IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - June 2016 - 45

Table 1. Examples of teaching motion control concept to students at different levels.
Robotics Level
Robotics Concepts

Novice

Intermediate

Advanced

Sensors/perception

Direct user observation

Distance (sonar, infrared)
light (encoders, photoresistor)
tactile/proximity

Self-localization and mapping (SLAM),
Kalman filtering, object detection,
(Types of Error)

Planning/thinking/
control schemes

Teleoperation/remote
control (user controls)

Obstacle avoidance, potential
fields navigation, go to goal,
semiautonomous (via points),
bang-bang control

Wall following, bug algorithm obstacle
avoidance, object tracking, conditional
behaviors, adaptive autonomy, shared
autonomy, feedback control (P, PI, PID),
behavior-based control, potential fields
navigation

Acting

Simple motion commands Forward kinematics, inverse
graphical remote control
kinematics, dead reckoning

State estimation, state prediction and
modeling, (Types of Error)

Hardware

Motors, wheels, types of
actuators, types of sensors
battery, power

Encoders, ticks Ackermann steering
omnidirectional drive

DC versus servo motors, PWM
differential drive Ackermann
steering omnidirectional drive

Table 2. Sample lesson plan on motion for novice students.
Minimum Lesson Time

Intermediate Lesson Time

Extensive Lesson Time

Draw fundamental
shapes, such as a line,
curve, angle

Draw simple figures or closed
shapes (triangle, circle, square)

Draw complex shapes (tree and
house, star, octagon, hexagon, spiral)

Background
knowledge

How to turn on robot,
how to enter commands,
how to execute
commands on robot

Geometry of desired shapes

Activities

Make robot move in a
prescribed motion
following prescribed
instructions.

Make the robot move in a
desired motion to create a
specific shape.

Make the robot move in a desired
motion to create a specific shape.

Make the robot move in
a desired motion
modifying prescribed
instructions.

Provide several shapes made
from primitive motions and
allow students to attempt
them. Competition can be to
see who can create the most
shapes within some criteria,
such as most different size
circles on a fixed sheet of
paper or creates all of the required shapes in the
shortest time.

Next, given a drawing, without specific
prescribed steps, students design
programs for the robot to recreate
the drawing.

How the robot moves,
how precisely the path
meets the expectation

How the robot moves.
Does the figure close?

How the robot moves. Does the figure
close?

Are the dimensions what were
expected or calculated?

How similar are the drawings?

Translating task to commands robot can understand or use

Types of error, effects of various
environments, translate robot
motion to dimensions

Decompose a task into the required
motion primitives.

Objectives

Student observations

Robotics concepts

Robot dance

typically begin with teleoperation regardless of the grade
level. If a student has prior robotics experience, it may
be more instructive to introduce planning with the
obstacle avoidance. Some topics at more advanced levels
actually build on skills from more than one key theoreti-

cal concept. For example, an advanced objective for
motion control could also use the skills from the Sensors/Perception or the Types of Error concepts to support
objectives of allowing the robot to correct its motion to
reach a particular goal.
june 2016

Ieee ROBOTICS & AuTOMATIOn MAGAZIne

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - June 2016