The aim of this course is to study how people can collaborate with robots on complex tasks. People who have taken the course in the past have completed projects that resulted in being featured in the New Yorker magazine, papers at top robotics venues. We just learned that two alums from the course, Eric Rosen and Sidd Karamcheti, were given honorable mention for the CRA Undergraduate Research award!

Meeting Time: Tuesday/Thursday 10:30-12pm
Meeting Location: CIT 115.
Instructor: Stefanie Tellex
TAs: Matt Corsaro and Eric Rosen
Piazza: https://piazza.com/brown/spring2018/cs2961k/home

After taking this course, you will be able to:

  • Describe and critically evaluate approaches that researchers have used to enable robots to interact with humans using language and gesture, bridging from language to perceptual and motor actions.
  • Identify open research questions in this area.
  • Complete a research project addressing one or more of these research questions.

Course requirements

This graduate seminar will consist of readings from the technical literature as well as a final project.  Grades will be determined by:

  • 20% Attendance and participation
  • 10% Project proposal.
  • 10% Midterm checkpoint
  • 20% Project presentation.
  • 40% Project written document.

Prerequisites

This class is designed to be accessible to a wide variety of students with different backgrounds. If you are unsure if you meet the prerequisites, please contact Stefanie. The course staff will work with you to design a project that works for you. Freshman have taken this class and done well.

Familiarity with robotics, machine learning, computational linguistics, and artificial intelligence are all useful. CS 141, 142, 146, 148 are all good courses to have taken. We do not expect students to have background in all of these areas; we expect that students with diverse backgrounds will teach and learn from each other in this multi-disciplinary research area. Initial class exercises will help facilitate these relationships and build teams of students from different backgrounds.

Class Attendance

You are expected to attend each class and take part in discussions and work with your team. If you are unable to attend class, please let the course staff know ahead of time.

Final Project

Students are expected to complete a research project that advances the state-of-the-art in collaborative robotics. Two-person teams are strongly encouraged for the projects, as this area is highly interdisciplinary and each team member can bring something unique to the collaboration. Class exercises will facilitate project ideas and team formation.

At the end of the semester, you will write a project report, formatted as a conference paper. Final projects will be published on the course web site.

Special Needs

Please inform me if you have a disability or other condition that might require some modification of any of these course procedures. You may speak with me after class or during office hours. For more information, contact Students and Employee Accessibility Services at 401-863-9588 or SEAS@brown.edu.

Schedule

The first few classes will consist of background readings and team-building activities. Students will perform “practice” project proposals, which will consist of a discussion and critique of the readings. Most class meetings will be “lab” classes where the staff will circulate and discuss your project with you. You are expected to attend all class meetings to meet with your team, work on your project, and discuss progress with the course staff. You will also be given card access to the robot lab, and you can work in the lab at any time even when class is not meeting.