Introduction to Robotics and
Artificial Intelligence

A project-oriented course catered to the Ghanaian context

Course Description   |   Instructors and Consultants   |   Course Details   |  Pre-requisites

Course Syllabus   |   Useful Links   |   Lecture Notes   |  Task Reports

Course Description:

Robotics is a field that brings together computer science and engineering, resulting in systems that interact intelligently with their environment. With applications ranging from agriculture to factory automation, from healthcare to education, robotics is a fascinating and fun way to develop creativity as well as the design, implementation, and integration skills that are essential for computer scientists and technologists.

This hands-on introduction to the field of robotics and artificial intelligence is offered as a unique collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University, the world leader in Robotics and Computer Science education. The main goal of the course is to challenge students to think creatively and to teach them to integrate diverse areas of knowledge such as Computer Science, Design, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Math to create innovative systems. In this course, students will work individually and in groups to build robots using Lego robot building kits and to program them using microcontrollers. Through these projects, they will learn how to write programs that control a physical device. They will learn to read and understand research papers, to give presentations to technical and non-technical audiences, and follow a project through from an initial idea through design to implementation.

Ultimately, this course will challenge the way students view Computer Science and what they can do with it. As an emerging market, Ghana’s technology industry needs innovation and technologists with the vision to apply fields such as Computer Science to the wide variety of problems relevant to a growing economy. This course is for aspiring innovators. Is it for you?

Instructors:

G. Ayorkor Mills-Tettey, Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University

Email: ayorkor AT cmu DOT edu Phone: Web: http://www.ri.cmu.edu/people/mills_tettey_g.html Office: Office hours: By appointment

Nathan Amanquah, Computer Science Department, Ashesi University

Email: namanquah AT ashesi DOT edu DOT gh Phone: +233-21-765660 Web: http://www.ashesi.edu.gh/ACADEMICS/FACULTY/NAMANQUAH/namanquah.html Office: 3rd Norla, Building 3, Room 105 Office hours: By appointment

Consultants:

M. Bernardine Dias, Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University

Email: mbdias AT ri DOT cmu DOT edu Phone: +1-412-268-9365 Web: http://www.ri.cmu.edu/people/dias_m.html Office: NSH 2105

Brett Browning, Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University

Email: brettb AT cs DOT cmu DOT edu Phone: +1-412-268-6021 Web: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~brettb Office: NSH 3220

Course Details:

Semester:	Summer 2006
Venue:	Ashesi University
Day/Time:	Lectures: Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays, 10am-11:30am
	Lab: Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays, 1:30-3:00pm

Pre-requisites:

The main pre-requisite is the motivation to be innovative and to learn new ways of problem solving and technology applications in Ghana.

In addition, participants need the following skills:

1. Basic Math skills (algebra, calculus)
2. Basic programming in some language like C, Pascal, C++, Java

Course Syllabus:

The most important part of the class are the hands-on tasks and projects to be completed individually and groups. These tasks as well as the in-class lectures, will cover the following topics:

•    Introduction to Robotics
•    The relevance of Robotics and its component technologies in the Ghanaian context
•    Essential Skills: Electronics, C Programming, Linux Basics
•    Kinematics
•    Open-Loop control
•    Sensing and Sensors
•    Closed-Loop Control
•    Motion planning
•    Behavior-Based Approaches
•    Computer Vision
•    Machine Learning
•    Special Topics

Useful Links:

Coming soon!

Lecture Notes:

Task Reports: