I will be teaching an Engineering Projects course this coming Autumn (GEEN 1400, sections 60/61). We will be using the LEGO Mindstorms and LabVIEW in the course. The course will be structured around robotic exploration, and how to develop algorithms that facilitate robots accomplishing complex tasks. At the same time, we will look at:

• foundations of simulation
• algorithm design
• sensor evaluation
• and mechanical design.

The robots students will design will not be as humanoid as the one to the left. This is largely because robots are almost always designed for a specific purpose, which can mean a simpler design (such as the one on the right) can be more efficient and robust. These design specifications make their way all the way from the mechanical design to software design, as students will see over the course of the term.