16642: Manipulation, Estimation, and Control

Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Fall 2024

Last update: 10-22-2024

More details can be found in course canvas.

Course Introduction

Overview:

This course provides an overview of the current techniques that allow robots to move around, interact with the world, and keep track of where they are. The kinematics and dynamics of electromechanical systems will be covered with a particular focus on their application to robotic arms. Some basic principles of robot control will be discussed, ranging from independent-joint PID tracking to coupled computed torque approaches. State estimation techniques including the Kalman filter will be covered, especially as they are used in solving common problems faced in robotics applications.

Textbook:

There is no assigned textbook for this class. However, there are some books that you might find useful as reference material for various parts of the class:

• A more detailed treatment of the material from our lectures on Control can be found here: K.J. Astrom and R.M. Murray, Feedback Systems: An Introduction for Scientists and Engineers [second edition], Princeton University Press, 2021.
• A more detailed treatment of the material from our lectures on Estimation can be found here: S. Thrun, W. Burgard and D. Fox. Probabilistic Robotics, Intelligent Robotics and Autonomous Agents series, 2005.
• A more detailed treatment of the material from our lectures on Kinematics and Dynamics can be found here: M.W. Spong, S. Hutchinson, and M. Vidyasagar, Robot Modeling and Control, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2006.

Prerequisite knowledge:

There are no formal prerequisites for this class. Informally, a year of calculus, a year of programming, and familiarity with matrix algebra will greatly increase your chances of success in this class. Also helpful, but not required, is a course on classical mechanics.

Course Activities and Grading

Schedule

Time: Mondays and Wednesdays 9:30am-10:50am