Assignments

Project - Each student will choose and explore some form of manipulation as a project. Students may work alone or in groups (if you choose to work in a group, you must be able to demonstrate your contributions in all three phases described below). Back issues of Scientific American and the American Journal of Physics often contain articles on interesting manipulation problems. You can also consult the International Journal of Robotics Research, the IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation, and robotics conferences to find interesting problems. Some possible projects topics are snapping one's fingers, juggling, grasping, dexterous manipulation, design of parts feeders, and humanoid robots. Project scope is very flexible. It can range from a report surveying the literature on the chosen topic to modeling, analyzing, simulating, and experimentally verifying a manipulation task. Project presentations (time permitting) will occur during the last week of class. Click here for other project ideas.

The project report will be done in three stages: proposal, draft, and final.

• Proposal: Demonstrate that the student has chosen a project, thought about how to demonstrate it, and searched the literature briefly to see what is already known about the project topic. The proposal will contain a brief summary of what has been done and a plan for implementation of the project. I expect about 3 pages of single spaced (not counting citations and figures), 12 point font (my eyes don't like 10 point), plus a list of about 5 citations. ONLY LIST THE CITATIONS THAT YOU HAVE READ AND MENTION IN THE PROPOSAL. I expect more citations to appear in your draft and final reports.
• Draft: Demonstrate sufficient progress such that the project proposed will be completed on time. I expect about 8 pages text (not counting citations and figures) and about 7 papers cited. The cited papers should be discussed thoroughly to make it clear that you understand them in detail and in relation to your project. I will give you feedback as to what you should do to complete your project.
• Final: Demonstrate completion of the project according to your plans and my feedback. Demo your project if you built a device or software for this purpose. I expect about 10 pages (not counting citations and figures) and 7 citations. Projects will be due during the second last week of class and made available to the class. Some questions on the final exam may be derived from the projects.

Exercises are due by midnight on the due date indicated in the table below. Ignore the due dates in the documents linked to mtm_PS?. The due dates are given in the table below.

Assignment	Due Date	Value	Max	Ave	Min
mtm PS1 - Exercises: 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.6	9/14	10%	82	68.6	38
mtm PS2 - Exercises: 2.8, 2.9, 2.10, unicycle with trailer, 3.16	9/28	10%	98	85	49
mtm PS3 - Exercises: 3.17, 3.18, 4.1, 4.3	10/9	10%	100	99.2	97
Exercises: 5.3, 5.5, 6.2, 6.3	11/9	10%	85	75	62
Project proposal	11/2	10%	100	94.5	85
Project report draft	11/16	10%	93	80.8	70
Final project report	12/4	20 %	100	95	90
Final exam – location tbd	12/14	20%	77	69.3	58