This class is an introduction to all aspects of robotics (mechanical design-- mainly in Lego, electronics and sensors, and programming). No experience in any particular area required. Really! But we'll also have plenty of challenging projects for people who've built robots before.
For ideas of what the class might be like, take a look at some other classes I've taught/co-taught before:
ESG Engineering Projects
Seminar
REC IAP seminar in microcontrollers
ESG Electronics Seminar
The seminar is not organized in a traditional We Lecture, You Listen way. Rather, it's a hands-on class where you work on projects and we the "teachers" provide direction and suggestions. We may stand up and give a brief talk about different kinds of robotic control, or show you how to hook up the sensors, or suggest 'tricks' that make your life easier.
In lab, you will be constructing lego robots and learning how program them in Interactive C, the language used until the last year or so of the 6.270 IAP Lego robotics competition.
The seminar is worth 6 credits, so six hours a week of work are expected. Four out of the six hours will be supervised lab hours, one hour a week will be a "lecture", and you should work on your robot a little in your spare time.
--Ben Davis
Spring 2000