ENEX13004 - Robotics and Autonomous Systems

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit will introduce you to robotics and artificial intelligence in autonomous systems. You will learn the principles of robotic manipulators, mobile robots, robotic vision systems, forward kinematics, inverse kinematics of robotic manipulators, and programming. You will program industrial and mobile robots using Python programming language to model robotic systems mathematically, plan their path trajectories and predict and avoid collision with objects in the surrounding environment by fusing information from various sensors. The Robotic Operating System (ROS) is used with Gazebo robotic simulator to build and test various robotic applications. You are introduced to Linux operating system and will learn different ROS commands to test and troubleshoot real-world robotic systems. In addition, you will complete laboratory activities with real robots to strengthen your knowledge before completing a project in Gazebo simulated environment to solve a real-world problem. This unit supports the UN sustainable development goal 9- industry, innovation and infrastructure by discussing sustainable industrialisation using robotic applications.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 3
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisites: ENEM12010 Engineering Dynamics AND MATH11219 Applied Calculus.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School Compulsory Residential School
View Unit Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2024

Term 1 - 2024 Profile
Mackay
Mixed Mode

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 20%
2. Written Assessment 20%
3. Practical and Written Assessment 20%
4. Project (applied) 40%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was .00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a .00% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Student feedback
Feedback
One of the robotic hardware used in the residential school was not functioning properly.
Recommendation
Work closely with the lab technicians to rectify the issue and it is recommended to test the robotic gear well in advance to the residential school.
Action Taken
All hardware underwent testing prior to the residential schools, and no hardware issues were encountered during the residential session.
Source: Student feedback
Feedback
Some students had difficulty in running the simulation robotic environment due to a lack of computational power in their personal computers
Recommendation
Communicate to students the software and hardware requirements of the simulation environment well before the start of the term. Those students who have difficulty running the required software on their personal computers will be encouraged to use CQUniversity computer labs or cloud services.
Action Taken
At the commencement of the unit, students were instructed to install and evaluate the simulation environment, enabling the unit coordinator to promptly detect any issues. Notably, none of the students encountered difficulties when running the simulations on their personal computers. The simulation environment was also available at CQUniversity computer labs.
Source: Unit coordinator's self reflection
Feedback
The present robotic simulation software employed for the final project demands substantial computational power, thereby constraining the project's complexity. Additionally, its resource-intensive nature poses challenges when running on students' computers.
Recommendation
Should explore and introduce an alternative lightweight robotic simulation software optimised for the hardware available on students' computers.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Analyse robotic systems and manipulators by applying knowledge of kinematics and coordinate system transformation
  2. Develop mathematical models to simulate robotic systems using the Robotic Operating System (ROS)
  3. Program industrial robots using industry-standard programming software
  4. Develop control systems for robotics sub-systems by extracting meaningful information from sensors using artificial intelligence techniques
  5. Develop complete robotic solutions to solve real-life problems by combining theoretical knowledge and practical skills
  6. Work individually and collaboratively in teams, communicate professionally by using robotic engineering terminology, symbols, and diagrams.

The Learning Outcomes for this unit are linked with the Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competency Standards for Professional Engineers in the areas of 1. Knowledge and Skill Base, 2. Engineering Application Ability and 3. Professional and Personal Attributes at the following levels:

Intermediate
1.5 Knowledge of engineering design practice and contextual factors impacting the engineering discipline. (LO: 5I )
2.4 Application of systematic approaches to the conduct and management of engineering projects. (LO: 5I )
3.1 Ethical conduct and professional accountability. (LO: 6I )
3.2 Effective oral and written communication in professional and lay domains. (LO: 6I )
3.3 Creative, innovative and pro-active demeanour. (LO: 5I )
3.4 Professional use and management of information. (LO: 5I )
3.6 Effective team membership and team leadership. (LO: 6I )
Advanced
1.1 Comprehensive, theory-based understanding of the underpinning natural and physical sciences and the engineering fundamentals applicable to the engineering discipline. (LO: 1A )
1.2 Conceptual understanding of the mathematics, numerical analysis, statistics, and computer and information sciences which underpin the engineering discipline. (LO: 1A 2A )
1.3 In-depth understanding of specialist bodies of knowledge within the engineering discipline. (LO: 3A 4A 5A )
1.4 Discernment of knowledge development and research directions within the engineering discipline. (LO: 5A )
2.1 Application of established engineering methods to complex engineering problem solving. (LO: 1A 2A 3A 4I 5A )
2.2 Fluent application of engineering techniques, tools and resources. (LO: 2A 3A 4A 5A )
2.3 Application of systematic engineering synthesis and design processes. (LO: 3I 4I 5A )

Note: LO refers to the Learning Outcome number(s) which link to the competency and the levels: N – Introductory, I – Intermediate and A - Advanced.
Refer to the Engineering Undergraduate Course Moodle site for further information on the Engineers Australia's Stage 1 Competency Standard for Professional Engineers and course level mapping information

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - Written Assessment • •
2 - Written Assessment • •
3 - Practical and Written Assessment • • •
4 - Project (applied) • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - Communication •
2 - Problem Solving • • • • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • • • •
5 - Team Work • •
6 - Information Technology Competence • • • • •
8 - Ethical practice • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10