ECE489
ECE489/ME446/SE422 (Robot Dynamics and Control) is a 4-credit-hour course that satisfies the Technical Electives requirement for ECE majors and satisfies a hardware lab for EEs. It is offered only in spring semesters.
Content Covered
This class has no exams. Instead the content is partitioned into homework (50%), and labs/final project (50%). In lecture, the following sections were covered: kinematics of serial link robots, robot dynamics, independent joint control, position/motor control, and force/torque control. Topics were added in addition to the course text (Robot Modeling and Control, Spong, Hutchinson & Vidyasagar, Wiley) in the second half of the semester, which were detailed in PowerPoint notes posted on Compass2g. Lab exercises followed the topics covered in the lecture, written about kinematic transformations, equations of motion, PD/PID joint control, inverse dynamics joint control, and task space PD and impedance control, respective to their execution in lab. Each was implemented on a serial link manipulator, called the CRS robotic arm; predominantly, the labs entailed programming in C to obtain a desired output from the robot. The final project for the course was an obstacle course that was executed by the lab robot. It needed to place a peg inside of a slot, avoid an obstacle, follow a zig-zag channel, and lightly press against an object on a spring without breaking it.
Prerequisites
The official prerequisite is SE320, which is the Systems Engineer equivalent to ECE486, and a recommended prerequisite is ECE470. Other than that, prerequisites are not enforced due to the cross-list across three engineering departments, but it is advised to take one of the robotics/controls course before this one.
When to Take It
When you feel the need to try something mechanical/robotic, this is the course to take. There is minimal to no electric circuit coverage in the course, and predominantly, labs are about coding various control methods. A controls background is recommended, without a doubt. Also, the course is offered only in the spring, so if it is listed, and you want to take it, register.
Course Structure
Homework is assigned weekly or biweekly. That said, the homework assignments later in the class took much longer to complete, so allow time. Total, five labs were present in the course. Each lab was multiple weeks in length, and a lab report was assigned for each lab. Teams of 4 to 5 are present in the class. With the addition of another robotic arm in coming semesters, the team size will likely to decrease to 3 or 4. The final project, other than the obstacle execution, included a short report and the creation of a webpage. The final exam time was filled with a competition of which team could complete the defined obstacle course the fastest.
Instructors
For the most recent spring semesters (Spring 2024, Spring 2023), the course was taught by Professor Justin Yim.
Life After
This robotics course draws a mix of students from aspiring Master’s students working on robotics research projects to senior students in their last semester. After taking this class, the natural follow on is ECE550: Advanced Robotic Planning, but any applied controls class can adopt some of control strategies used in the course.