16-741 Mechanics of Manipulation

Spring 2008

Instructor: Matt Mason

12 units
Where: NSH 3002
When: MW (and sometimes F) 1:30 pm- 2:50 pm

Matt's office hour: W 3:00 pm or by appointment

Textbook:

Mechanics of Robotic Manipulation, by Matthew T. Mason. MIT Press, 2001.

Errata page.

Prerequisites are:

Goal:

To explore model-based robotic manipulation. The overarching motivation is how a robotic manipulator can choose actions to accomplish a given goal. The main idea is that the robot might have a model of how the world works, which allows the robot to search through sequences of actions until a suitable plan is found. The class focuses on models founded on classical mechanics. We will develop techniques for rigid body mechanics, kinematic constraint, Coulomb friction, gravity, and impact, and apply these techniques to manipulation problems including picking and placing, parts orienting, assembly, and mobile manipulation.