Getting Started¶

Contents of the Course¶

Defining sensors; physical vs virtual sensors.
Chronometers, cameras, infrared, laser, temperature, IMU.
Sensor mappings, resolution, noise, calibration.
Preimages, sources of uncertainty, comparing sensors, stochastic modeling.
Multiple sensor readings and networks of sensors.
Triangulation principles.
Motion models: discrete time, continuous time, event-based.
Linear, complementary, Kalman, Bayesian, and combinatorial filters.
Localization and mapping; global positioning systems; tracking humans.

Learning Outcomes¶

Upon completion of the course the students will be able to:

Deeply understand the fundamentals common to widely used sensing and filtering systems
Design new sensors and filters
Apply the fundamentals to critical problems in robotics, Internet of Things, and virtual and augmented reality
Understand the links between theory and practice in sensing and filtering systems

Enroll in This Course on Lovelace¶

To access exercises in the course, you need to make sure you are enrolled in this course on Lovelace. Once you are enrolled, the exercises and tasks become visible on the home page of our course: Fundamentals of Sensing, Tracking, and Autonomy 1 . Otherwise, only general information is displayed; exercise pages are either hidden or non-interactive to unenrolled students.

Communication¶

We use Discord for all course communication. You will receive Discord invitation in the first mass email, as well as upon enrolling in this course on Lovelace.

Please post your questions there instead of sending emails. On Discord you can:

Get help and answers quickly,
Help your classmates,
Find teammates for your project, and
Discuss with others and with the staff throughout the course.

Important: Do not send direct messages (DMs) to staff members. DMs are banned by server policy.

Course Format: Flipped Classroom¶

Starting this year, we will use a flipped-classroom model. You can join these sessions on the scheduled dates in class or via Zoom (the link will be provided on Discord).

Individual Work¶

This work you will complete and submit individually, outside of any live sessions.

Watch online recorded lectures and/or read the course notes.
Complete QUIZZES.
Complete the FINAL EXAM.

Supported Homework Work¶

This work is submitted individually on Lovelace, but you will receive active support during live sessions and on Discord.

Work on HOMEWORK assignments on your own or together with friends.
Attend in-person sessions where instructors and TAs help you:

understand the problems,
clarify concepts,
and answer questions related to the HOMEWORK.

Ask questions and discuss homework-related issues on Discord at any time.

All homework must still be submitted individually on Lovelace, but live sessions are dedicated to helping you make progress on these assignments rather than delivering traditional lectures.

Lectures and Reading Materials¶

Instead of live lectures, you will watch recorded lectures as part of your individual course work. We will still meet during scheduled lecture hours, but these lecture sessions will be dedicated to solving your HOMEWORK assignments.

Recordings, lecture notes and slides are available in MATERIALS.

Grading¶

The final grade is based on the cumulative points on homeworks (30%), quizzes (10%), and final exam (60%). The overall course ranking is taken into account for final grade assignment (1 to 5, or fail), after all coursework is completed.

Late Submission Policy¶

For HOMEWORK, 40% will be automatically deducted for every day that your submission is late. That is, your score on a day, d, after the deadline gets multiplied by 0.6^d.

For the FINAL EXAM and QUIZZES in this course, no submissions will be accepted after the deadline.

Feedback¶

We kindly ask you to leave feedback on our course pages. This will help us to further develop the course and bring the best possible experience to future students!

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