Enroll Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/modernrobotics-course5
For aspiring roboticists and those fascinated by the intricate workings of machines, the “Modern Robotics: Mechanics, Planning, and Control” specialization on Coursera offers a rigorous and rewarding learning experience. As the fifth course in this comprehensive series, “Robot Manipulation and Wheeled Mobile Robots” dives deep into two critical areas of robotics, providing students with the fundamental mathematical modeling techniques essential for success in the field.
This course is not for the faint of heart; it’s designed for serious students willing to invest the effort to grasp complex concepts. If you’re looking for a career in robotics or aiming for advanced academic study, this course is an excellent stepping stone.
The syllabus is meticulously structured, beginning with **Chapter 12: Grasping and Manipulation**. This two-part chapter tackles the sophisticated kinematics of contact, exploring different contact types like rolling, sliding, and breaking. It introduces graphical methods for representing kinematic constraints in the plane, a crucial skill for understanding how robots interact with their environment. The concept of form-closure grasping, which ensures complete kinematic constraint, is thoroughly explained. The latter half of Chapter 12 delves into the physics of friction, covering Coulomb friction, friction cones, and graphical force/torque representations. Force closure grasping and various manipulation techniques beyond simple grasping are also explored, offering a robust understanding of how robots physically interact with objects.
**Chapter 13: Wheeled Mobile Robots** shifts focus to the locomotion and navigation of mobile platforms. Part one introduces kinematic models for both omnidirectional and nonholonomic wheeled mobile robots. Understanding these models is key to predicting and controlling their movement. The second part of this chapter explores controllability, motion planning, and feedback control strategies for nonholonomic robots – a particularly challenging but vital area. The course also covers odometry, the process of estimating a robot’s position based on its movement, and the complex field of mobile manipulation, where robots combine locomotion and manipulation capabilities.
Overall, “Robot Manipulation and Wheeled Mobile Robots” is a challenging yet immensely valuable course. It equips learners with the theoretical underpinnings and practical mathematical tools needed to design, analyze, and control robotic systems. For anyone serious about a career in robotics, this course, and indeed the entire “Modern Robotics” specialization, comes highly recommended.
Enroll Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/modernrobotics-course5