Difference between revisions of "CISC829 F2012"

• 16% 3 assignments worth 16% each. Each homework will be due 2 weeks after being assigned.
• 20% Presentation. 20-minute tutorial or demo of advanced features in ROS and/or PCL (that were not presented in lecture). You can talk about platforms (walking, flying), sensors, planners, perception algorithms, etc. using slides, images, and movies or live code.
• 32% Project

Programming assignments will be graded on the basis of correctness, efficiency, and originality. This is not an introductory programming class, so coding style is not critical. However, if you want partial credit for something that doesn't quite work, it needs to be well-commented and easy to follow.

For the overall course grade, a preliminary absolute mark will be assigned to each student based on the percentage of the total possible points they earn according to the standard formula: A = 90-100, B = 80-90, C = 70-80, etc., with +'s and -'s given for the upper and lower third of each range, respectively. Based on the distribution of preliminary grades for all students (i.e., "the curve"), the instructor may increase these grades monotonically to calculate final grades. This means that your final grade can't be lower than your preliminary grade, and your final grade won't be higher than that of anyone who had a higher preliminary grade.

I will try to keep you informed about your standing throughout the semester. If you have any questions about grading or expectations at any time, please feel free to ask me.

We will be using Piazza for discussion, questions, and help, both from me to you and student-to-student.

• To enroll: http://www.piazza.com/udel/fall2012/cisc829
• After you enroll: http://piazza.com/class#fall2012/cisc829

Assignment submissions should consist of a directory containing all code (your .cpp files, makefile, etc.), any output data generated (e.g., images, movies, etc.), and an explanation of your approach, what worked and didn't work, etc. contained in a separate text or HTML file. Do not submit executables or .o files, please! The directory you submit for each assignment should be packaged by tar'ing and gzip'ing it or just zip'ing it. The resulting file should be e-mailed to the instructor (cer@cis.udel.edu).

Students can discuss problems with one another in general terms, but must work independently on programming assignments. This also applies to online and printed resources: you may consult them as references (as long as you cite them), but the words and source code you turn in must be yours alone. The University's policies on academic dishonesty are set forth in the student code of conduct here.

• If you don't have a Linux distribution running currently, it's not hard to add one to your machine. The Ubuntu website has comprehensive instructions on installing it from different sources (CD-ROM, USB stick, etc.) on a separate partition (aka "dual booting"). I recommend version 12.04.
• Other free options are VirtualBox and VMWare Player, which let you run Ubuntu from within Windows. I found these instructions helpful when setting up my virtual machine
• Ubuntu can be run from within Mac OSX using VirtualBox or VMWare Fusion (which costs $50)

• Installation instructions (Fuerte, Ubuntu 12.04)
• "Cheatsheet"
• Tutorial videos
• Rviz user guide

• Installing TurtleBot with Fuerte and 12.04
  • Also run this: sudo apt-get install ros-fuerte-turtlebot-simulator
• Turtlebot simulator tutorials
• Further changes to make are detailed in 8/30 lecture notes, but here they are in one place

• The Gazebo 3-D simulator is included in the full desktop install of ROS
• Wiki
• Basic tutorials
• ROSCon 2012 talk
• To run "headless" (i.e. with no display), in launch file add -r to beginning of gazebo node's args string and comment out gazebo_gui node line

DON'T INSTALL ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE YET

• Use svn to checkout the following stacks (at least) from here:
  • hector_quadrotor
  • hector_quadrotor_apps
  • hector_common
  • hector_gazebo
  • hector_models
  • hector_slam
• Do sudo -i, go into hector_quadrotor, and do rosmake.
• roslaunch hector_quadrotor_demo outdoor_flight_gazebo.launch, then rosrun hector_quadrotor_controller test_trajectory. You should see the quadrotor do a little circuit.

WARNING: executing the next line will overwrite some of the turtlebot changes described in lecture

• sudo apt-get install ros-fuerte-pr2-simulator
• sudo apt-get install ros-fuerte-pr2-navigation (this brings down pr2_teleop)

• Note: install these before OpenCV
• Installing on 12.04 (details/links in [1], [2])
  • OpenNI unstable, PrimeSense NITE unstable, and avin2 hardware driver. Make sure you choose the 32-bit or 64-bit version to match your Ubuntu install
• Possible fix for openni_launch not working
• Instructions for libfreenect (an alternative to OpenNI) on 12.04

• Install guide

• Installation: Pre-built binaries on Ubuntu
• PCL and ROS

• Bohren's ROS intro slides

slides

• Thrun et al. wheeled locomotion slides
• LaValle, Chap. 13.1.2

• Stanford Stanley paper (section 9.2)
• LaValle Chaps. 1 (skip 1.5), 15.3-15.3.2

slides

• Choset's Bug slides
• ROSCon MP talk