COM310: Course Description

Course COM310 Robotics:

TR 2:45 - 4:00pm New London Hall 212

Gary Parker
New London Hall Room 216 (ext. 5208)
Office hours: Tuesday, Wednesday 4-5pm
parker@conncoll.edu

Jim O'Connor (joconno2@conncoll.edu)

Manan Isak (misak@conncoll.edu)

Text: Readings will be assigned in class

Software: We will use the software provided with the microchips (BASIC Stamp, Arduino, and Raspberry Pi) to do controller programming.

Web Page: http://cs.conncoll.edu/parker/com310

Course Description:

Introduction to the design and control of autonomous robots. Design issues such as wheels verses legs, actuator placement, the use of sensors for perception, controller selection, and wiring will be covered. Students will develop control schemes and use programming skills and machine learning to generate programs for controllers.

Discussion:

This course introduces robotics in two ways. The first is through discussions of standard practices and issues involved in robot construction. You will be required to do some research to find applicable papers and present your findings. In addition, you will have reading assignments that will be discussed in class. The second way robotics is introduced is through hands-on construction. You will (individually or in a team) build a robot with a controller and sensors. The typical class will be a combination of lecture, discussion, student presentations, and/or debates over current issues in robotics, with the remainder of the period dedicated to robot construction.

Grading:

Presentations	15%
Class Discussion / Quizzes	25%
Project	40%
Robotics Notebook	20%

Presentations: You will make a formal presentation on a technical paper you find that is pertinent to an assigned subject (15 minutes, plus 5 minutes for questions). In addition, there will be other shorter assigned presentations.

Class Discussion/Quizzes: This portion of the grade includes your class participation, your readiness to defend assigned issues during scheduled debates, and thoughtfulness of comments/questions dealing with the reading assignments. There will be unannounced quizzes covering the material in the reading assignments and/or our discussions in previous classes.

Project: The projects will be graded at three intermediate checkpoints and at the completion of the course. This grade will include the presentation of you project, both oral and the web site that you will construct to show your progress and the completed robot. Projects can be done individually or in teams.

Robotics Notebook: This notebook is for you to organize and summarize what you have learned about Robotics. It is to have an entry for each assigned reading (a paragraph giving a summary of the paper and comments on your opinion of the paper if it's a peer-reviewed article) and notes on construction for each day that you work on the project (planning and construction). The notebooks are to be done individually.

Credit Hour Definition A semester course is normally equivalent to four credit hours. Connecticut College complies with federal regulations defining the credit hour. For each credit hour awarded, a course will provide an average of at least one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction (class meetings, labs, review sessions, field trips, office hours, film screenings, tutorials, training, rehearsals, etc.) and at least two hours of out-of-class work (homework, preparatory work, practice, rehearsals, etc.) per week.

The Connecticut College Honor Code Academic integrity is of the utmost importance in maintaining the high standards of scholarship in our community. Academic dishonesty is considered to be a serious offense against the community and represents a significant breach of trust between the professor, the classmates, and the student. There are many forms of academic dishonesty including plagiarism, falsifying data, misrepresenting class attendance, submitting the same work in two courses without prior approval, unauthorized discussion or distribution of exams or assignments, and offering or receiving unauthorized aid on exams or graded assignments. Students violating the Honor Code may be referred to the college's Honor Council for resolution.

Title IX Statement As a faculty member, I am deeply invested in the well-being of each student I teach. I am here to assist you with your work in this course. If you come to me with other non-course-related concerns, I will do my best to help.
    It is important for you to know that all faculty members are trained and required to report any incidents of gender-based discrimination, including discrimination based on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. This means that I cannot keep information confidential about sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, or other forms of gender-based discrimination. Rachel Stewart, the Director of Sexual Violence Prevention and Advocacy, can advise you confidentially as can Counseling Services and any of the College chaplains. Rachel can also help you access other resources on campus and in the local community. You can reach Rachel at rstewart1@conncoll.edu, make an appointment with Rachel or one of the other Confidential Advocates at http://bit.ly/ConnCollSVPA or contact the SVPA Confidential Advocate Hotline 24/7 at 860-460-9194.
    The student sexual harassment, dating violence, stalking, and non-discrimination policies are in the Sexual Harassment and Nondiscrimination Policy, which can be found on CamelWeb, in the "Documents/Policies" section, under the Student Life section. There you will find the policies, definitions, procedures, and resources. If you need to report an incident or have any questions about the policy, you can contact the Associate Dean for Equity and Compliance Programs at 860-439-2624 or titleix@conncoll.edu, and her office is located in Cro Rm. 216.

Academic Resource Center The Academic Resource Center (ARC) offers services to support your academic work such as study skills workshops, time management, coaching and tutoring. Its offices are located on the second floor of Shain Library. Students can make appointments by clicking on this link: https://forms.gle/QcutMY2Z8UWaGePa7.
The ARC has compiled a series of resources for students (arc.digital.conncoll.edu). The ARC is open to the community:
Monday - Thursday, 8:30 am - 8:00 pm
Friday, 8:30 - 5:00
Students may continue to use the ARC as a quiet study space, though social distancing and masks are required at ALL times. If you have any questions or concerns, you should contact Noel Garrett via email ngarrett@conncoll.edu or Anne Vera Cruz via email averacruz@conncoll.edu.

Writing Center The Roth Writing Center provides one-to-one peer tutoring (free of charge) to help student writers of all abilities during all stages of the writing process. You can make an appointment here using Google Calendar (see https://www.conncoll.edu/offices/roth-writing-center). If you're a confident, experienced writer our tutors can help you to push your ideas and polish your style; if you're a relatively inexperienced and not-so-confident writer they can help you to work on grammar or organization or whatever you need. Working with a tutor gives you the opportunity to share your work-in-progress with an actual reader, so that you can get useful feedback on that work before you have to turn it in for a final grade. For further information, visit the Writing Center web page at http://write.conncoll.edu/

Office of Student Accessibility Services Connecticut College complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you have a documented disability and have been approved for academic accommodations, please have your Faculty Notification Letter emailed to me through the Student Accessibility online management system (AIM) and schedule a meeting during my office hours as early as possible in the semester so that we can discuss the logistics of your accommodations. If you are not approved for accommodations, but have a disability requiring academic accommodations, or have questions about applying for accommodations, please contact Student Accessibility Services at 860-439-5428 or sas@conncoll.edu.

Classroom Recording With the exception of those granted accommodations through the Office of Student Accessibility Services, students are prohibited from audio, video, or photographic recording during class periods or out-of-class meetings with the instructor without explicit permission from the instructor. Recordings approved in this manner may not be shared in any form without permission of the instructor. Violations of this policy shall be considered an Honor Code violation.

Office Hours Office hours provide students with additional opportunities to review or ask questions about the class discussions and assignments. Connecticut College faculty encourage students to go to office hours so they might learn about your interests, both inside and outside the classroom. In addition to talking about class material and assignments, you may find you share common interests, such as music, books, hobbies, and movies. If a professor knows your interest, they may inform you about campus programs and activities or other opportunities like fellowships and scholarships. Most importantly, a professor who knows their students writes better letters of recommendation. Successful students at Connecticut College make time to go to their professor's office hours. All Connecticut College faculty are required to have office hours on their syllabus and posted on their office door. If you cannot make your professor's scheduled office hours, contact your professor to set up an appointment.

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