Logistics
Post-Class Discussion
We will be using Ed Discussions for class discussion. The system is highly catered to getting you help
fast and efficiently from classmates, the TA, and instructor. Rather than emailing questions to the
teaching staff, we encourage you to post your questions on Ed Discussions.
Find our class signup link at: https://edstem.org/us/courses/61072
Grading Policy
Hands-on exercises (40%)Homework assignments (30%)
Final exam (30%)
Hands-on Exercises
A significant component of this course (35% of the final grade) corresponds to the practical application of the learned concepts to build, control, and program a robotic leg/arm. We adopted the Stanford Pupper as our teaching platform, an open-source platform developed by the Stanford Robotics Club. During the course, the students will build their own Pupper legs through 3D printing and laser cutting, assemble the electronics and motors and control the motors, and finally, program the leg to work as a simple robot arm, reaching different commanded locations.
Students will be grouped in groups of three for the hands-on exercises. The groups will be created by the instructors trying to combine students from different majors. The groups will be the same for the entire course.
The students will work in groups to create a single arm/leg per group and submit a unique group response to the questions of the exercises. While it is acceptable for the groups to divide the work, all students should participate in all exercises and they should understand also the parts that they are not doing. We will evaluate the participation of each member individually with an in-person quiz. We will perform three peer-review evaluations of the team dynamics to grade individual participation.
The answers to the hands-on exercises are due at 11:59 pm of the deadline. Failures to submit the answers to the hands-on exercises on time would incur a 50% deduction on the exercise score. Not submitting the answers will lead to 0 points for the exercise, even if the practical component is partially done. If individual students are not participating in the exercises (detected by the in-person quiz or peer evaluation), a deduction of 100% of the score will be applied to that student. Peer evaluation is not passed for a hands-on exercise if the mean score from the other group members drops under the indicated threshold.
Homework Assignments
To complement the hands-on exercises, the students will answer three sets of homework assignments. The homework assignments are individual. The answers to the homework assignments are due at 11:59 pm of the deadline. Failure to submit the answers to the homework assignment on time would incur a 50% deduction on the exercise score. Not submitting the answers will lead to 0 points for the assignment. Students that fail all homework or did not submit any of the three will not be allowed to take the exam and will fail the class.
Final Exam
The final exam will be 1.5 hours. No material will be permitted except a half-page (letter size) reference sheet. The exam will combine theoretical and practical questions.Classroom Safety and COVID-19
To help preserve our in person learning environment, the university recommends the following.
- Adhere to university mask guidance.
- Vaccinations are widely available, free and not billed to health insurance. The vaccine will help protect against the transmission of the virus to others and reduce serious symptoms in those who are vaccinated.
- Proactive Community Testing remains an important part of the university’s efforts to protect our community. Tests are fast and free.
- Visit protect.utexas.edu for more information
Academic Integrity
You are encouraged to discuss assignments with classmates, but all collected data, analysis, images and graphs, and other written work must be your own. All programming assignments must be entirely your own except for teamwork on the final project. You may NOT look online for existing implementations of algorithms related to the programming assignments, even as a reference. Your code will be analyzed by automatic tools that detect plagiarism to ensure that it is original. For the final project, you have full access to the web, but all ideas, quotes, and code fragments that originate from elsewhere must be cited according to standard academic practice. Students caught cheating will automatically fail the course and will be reported to the university. If in doubt about the ethics of any particular action, look at the departmental guidelines and/or ask — ignorance of the rules will not shield you from potential consequences.
Notice about students with disabilities
The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement — Services for Students with Disabilities at 512-471-6529; 512-471-4641 TTY.
Notice about missed work due to religious holy days
A student who misses an examination, work assignment, or other projects due to the observance of a religious holy day will be given an opportunity to complete the work missed within a reasonable time after the absence, provided that he or she has properly notified the instructor. It is the policy of the University of Texas at Austin that the student must notify the instructor at least fourteen days prior to the classes scheduled on dates he or she will be absent to observe a religious holy day. For religious holy days that fall within the first two weeks of the semester, the notice should be given on the first day of the semester. The student will not be penalized for these excused absences, but the instructor may appropriately respond if the student fails to satisfactorily complete the missed assignment or examination within a reasonable time after the excused absence.