Mondays: Lecture in class and live on zoom. Recordings of classes will also be available on Canvas if you are unable to attend. If you do not attend in person, you will need to submit a response paper or video to receive participation credit.
Wednesdays: Hands-on lab session where only half the class attends each week. We will learn to fly, solder/assemble drones, and other hands-on (socially distant) stuff for as long as COVID-19 allows us to meet in person. If you cannot attend these for whatever reason, there will be alternative activities for you to perform.
Canvas Learning: Additional materials and lectures will be posted online to supplement learning due to the reduced class and lab time due to COVID-19.
For detailed information on this course please see the syllabus.
This website is largely for archival purposes. For real-time information see Canvas.
The main project in the class will be for us to create an autonomous drone "Quidditch" league. We will split into small groups and each group will focus on developing systems (e.g. grippers/etc) and algorithms (e.g. detect balls/other drones/etc) to act as the chasers, beaters, keepers, and seekers. And of course one team will need to program the snitch. There will also be a team dedicated to creating a simulation environment and rules for this, but we will also do work at the real Nimbus Quidditch Pitch as we can.
Assignment |
Course Survey |
Homework 1 |
Homework 2 Sim Camera Guide Ball Detector Code |
Project |
Week | Lecture Topic | Lab Topic | Key Deadlines |
Week 1: Aug 17 | Syllabus and Course Overview | Class Survey | |
Week 2: Aug 24 | ROS | Group A: Soldering or Flying (weather pending) | HW1 Out |
Week 3: Aug 31 | ROS | Group B: Soldering or Flying (weather pending) | |
Week 4: Sept 7 | Overview of Key UAS Components | Group A: Soldering or Flying (weather pending) | HW1 Due |
Week 5: Sept 14 | Basic Computer Vision | Group B: Soldering or Flying (weather pending) | HW2 Out |
Week 6: Sept 21 | Flight Controllers and IMU | Group A: Soldering or Flying (weather pending) | Start Project (groups finalized) |
Week 7: Sept 28 | Project Work Week | Project Work Week | HW2 Due |
Week 8: Oct 5 | Autonomy | Group A: Sensors and Actuators | |
Week 9: Oct 12 | Group Meetings with Instructor | Group Meetings with Instructor | |
Week 10: Oct 19 | Project Work Week | Group B: Sensors and Actuators | |
Week 11: Oct 26 | Project Status Report Presentation | Project Work Time | Project Status Report Due |
Week 12: Nov 2 | Low Level Motors and Motor Control | Project Work Time | Peer Feedback Due |
Week 13: Nov 9 | FAA Part 107 | Project Work Time | |
Week 14: Nov 16 | Final Project Presentations | Final Project Presentations | Final Project Due, Peer Feedback Due |