Autonomous Systems Clinic (ELEN90090)

AIMS:
Students work collaboratively in small groups to engineer an autonomous system that performs a specified task. This includes carrying out steps such as: task analysis; proposing multiple solutions; feasibility analysis through prototyping and computer-aided design; detailed design, construction, and testing of the chosen solution; and demonstrating the solution in a proving ground. The lectures will cast content from the pre-requisite subjects into the context of the task at hand, as well as covering additional topics relevant to the task. Each student group is expected to demonstrate initiative and independence while pursuing the goal of designing and building their autonomous system, with a focus of the subject being that students learn through hands-on experience, implementation, and verification.

INDICATIVE CONTENT:
Successful completion of the project requires the student to draw upon knowledge, understanding, and skills learned in the prerequisite subjects, namely:

• Embedded System Design - including topics such as: finite, extended, and hierarchical state machines; modelling cyber-physical systems; scheduling, multi-tasking, and real-time issues; interfacing to the analogue world.
• Control Systems - including topics such as: modelling; linearisation; feedback interconnections; proportional, integral, derivative (PID) control; actuator constraint considerations.
• Signal Processing - including topics such as: design and implementation of digital filters (low-, high-, band-, all- pass filters); ARMA systems; up-sampling and down-sampling.

Additional topics, specific to the task as hand, will be covered, such as: ideation, prototyping, and design practices; image processing and computer vision tools; software introductions; safety and failure analysis.

A range of materials, components, and fabrication facilities are provided, from which the students are expected to utilise a subset for designing and building their autonomous system, such as: electric motors, range sensors, camera, voltage converters, compute power, sheet wood, soldering stations, laser wood cutting, 3D printing. The task to be performed is motivated by a real-world application of autonomous systems, such as: operating in hazardous environments or performing repetitive tasks.

Please view this video for further information: Autonomous Systems Clinic