First Robotics Course for Senior/Graduate Engineering Students

An introductory robotics course developed for senior/graduate engineering students has been revised continuously since the course was first introduced three years ago. The updated version of this course emphasizes the theories of robot kinematics and dynamics; it also overviews a wide spectrum of topics including flexible automation, robot history, actuating mechanisms, end effectors, sensors, programming methods, manufacturing applications, and implementation justification. It uses four Teachmover robots and a GE P-50 robot for class demonstration and homework assignments, in order that the students can firmly grasp the functions and programming methods of an industrial robot as well as get familiar with some applications such as pick-and-place, parts sorting, and palletizing. Two graphic simulation programs have been developed specifically for the course to enchance students\u27 understanding on forward kinematics, inverse kinematics, and different types of motion. A computer program has been written using the symbolic algebra system MACSYMA to derive the robot dynamics equations, from which the students learn how to use a symbolic system to derive equations of motion