Preparing for My MEng in Autonomy and Robotics at UIUC: Seeking Recommendations! 🚀

[MyGRT]

Hello everyone! I’m excited to announce that I’ve been accepted into the Master of Engineering program in Autonomy and Robotics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)! As I prepare to embark on this academic journey, I’m eager to immerse myself in the field of robotics and autonomy beforehand. I have a basic understanding from an introductory robotics course in my undergrad, but I’d love to deepen my knowledge. Could you recommend any essential books, key topics, or online courses that would be beneficial for me to explore? Your tips and advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Oliver]

To dive deeper into the world of robotics and autonomy before starting your program, here are some recommendations:To dive deeper into the world of robotics and autonomy before starting your program, here are some recommendations:

Books

“Introduction to Autonomous Robots” by Alonzo Kelly: This book is here to set you up with the knowledge on the crucial issues of autonomous robotics e.g. algorithms and technologies.

“Probabilistic Robotics” by Sebastian Thrun, Wolfram Burgard, and Dieter Fox: Critical tools for probabilistic methods employed in robotics sense, and perception and movements.

“Robot Modeling and Control” by Mark W. Spong, Seth Hutchinson, and M. Vidyasagar: This book touches the basic topics such as robot kinematics, dynamics, and control.

Online Courses

“Modern Robotics: The course titled “’RoBotMecsPlus4” by Northwestern University (Coursera) explores the intricacies of robotics mechanics, planning and control in depth.

“Artificial Intelligence for Robotics” by Georgia Tech (Udacity): Make an AI course with Thrun being a major character and the main person behind teaching you these key techniques of robotics.

“Control of Mobile Robots” by Georgia Tech (Coursera): This chapter is concerned with the control systems of mobile robots, a topic that is critical for understanding the autonomy of mobile robots.

The following topics will be analyzed:

Kinematics and Dynamics: Study the actuation of robots and the ways the forces are applied to them.

Control Systems: Learn the approaches to designing systems that will regulate the robot's behavior successfully.

Sensor Fusion: Comprehend art of combing data from many sensors to have a clear perception of vivid surrounding.

Machine Learning and AI: This is how we find ways to create intelligent robot systems.

Splashing into these resources will be your starting point, and it will help you to be at ease once you start your program. All the best with the exploration of the world of robotics and its autonomy through this fascinating journey!