The course goal is to provide students with an advanced 
practicum in Embedded Robotics wherein the students will learn 
about the programming of embedded controllers, the interfacing 
of sensors (sound, light, acceleration, pan and tilt color 
video camera), the actuation of servo motors, inter-computer 
serial communications (RS-232 and ZigBee), and the control of 
autonomous as well as remotely piloted systems.  The student 
will be programming using a high-level integrated programming 
environment, and also will be practicing lower-level 
programming using the C/C++ language.  These concepts and 
methodologies will be demonstrated in class with sample codes 
and the students can expand on these ideas further with a 
series of robotic projects (of increasing complexity) 
throughout the semester such as car robots, simple bipedal and 
quadrupedal robots, and also humanoid robots.  Possible 
projects can be about Master-Slave Robots, Search and Rescue 
Robot Teams, Intruder (motion) Detection, Image Recognition and 
Object Tracking, Humanoid Robot Mimicking a Vision-Impaired 
Person, Humanoid Robot Negotiating Stairs with Varying Tread 
Depths. Upon completion of this course, students should be able 
to evaluate whether a perceived robotics need can be 
conceptually resolved using a combination of computer hardware 
and software approaches and should have an integrated 
hardware/software understanding of embedded robotic systems 
whether they would be autonomous or remotely piloted.

1.  Robotics Primer using Reactive Control and Behavior Control
2.  Project 1 using car-bot platform
    a.	Task programming and servo control (endless turn mode). 
Sensor interfacing (sound and NIR – active/passive).
    b.  Wireless (ZigBee device) remote control of car-bot with 
automatic obstacle avoidance
3.  Project 2 using bipedal bot platform
    a.	Servo control (position control mode) and Motion 
Programming
    b.	Individual wireless (ZigBee device) remote control of 
bipedal bot
4.  Project 3 using car-bot and GERWALK-bot platforms, and 
C/C++ programming
    a.	RS-232 serial communications programming
    b.	ZigBee communications programming (1 to 1 and broadcast 
mode)
    c.	Master and Slave concepts on quadruped bots or Search 
and Rescue carbot teams
    d.	PC acting a wireless master station for remote control 
of bipedal or quadrupedal bot teams
5.  Project 4 using Humanoid robot platform with Pan/Tilt 
Wireless Camera and C/C++ programming
    a.	Motion Detection (i.e., intruder alert)
    b.	Image Recognition and Object Tracking
6.  OR Project 5 using Humanoid robot platform with hand/foot 
NIR or pressure sensors, 3-D accelerometer
    a.	Humanoid robot negotiating set of stairs with uneven 
tread depths
    b.	Humanoid robot mimicking a visually-impaired person’s 
walk mode to detect obstacles in his/her path using an 
NIR “white cane”

All academic work must meet the standards contained in "A 
Culture of Honesty."  Students are responsible for informing 
themselves about those standards before performing any academic 
work.