Robotics and real-time control :

ASSIGNMENTS : SOME NOTES

What you can find out about R&R assignments.

• The structure of the practical part of R&R;

• Specifications for type A assignments;

• Specifications for type B assignments;

• Notes on the timetable for the practical part of R&R;

• Notes on using the equipment in the laboratory;

• Notes on safety in the laboratory;

• Notes on my requirements for work handed in, etc.

The practical part of Robotics and Real-time Control.

During the course you will work on two assignments, cleverly entitled assignment 1 and assignment 2. There are also two types of assignment : type A and type B.

The relationship between types and assignments is almost simple; most people carry out a type A assignment for assignment 1, and a type B assigment for assignment 2, but there are occasional exceptions. The intention of the assignments is to give you a practical stimulus to think about how control systems actually work, as well as how they're supposed to work. You are likely to learn as much - or more - from the difficulties and failures as you do from the successes. You might find it reassuring to know that I am more concerned that you should learn a lot from each assignment than that you should complete some arbitrary task.

( The exceptions mentioned above are for people who can demonstrate that they already have enough practical knowledge about basic electronics to cover the stuff in the Type A assignment. If you can convince me that you fall into this category, you can do two Type B assignments instead of one of each. Come and talk to me about it if you think this might be you. In deciding whether you want to take advantage of this apparently generous offer, you might like to bear in mind that the type B assignments, while likely to be significantly more interesting, are also likely to be harder, more time-consuming, and not so reliably mark-bearing. )

TIMETABLE.

The two assignments are notionally associated with the two halves of the semester, but if you want to finish off assignment 1 sooner and get down to assignment 2 earlier that's all right with me. ( The other way round won't work; see the notes on marking below. )

A NOTE ABOUT TIME : Each of you owes me about twelve hours work time per week of the semester, though nothing prevents you from spending more time on the course. Allowing three hours for lectures and two for working on your presentation, that leaves seven for reviewing lecture material, additional reading, and the assignments. I assume you'll spend something like four hours a week on the assignments - maybe a bit less on assignment 1, when the lectures are in progress and you have to prepare your presentation, and a bit more on assignment 2, where there are fewer distractions.

Marking any 773 assignment is a labour-intensive task. I prefer to do it at home so that I am comparatively undisturbed, and that means that there are rather few times at which I can do it. I have reserved the mid-semester break for marking assignment 1. I don't know whether I'll get it all done, but I want all the reports in before the break. I don't like arbitrary deadlines, but there's nothing arbitrary about this one; so assignments which turn up late will not be marked, as I have other things which must be done. Likewise, I shall mark assignment 2 after the end of lectures and ( I hope ) before I get a lot of examination marking to do; that had better be on time too.

USING THE EQUIPMENT.

So far as possible, we'll provide what you need. Limits on possibility are other people's requirements, whether or not we have one, cost, and other obvious constraints. We'll buy small items within reason - plugs, circuit boards, integrated circuits, and so on : ask Peter Shields in the first instance ( see below ), as we might already have something that will do.

The machinery in the laboratory is there to be used : do so, sensibly. There are things on which to do experiments, and things with which to do development jobs. Please look after them; we don't want to have to replace them at frequent intervals. ( If the intervals get too frequent, they won't be replaced any more. ) There is not enough to go round, so you will probably have to share with other people.

If things don't work, do something about it. For proprietary hardware, make a fault report for Peter Shields. For something constructed as a 773 ( or, even more so, 473 ) assignment, you're on your own. You might like to bear that in mind when documenting your own assignment.

If you construct something in an assignment, LABEL IT so that we know what it is.

From Peter Shields ( with some minor corrections ) :

Anyone requesting parts for projects from the workshop (such as ICs etc) should do so through the E-Mail either to the Tech group or directly to me. Along with the request one should provide full name, course number and course director. This information will help me predict the likely need for ordering and accounting. If you request one resistor and we don't have the resistor in the workshop you should consider either buying it yourself and requesting a refund through the office, or accepting delays until I do the same thing, or requesting that that the workshop makes a reasonable bulk purchase through its normal supplier with your course supervisor's approval to bear the cost.

Another idea might be to get together with other students and share costs on parts needed by all, making it possible to buy bulk.

P.S. The robotics lab now has a range of tools and multimeters for all to use; the responsibility for keeping track of them is with the user. Any tools and books found outside the above areas should be returned to the workshop or robotics lab.

Anyone borrowing tools from the workshop or labs should leave a note and return them promptly after use. Failure to observe these niceties will cause the world to tilt even more.

SAFETY.

The 773 laboratory is decorated with a large red notice to the effect that it's a dangerous place in which you must wear protective spectacles. The main reasons for this are that people might be soldering, or using electrical equipment not properly enclosed in boxes ( so that, for example, a bursting capacitor isn't contained ).

If you are using only properly protected built-up machinery ( robot, turtle, train, etc. ), and nobody else is doing dangerous things, then clearly the danger is less severe, and I hope we can find some way to avoid unduly officious enforcement of the rules which would only bring them into disrepute. If you are doing anything even slightly hazardous, though, take appropriate precautions. I would be deeply distressed if a wonderful person like you came to any harm. I might also be legally responsible.

MY REQUIREMENTS.

This is a list of what I expect to get from you during the course in connection with the assignments, and what I must get if you're hoping for full marks. ( That doesn't mean that you'll necessarily get full marks if you hand it all in; I do take some notice of quality. ) I won't badger you for it, so it's your responsibility to make sure that I get it at the appropriate times; if I feel nervous because no one has given me anything, I might mention the fact in lectures or by electronic mail, but it's your decision whether or not you want to spend time writing up 773 assignments.

• Weekly electronic mail reports on progress, problems, etc. These should be summaries, unless you particularly want to explain something in detail.Tell me what you did with your twelve hours. Note that "No progress" will NEVER be acceptable, unless you've finished everything, in which case your assignment is too small. I shall assume that absence of a report means that you're not working conscientiously, and might take it into account in assessment.

• No later than a week after the beginning of a type B assignment : a statement by electronic mail from each group or loner identifying the project to be undertaken, the planned schedule, and ( for groups ) who's doing what. ( It's not set in concrete; you can change it any time you like, but if you do you should record the changes too, and the reasons for the change, in your weekly report. )

• At the end of a type A assignment : a report from each person. This should contain :
  • An account of what you learnt from each of the assignments. Describe what you did, present results as appropriate, and explain the significance of each item.

  • The review of the previous assignment report, or the feasibility study.

  • If you reviewed an assignment report, the report you reviewed.

• At the end of a type B assignment : a report from each group or loner. This should contain :
  • An introduction describing your aims for the assignment, the results of the specification and design stages, and ( for groups ) who did what. This might be an extended version of the statement given after the first week, with amendments if appropriate; it should give the reasons behind the decisions as well as the decisions themselves. I would not expect it to be be very long, unless some special feature of the design or specification needed explanation. All members of a group take joint responsibility for this part.

  • For a group : separate sections from each member of the group describing their own contributions. These should contain the obvious material about details of the implementation, discussions of the "real-time control and robotics" aspects of the work done, and anything else relevant. If anything goes wrong with a group's plan, and you have to combine to sort things out, these sections might be impossible to write; in that case, do the best you can, and make clear your individual contributions to the report.

    This isn't just a whim. Occasionally groups have complained that they can't separate their individual contributions, and demanded that they be assessed as a whole. I can't do that; I am required by the conditions of my job to assess you individually, and if the assignment won't do that then it's a bad assignment. Obviously activities like design and coordination are group tasks, and should be identifiable as such, but I'll expect that most of the work will be attributable to individuals.

    What happens if you don't ? I deplore threats, but students persist in ignoring these not unreasonable requirements. You might like to inspect my comments on a previous year's assignment 2 assessment, or a letter which I have sent to defaulting students.

  • A review of the significance of the topic. Comment on the success - or otherwise, if appropriate - of the assignment. Were the original aims achieved ? If not, why not ? How can the result be improved, extended, reexamined, or whatever ? Also comment on "real world" equivalents of the topic, or other related matters. How does your assignment fit in with industrial practice ? For a group, this is a joint effort too, though individual members could reasonably assess their own contributions if it seemed appropriate.

Alan Creak,
May, 1997.