ECE 1675 (4
Credits) / ECE 2570 (3 Credits): Robotic Control (Spring 2025)
Description: This course focuses on the application of control
theory in robotics. Topics to be covered include: review of classical and
modern control design methods such as PID control, state feedback, optimal
control, adaptive control, and hybrid system control; control of mobile robots;
control of robot manipulators; reinforcement learning; cognitive robotics. The
lab session of ECE 1675 helps students gain experience in applying control
design methods in robotics, and the topics covered include: PID control and
state feedback control of robot arms; movement control and navigation of mobile
robots.
Prerequisite: Knowledge of signals and systems.
Times and Places:
Lectures: Wednesday 6 pm−8:30 pm; 332 Cathedral of
Learning.
Labs (ECE 1675 students only): Friday 3 pm−5:30 pm; 1223B&C Benedum Hall.
Instructors:
Dr.
Zhi-Hong Mao
Professor
Departments
of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Bioengineering
Email:
zhm4@pitt.edu
Office
hours: Monday 3:30 pm−5 pm
(Zoom link) https://pitt.zoom.us/j/6288281300
Mr. Jiacheng Chen
Lab
Instructor and Teaching Fellow
Department
of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Email:
jic237@pitt.edu
Textbooks:
Required:
[M07] M. Mataric, The Robotics Primer, The MIT Press,
2007.
Recommended:
[AM10] K. J. Astrom and R. M. Murray, Feedback
Systems: An Introduction for Scientists and Engineers, Princeton University
Press, 2010.
Course Evaluation:
Undergraduate
ECE 1675 (4 Credits): Homework 15%, class participation 10%, midterm exam 25%,
final exam 35%, and lab 15%.
Graduate
ECE 2570 (3 Credits): Homework 25%, class participation 10%, midterm exam 25%,
and final exam 40%.
Schedule for Lectures:
|
Dates |
Topics |
|
|
|
Module I: Robotics and
controls primer |
|
|
Jan 8 |
Lecture 1: Course
organization; introduction to robotic control |
Chapters 1 and 2 of book
[M07]; Chapter 1 of book [AM10] |
|
Jan 15 |
Lecture 2: Robot
components; mathematical representations of dynamical systems |
Chapters 3-4, 7-9 of [M07];
Chapters 2 and 8 of [AM10]; Lecture 2 of ECE 1673; Lecture 3 of ECE 2646 |
|
Jan 22 and 29 |
Lectures 3 and 4: Robot
control architectures; time responses of dynamical systems; PID control |
Chapters 10-18 of [M07];
Chapters 3 and 10 of [AM10]; supplementary material on first- and
second-order systems; supplementary material on PID tuning |
|
|
Module II: Control of mobile robots |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Feb 5 |
Lecture 5: Locomotion;
mobile robot control architecture |
Chapter 5 of [M07] |
|
Feb 12 and 19 |
Lectures 6 and 7: LTI systems;
stability; output feedback and state feedback; pole placement |
Chapters 4-6 of [AM10];
Lecture 4 of ECE 2646; supplementary material on solutions to state-space
equations |
|
Feb 26 |
Midterm exam |
|
|
Mar 5 |
No class (spring break) |
|
|
Mar 12 |
Lecture 8: Controllability;
observability; separation principle; optimal control |
Chapter 7 of [AM 10];
supplementary material on controllability |
|
Mar 19 and 26 |
Lectures 9 and 10: Hybrid
systems; sliding mode control |
Supplementary material on
hybrid systems and sliding mode control |
|
Apr 2 |
Lecture 11: Navigation
|
Chapter 19 of [M07] |
|
|
Module III: Control of robot manipulators |
|
|
Apr 9 |
Lecture 12: Manipulator
kinematics and dynamics; PD control |
Chapter 6 of [M07]; supplementary
material on linear control of manipulators |
|
Apr 16 |
Lecture 13: Nonlinear
control of manipulators |
Supplementary material on
nonlinear control of manipulators |
|
|
Module IV: Advanced topics |
|
|
Reinforcement learning |
|
|
|
Apr 23 |
Final exam |
|
Schedule for Labs (ECE
1675):
|
Dates |
Topics |
|
|
|
|
Jan 17 (2nd
Week) |
Lab 1: PID tuning |
|
Jan 24 |
Lab 1 (cont'd) |
|
Jan 31 |
Lab 1 (cont'd) |
|
Lab 1 due on Fri Feb 7 |
|
|
|
|
|
Feb 7 |
Lab 2: State feedback
control |
|
Feb 14 |
Lab 2 (cont'd) |
|
Feb 21 |
Lab 2 (cont'd) |
|
Lab 2 due on Fri Feb 28 |
|
|
Feb 28 |
Lab 3: Controlling robot
motion |
|
Mar 7 |
Lab 3 (cont'd) |
|
Mar 14 |
No lab (spring break) |
|
Mar 21 |
Lab 3 (cont'd) |
|
Lab 3 due on Fri Mar 28 |
|
|
Mar 28 |
Lab 4: Navigation |
|
Apr 4 |
Lab 4 (cont'd) |
|
Apr 11 |
Lab 4 (cont'd) |
|
Lab 4 due on Fri Apr 18 |
Course Policies:
Academic Integrity
Students in this course will be
expected to comply with the University of Pittsburgh's Policy on Academic Integrity
and the Swanson School of Engineering Policy. Any student suspected of
violating this obligation for any reason during the semester will be required
to participate in the procedural process, initiated at the instructor level, as
outlined in the University Guidelines on Academic Integrity. This may include,
but is not limited to, the confiscation of the examination of any individual
suspected of violating University Policy. Furthermore, no student may bring any
unauthorized materials to an exam, including dictionaries and programmable
calculators.
To learn more about Academic
Integrity, visit the Academic Integrity Guide for
an overview of the topic. For hands- on practice, complete the Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism tutorial.
Disability Services
If you have a disability for
which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to
contact both your instructor and Disability
Resources and Services (DRS), 140 William Pitt Union, (412)
648-7890, drsrecep@pitt.edu, (412) 228-5347 for P3
ASL users, as early as possible in the term. DRS will verify your disability
and determine reasonable accommodations for this course.
Statement on Classroom
Recording
To
ensure the free and open discussion of ideas, students may not record classroom
lectures, discussion and/or activities without the advance written permission
of the instructor, and any such recording properly approved in advance can be
used solely for the student's own private use.
Student
Opinion of Teaching Surveys
Students
in this class will be asked to complete a Student Opinion of Teaching Survey.
Surveys will be sent via Pitt email and appear on your Canvas landing page
during the last three weeks of class meeting days. Your responses are
anonymous. Please take time to thoughtfully respond, your feedback is important
to me. Read more about Student Opinion of
Teaching Surveys.
Equity, Diversity,
and Inclusion
The
University of Pittsburgh does not tolerate any form of discrimination,
harassment, or retaliation based on disability, race, color, religion, national
origin, ancestry, genetic information, marital status, familial status, sex,
age, sexual orientation, veteran status or gender identity or other factors as
stated in the University's Title IX policy. The University is committed to
taking prompt action to end a hostile environment that interferes with the
University's mission. For more information about policies, procedures, and
practices, visit the Civil
Rights & Title IX Compliance web page.
I ask
that everyone in the class strive to help ensure that other members of this
class can learn in a supportive and respectful environment. If there are
instances of the aforementioned issues, please contact the Title IX
Coordinator, by calling 412-648-7860, or e-mailing titleixcoordinator@pitt.edu. Reports can also be filed online.
You may also choose to report this to a faculty/staff member; they are required
to communicate this to the University's Office of Diversity and Inclusion. If
you wish to maintain complete confidentiality, you may also contact the
University Counseling Center (412-648-7930).