General description
This course introduces the important elements of robotics through automated flexible assembly and mobile robots. The emphasis of the material is to provide an understanding of the software aspects of robotic systems and other computer-based automation. The particular challenges of this area are presented along with the techniques currently available to tackle them, including the application of several Artificial Intelligence techniques.

Aims
This module presents:

• an overview of robotics for software engineers;

• the software issues in the discipline as examples and extensions of the concepts introduced in other modules;

• the problems characteristic of the discipline;

• the range of techniques and algorithms brought to bear on these problems.

Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students should:

• have an understanding of basic robotic equipment;

• have an understanding of the basic functional requirements of a software system for robot task definition;

• understand the range of problems in the field and have a knowledge of some representative techniques used to solve them;

• understand the challenge which robotics and the 'behaviours' model represent to traditional AI techniques.

Syllabus
1. Introduction to Intelligent Robotics - 1 Lecture
Introduction to the nature of the robotics problem.

2. Robot Systems - 6 Lectures
Overview of the components of a robot; manipulator geometry; kinematics; drives; end effectors; compliance; gripper mechanisms. Manipulators; degrees of freedom; joint, cartesian and relative cartesian motion; dextrous work envelopes and singularities.

3. Explicit Robot Programming - 5 Lectures
Levels of task description. The manipulator level language VAL II. Consideration of the nature of the development process. Object and task level programming. The AL, RAPT and AUTOPASS systems.

4. Sensing - 1 Lecture
The perception problem.

5. Case Study - 1 Lecture
Study of robots in real world applications.

6. Architectures - 1 Lecture
Introduction to reactive and deliberative architectures

7. Reactive Architectures - 3 Lectures
Outline of the concept; consideration of the benefits; examples of particular systems.

8. Deliberative Architectures - 4 Lectures
Outline of the concept; consideration of the benefits; examples of particular systems.