Learning

ELEC 845 Autonomous Vehicle Control & Navigation introduces graduate-level engineering students to the fundamentals of autonomous vehicle control, localization, and mapping.  This course focuses on those tasks usually carried out by autonomy engineers, including sensor selection, applied control (e.g., trajectory and path following) and navigation techniques for autonomous vehicles that operate in real environments (e.g., construction, warehouses, roadways, mining, etc.).  Although the focus in this course is on ground vehicles, the presented methods are also applicable more broadly.  The audience is engineers from all relevant engineering and applied science disciplines who have an interest in mobile robotics, applied control and estimation, and robotic vehicle applications. The audience is graduate students from all relevant engineering and applied science disciplines who have an interest in mobile robotics, applied control and estimation, and robotic vehicle applications.

Registration

ELEC 845 will not be offered during the 2024-25 academic year.

Prerequisites

• It is strongly recommended that students have taken at least one undergraduate course in control systems engineering (e.g., at Queen’s, MECH 350, ELEC 443, MTHE 332, or something similar from elsewhere). 
• Students should be comfortable with (vector) calculus and linear algebra, as well as have a strong grasp of the fundamentals of probability and statistics. 
• It is assumed that students are proficient in basic programming in Python, MATLAB, Julia, or some similar language for numerical computing.

About the Course

This is a 12-week graduate course that involves both lectures and regular hands-on activities where computer simulation is used to apply and experiment with introduced techniques and algorithms.  Students are also expected to complete and present a significant independent project.  The grading scheme comprises 20 % (two assignments), 40 % independent project, 40 % final exam.

MREN 203 Mechatronics & Robotics Design II was originally developed by Joshua Marshall in 2022-23 to provide second year engineering students in the Mechatronics & Robotics Engineering program at Smith Engineering with an introduction to engineering design, focusing on robotic and mechatronic systems. The first part of this course covers formal systems engineering design techniques, problem definition, creative idea generation, and decision-making considering economic, societal, and environmental factors. Students engage in workshops to develop technical skills and work with a physical robot system. The second part involves a prototype-based final design project with both hardware and software components, providing hands-on experience in the engineering design-build-test-fail cycle. Emphasis is placed on developing engineering writing and speaking skills, including professional correspondence, reports, oral briefings, and presentations.  In the context of robotic systems engineering, the course delves into professional practices, including engineering codes, standards, and ethics, while exploring the interplay between environmental factors and human activities. 

Course Syllabus

MREN 203 is a 12-week introduction to robotic systems engineering design.  The course covers the following topics (by week).

1. Introduction to robotic systems engineering
2. Elements of robot modelling and control
3. Control, systems design and requirements
4. Professional practice and teamwork
5. Tools and techniques for technical communications
6. Project evaluation and cost estimation
7. Robotics and sustainable development
8. System reliability and risk analysis
9. Regulations, codes and standards in robotics engineering
10. Ethically aligned design in robotics
11. Intellectual responsibility
12. Trends and careers in robotics and automation

This course has been discontinued.

MINE 472 Mining Systems Automation & Robotics was an online course developed by Joshua Marshall, Scott Nokleby, and Heshan Fernando, which was offered at Queen’s University from 2015-2020.  Its development was originally funded by the Ontario Online initiative and developed in partnership with the Engineering Teaching & Learning Team at Smith Engineering.

Overview

In order to address issues related to safety, productivity, and remote operations, the world’s mineral resources industry has been gradually shifting towards the increased use of automated systems and robotically-enhanced machines.  It is important, therefore, that graduate engineers understand how these new technologies work so as to improve and make best use of them.

This online course introduces senior students to the fundamental tools and techniques of automation and robotics as applied to modern mining practice.  It provides an introduction to the basics of systems control, examples of how methods of automatic control can be applied to mining equipment and associated industrial vehicles, as well as to the fundamentals of sensing and navigation as applied to the design of robotic mobile equipment.

Enrolment

MINE 472 was a fourth-year technical elective at Smith Engineering from 2015-2020.  Enrolment was open to students from a range of engineering disciplines, to students from universities other than Queen’s, and even to industry professionals.