. Sertac Karaman, Dr. Michael Boulet, Owen Guldner, Dr. Michael Park

Add to Calendar Jan/07 Wed 10:00AM-12:00PM NE45-202, Beaverworks Center
Add to Calendar Jan/09 Fri 10:00AM-12:00PM NE45-202, Beaverworks Center
Add to Calendar Jan/10 Sat 10:00AM-04:00PM AeroAstro Hangar, Optional Hackhathon
Add to Calendar Jan/12 Mon 10:00AM-12:00PM Room 33-319
Add to Calendar Jan/13 Tue 10:00AM-12:00PM Room 33-319
Add to Calendar Jan/14 Wed 10:00AM-04:00PM AeroAstro Hangar, Optional Hackathon
Add to Calendar Jan/15 Thu 10:00AM-12:00PM Room 32-141
Add to Calendar Jan/16 Fri 10:00AM-12:00PM Room 32-141
Add to Calendar Jan/17 Sat 10:00AM-04:00PM MIT Tunnels, Optional Hackathon
Add to Calendar Jan/20 Tue 10:00AM-12:00PM Room 32-141
Add to Calendar Jan/21 Wed 10:00AM-04:00PM MIT Tunnels, Optional Hackathon
Add to Calendar Jan/22 Thu 04:15PM-06:15PM MIT Tunnels, Final Race

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/02
Limited to 25 participants
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions
Prereq: See description.

Modern robots tend to operate at slow speeds in complex environments, limiting their utility in high-tempo applications. In the RACECAR course, you will be tasked with pushing the boundaries of unmanned vehicle speed. Participants will work in teams of 3-5 to develop dynamic autonomy software to race a converted RC car equipped with LIDAR, camera, inertial sensors and embedded processing around a large-scale, “real-world” course. The course culminates with a timed competition to navigate an MIT tunnel network. To subscribe, send an e-mail to racecar-iap-course-subscribe@mit.edu with a description of your programming / robotics experience and MIT/SUTD affiliation.

Participants must attend all lectures and capstone demonstration. Additionally, 6-10 hours per week of hands-on effort is required to complete the objective task. Attendance at the hackathons is strongly suggested but not required in cases of conflict with other IAP activities.

Prereqs: Advanced undergraduates and graduates with some background in controls or robotics. Majors include AeroAstro, Mechanical, Ocean, and EECS. Students with a background in computer science with interest in robotics and controls may also effectively participate.

*This work is sponsored by the Dept. of the Air Force under Contract FA8721-05-C-0002.  Opinions, interpretations, conclusions and recommendations are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by the U.S. Government.

Sponsor(s): Aeronautics and Astronautics, Lincoln Laboratory, MIT-SUTD Collaboration
Contact: Prof. S. Karaman, sertac@mit.edu


The Business of Robotics: One-Day Intensive Workshop

Matt Beane, Sloan School of Management

Add to Calendar Jan/29 Thu 09:30AM-05:30PM TBD

Enrollment: Sign up at http://goo.gl/ruaWlP
Sign-up by 01/23
Limited to 105 participants

Hype and hopes are high for robotics in business. This intensive workshop is devoted to helping us separate the two. We will generate answers through our own research, and we will be joined by a panel of outside experts - from industry, robotics firms, academia and beyond. This field is changing rapidly, so our main goal will be to generate new knowledge that these experts should find interesting. The basic design of the workshop will include a brief orienting lecture at the beginning of the day. You will be responsible for some advance reading so we can move quickly. The panel will also occur in the morning, and the afternoon will be an "unconference" where you will collectively determine your research focus and plans. A research report will be due soon after, and will be included in a shared set of research findings, available to all participants. Express your interest in participating using the link below.

Sponsor(s): Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Contact: Matt Beane, mbeane@mit.edu