General Information
Please read the syllabus.
Description
The course is a combination of lecture and reading sessions. The lectures discuss the fundamentals of topics required for modeling, validating, and designing control policies for human-robot systems. During the reading sessions, students present and discuss recent contributions in this area. Throughout the semester, each student works on a related research project that they will report and present on throughout the semester. Additionally, three mini-projects (MPs) will be assigned.
Expectations and Goals
Prerequisites: An introductory robotics course (e.g., ECE470 (Introduction to Robotics), ABE424 (Principles of Mobile Robotics), ECE484 (Principles of Safe Autonomy)); ECE448/CS440 (Introduction to Artificial Intelligence) or equivalent; familiarity with controls and optimization is recommended, but not required
At the end of this course, you will have gained knowledge about applications of various topics in designing interactive systems from the perspective of the robotics community.
You will also have hands-on experience working on a research project and it is expected that you will gain the following research skills: (1) analyzing literature related to a particular topic, (2) critiquing papers, and (3) presentation of research ideas.
Course Materials
There is no required textbook for this course. It will be based on material from the reference texts (see Additional Resources), lecture notes, and recent research articles all of which will be made available via box and the course webpage.
Grading
| Component | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Final Project | 30% |
| DIY Lectures | 30% |
| Mini-Projects | 30% |
| Class Participation | 10% |
Grading Policies
Final Project (30%)
Each student is required to work individually or in groups of up to three people on a research project. Over the course of the semester, you’ll be submitting a:
- ~1-page proposal of your project content
- presenting a short proposal pitch
- a 2-page milestone report
- a final in-class presentation/demo
- a 6 to 8-page final report in double-column IEEE format (page limits exclude references)
See additional details below.
Final Project Grading
| Component | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Proposal | 5% |
| Project Pitch Presentations | 10% |
| Project Milestone Report | 10% |
| Final Project Presentation | 25% |
| Final Project Report | 50% |
DIY Lectures (30%)
In small groups, you will prepare a lecture (~45 minutes) and discussion (~30 minutes) on a topic related to this course. Your team will present a review of the topic, going through fundamental topics and relevant, high-impact research papers (both new and old). A list of a topics and starter papers will be provided. You may suggest your own topic, but it must be approved by Katie.
Prior to the presentations, you will submit a short outline of what you plan to present. This outline can change, but must give a short summary of at least five papers that you will use to create your lecture.
The presentation grade is based on how well the material is presented, how well it is connected to the rest of the papers or class, and how prepared the student is in answering questions from the class. A rubric will be posted soon.
As a part of your lecture, you will lead a discussion on the topic. These can be about specific papers or ideas, or about big picture questions. Participating in the discussion during lecture will go towards your participation grade.
After your presentation, you will submit an annotated bibliography (AB) on the papers you used in your lecture. The AB should have the reference to the paper, a URL to the pdf, and at least two paragraphs that summarize and assess the paper. The summary should cover the main points and methods of the paper (similar to the abstract, but should not be a copy). The assessment should provide an unbiased (as possible) assessment of the paper that contextualizes the contributions.
For deadlines, please see the Schedule.
DIY Lecture Grading
| Component | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Outline | 10% |
| Presentation | 60% |
| Discussion Effort | 15% |
| Annotated Bibliography | 15% |
Mini-Projects (30%)
Three mini-projects will be assigned throughout the semester to gain a deeper understanding of the material. You may submit these projects individually or in groups up to three. Deliverables include a short summary on your implementation and experience along with visual aids (e.g., videos, if possible). Please see the Assignments page for more detailed explanations.
- Design an experimental protocol and test basic safety. We will provide you with a simple safety algorithm for an industrial robot that is designed to safely interact with a human. Your goal is to design a faux experimental protocol with formal hypotheses to verify a claim with small experiment.
- Behavior prediction and action recognition pipeline. We will provide you with both a prediction algorithm and an activity recognition algorithm. Your goal will be to integrate the output of either of these algorithms into your robot’s decision-making and control stack, showing how your robot responds to and interacts with the human.
- Implement a shared control scheme. Design a shared control framework to improve the robot’s ability to complete a task while maintaining safety (avoiding collisions).
Class Participation (10%)
All students should participate in the discussions throughout the class.
Project Instructions
The research project throughout the class should study a new research problem, (i.e., design a new algorithm, study a new application, etc.). You may work in teams of size one to three. The main deliverables of the project are:
Project Proposal:
A ~1-page proposal that has identified the problem definition, a brief literature survey on the problem, a potential solution, and a tentative timeline.
Project Proposal Pitch:
A short presentation discussing the proposal, limitations, and challenges.
Project Milestone Report:
A 1 to 2-page writeup that goes through the progress so far, if there needs to be any changes to the goals, and the updated timeline.
Project Presentation:
A short conference style presentation reporting the final findings of the project.
Final presentation rubric
For each item in the rubric, you’ll be scored from 0 or 1 to 5. The total points will be out of 28. This gives you some wiggle room, so you don’t have to get perfect scores for each item. For presenting on Tuesday, you get a bonus point added to your score.
A sign-up sheet for the presentation order will be posted soon.
Final Project Report:
A 6 to 8-page project report in double column IEEE format. A tentative rubric can be found here, but will be updated soon.
COVID-19 Policies
If you feel sick, please prioritize your health and safety. If you need to miss class, contact Katie via email about making up the missed discussion. The deadlines for the mini-projects will not be strictly enforced. Please contact the course staff if you have any concerns.
Additional Resources
This course is partially based off the following existing courses:
- Safe and Interactive Robotics (Stanford)
- Advanced Robotics (Berkeley)
- Decision Making Under Uncertainty (Stanford)
- Algorithmic Human-Robot Interaction (Berkeley)
- Cooperative Machines (MIT)
- Computer-Aided Verification (Berkeley)
- Human-Robot Interaction (Georgia Tech)
Useful textbooks:
- Decision Making Under Uncertainty: Theory and Application, MIT Press, 2015.
- Probabilistic Robotics, MIT Press, 2005.
University and College Policies
Sexual Misconduct Reporting Obligation
The University of Illinois is committed to combating sexual misconduct. Faculty and staff members are required to report any instances of sexual misconduct to the University’s Title IX Office. In turn, an individual with the Title IX Office will provide information about rights and options, including accommodations, support services, the campus disciplinary process, and law enforcement options.
A list of the designated University employees who, as counselors, confidential advisors, and medical professionals, do not have this reporting responsibility and can maintain confidentiality, can be found here: wecare.illinois.edu/resources/students/#confidential.
Other information about resources and reporting is available here: wecare.illinois.edu.
Academic Integrity
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Student Code should also be considered as a part of this syllabus. Students should pay particular attention to Article 1, Part 4: Academic Integrity. Read the Code at the following URL: http://studentcode.illinois.edu/.
Academic dishonesty may result in a failing grade. Every student is expected to review and abide by the Academic Integrity Policy: https://studentcode.illinois.edu/article1/part4/1-401/. Ignorance is not an excuse for any academic dishonesty. It is your responsibility to read this policy to avoid any misunderstanding. Do not hesitate to ask the instructor(s) if you are ever in doubt about what constitutes plagiarism, cheating, or any other breach of academic integrity.
Religious Observances
Illinois law requires the University to reasonably accommodate its students’ religious beliefs, observances, and practices in regard to admissions, class attendance, and the scheduling of examinations and work requirements. You should examine this syllabus at the beginning of the semester for potential conflicts between course deadlines and any of your religious observances. If a conflict exists, you should notify your instructor of the conflict and follow the procedure at https://odos.illinois.edu/community-of-care/resources/students/religious-observances/ to request appropriate accommodations. This should be done in the first two weeks of classes.
Disability-Related Accommodations
To obtain disability-related academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids, students with disabilities must contact the course instructor and the Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES) as soon as possible. To contact DRES, you may visit 1207 S. Oak St., Champaign, call 333-4603, e-mail disability@illinois.edu or go to https://www.disability.illinois.edu. If you are concerned you have a disability-related condition that is impacting your academic progress, there are academic screening appointments available that can help diagnosis a previously undiagnosed disability. You may access these by visiting the DRES website and selecting “Request an Academic Screening” at the bottom of the page.
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
Any student who has suppressed their directory information pursuant to Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) should self-identify to the instructor to ensure protection of the privacy of their attendance in this course. See https://registrar.illinois.edu/academic-records/ferpa/ for more information on FERPA.
Anti-Racism and Inclusivity Statement
The intent is to raise student and instructor awareness of the ongoing threat of bias and
racism and of the need to take personal responsibility in creating an inclusive learning
environment.
The Grainger College of Engineering is committed to the creation of an anti-racist, inclusive
community that welcomes diversity along a number of dimensions, including, but not limited to,
race, ethnicity and national origins, gender and gender identity, sexuality, disability status, class,
age, or religious beliefs. The College recognizes that we are learning together in the midst of the
Black Lives Matter movement, that Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous voices and contributions
have largely either been excluded from, or not recognized in, science and engineering, and that
both overt racism and micro-aggressions threaten the well-being of our students and our
university community.
The effectiveness of this course is dependent upon each of us to create a safe and
encouraging learning environment that allows for the open exchange of ideas while also
ensuring equitable opportunities and respect for all of us. Everyone is expected to help establish
and maintain an environment where students, staff, and faculty can contribute without fear of
personal ridicule, or intolerant or offensive language. If you witness or experience racism,
discrimination, micro-aggressions, or other offensive behavior, you are encouraged to bring this
to the attention of the course director if you feel comfortable. You can also report these
behaviors to the Bias Assessment and Response Team (BART) (https://bart.illinois.edu/). Based
on your report, BART members will follow up and reach out to students to make sure they have
the support they need to be healthy and safe. If the reported behavior also violates university
policy, staff in the Office for Student Conflict Resolution may respond as well and will take
appropriate action.