Virginia Tech® home

ECE 4704 - Principles of Robotic Systems (3C)

Course Description

Introduction to the design, analysis, control, and operation of robotic mechanisms. Introduction to the use of homogeneous coordinates for kinematics, dynamics, and camera orientation; sensors and actuators, control, task planning, vision, and intelligence.

Why take this course?

This course introduces the students to the operation of robotic manipulators and other automation systems. It gives electrical engineering students a strong background in the control of mechanical devices, as well as the application of a variety of sensors and actuators. A systems-level approach also facilitates applied studies in planning, automation, and intelligence. In addition, the course is intended to inform interested students of current research and implementation issues in the robotics and automation field, which are commonly encountered only in graduate level electrical engineering courses.

Learning Objectives

  • Compute the forward kinematics of a serial-link robotic manipulator.
  • Compute the inverse kinematics of simple robotic manipulators.
  • Compute dynamics of a simple serial-link robotics manipulator.
  • Compute path-plans for robotic mechanisms.