CS81 — Adaptive Robotics
Fall 2015

Goals | Grading | Paper Responses | Schedule | Final papers

Class information

Class: T, TH 9:55–11:10am SCI 181
Lab A: F 2:15–3:45 SCI 252
Lab B: F 4:00–5:30 SCI 252

Professor: Lisa Meeden
Office: Science Center 243
Phone: 328-8565

Introduction

This seminar will explore the topic of adaptive robotics with a focus on developmental robotics, a newly emerging paradigm of research. The goal of developmental robotics is to create intelligent robots by allowing them to go through a developmental process, rather than being directly programmed to solve a particular task. By endowing a robot with an appropriate initial control architecture and adaptive mechanisms, it can learn through interactions with the world, developing self-organized knowledge about itself and its environment. We will be studying the following sorts of questions: What should be innate in the robot? What adaptive mechanisms are needed? What motivates the robot to act?

Goals for the course

Grading

Paper Responses

Each class meeting will focus on one paper. Prepare for class by reading the assigned paper and writing a brief response (no more than one page in length). Your response should be typed and printed, and will be handed in at the end of class. Your response should include:



Schedule

WEEK DAY ANNOUNCEMENTS TOPIC & READING LAB
1

Sep 01

  Introduction
1: Scribbler Robot

Sep 03

 
2

Sep 08

  Neural Networks
2: Robot Simulator

Sep 10

Drop/Add ends (Sep 11)

3

Sep 15

  Evolving Neural Networks
3: Evolving neural network controllers

Sep 17

 
4

Sep 22

  Novelty search 4: Implementing Novelty Search

Sep 24

 
5

Sep 29

  Developmental Encodings 5: Applying Novelty Search

Oct 01

 
6

Oct 06

  Intrinsic Motivation None

Oct 08

 
 

Oct 13

Fall Break

Oct 15

7

Oct 20

  Unsupervised learning Project

Oct 22

 
8

Oct 27

  Reinforcement learning Discuss project proposal

Oct 29

Project proposal due

9

Nov 03

  Cooperation Continue project

Nov 05

Last day to declare CR/NC (Nov 06)

10

Nov 10

  Deep learning Prepare for checkpoint

Nov 12

 
11

Nov 17

  Checkpoint demonstration schedule Prepare for presentation and begin paper

Nov 19

 
12

Nov 24

  CS Research Talks None

Nov 26

Thanksgiving

13

Dec 01

Project work day in lab

Project presentation schedule  

Dec 03

 
14

Dec 08

Party!



Final Papers