Learn how to code by making robots navigate autonomously!

The objective for Robotics 102 is the implementation and understanding of autonomous navigation algorithms for mobile robots. Students in Robotics 102 will be introduced to the foundations of AI and programming by implementing algorithms for autonomous omni-drive robots. The course provides an introduction to C++ and Python through the lens of robotics.

Robotics 102 gives Engineering students early exposure to Robotics and AI as a foundation for a general engineering education as well as preparation for deeper study in Robotics and AI. Robotics 102 shares the objective of Engineering 101 as a first-year semester course to gain fluency in computer programming and algorithmic thinking. Algorithms are an organized means to construct the solution of a problem, structured as a well-defined set of steps that can be carried out by a mechanism such as a computer. Robotics 102 focuses on the development of algorithms to solve problems of relevance in robotics and artificial intelligence and implementation of these algorithms using high-level computer languages.

Students in Robotics 102 will complete projects throughout the semester which provide exposure to foundational concepts in autonomous decision making, including:

• Controlling an omni-drive robot,
• Reading and processing robot sensor data,
• Wall following using feedback control,
• Local navigation using finite state machines,
• Pathfinding using graph search algorithms,
• Image classification using machine learning.

Robotics 102 is a new course being offered as part of the emerging Michigan Robotics Undergraduate Program. A pilot course was offered in Fall 2021. See what the first class of Robotics 102 students got up to!

The course schedule for Fall 2022 can be found below. Links to lecture material, projects, and other relevant recourses will be added as they are released. The schedule is subject to change.