Module handbook

for the study program

Master of Science in Autonomous Systems
at the Sankt Augustin campus of
Bonn-Rhein-Sieg
University of applied sciences
Department of Computer Science

January 23, 2012

MAS 1
Contents
1 Module group “Core Courses” (CC) MAS 5
Advanced Software Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAS 5
Autonomous Mobile Robots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAS 7
Mathematics for Robotics and Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAS 9
Principles of Cognitive Robots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAS 11

2 Module group “Specialization Robot Systems Design” (PRSD) MAS 13

Advanced Control Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAS 13
Hardware/Software Co-Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAS 15
Mobile Manipulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAS 17
Robot Manipulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAS 18
Robot Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAS 20
Robot Systems Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAS 22

3 Module group “Specialization Intelligent Robots” (PIR) MAS 24

Adaptive Filtering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAS 24
Learning and Adaptivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAS 26
Multi-Agent Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAS 28
Probabilistic Methods for Robotics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAS 30
Robot Perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAS 31
Planning and Scheduling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAS 33

4 Module group “R&D Project” (RND) MAS 35

Research and Development Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAS 35
Research and Development Colloquium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAS 37

5 Module group “Master-Thesis” (MTHES) MAS 38

Master Thesis Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAS 38
Master Colloquium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAS 40

6 Module group “Seminars” (SEM) MAS 41

Introduction to Scientific Working . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAS 41
Advanced Scientific Working . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAS 43

7 Module group “Lab Courses” (LAB) MAS 45

Scientific Experimentation and Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAS 45
Software Development Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAS 47

MAS 2
Table of content by semester and module group

Semester Module group Module Page

1 CC Advanced Software Technology MAS 5
1 CC Autonomous Mobile Robots MAS 7
1 CC Mathematics for Robotics and Control MAS 9
1 CC Principles of Cognitive Robots MAS 11
1 SEM Introduction to Scientific Working MAS 41
2 LAB Software Development Project MAS 47
2 SEM Advanced Scientific Working MAS 43
2/3 PIR Adaptive Filtering MAS 24
2/3 PIR Learning and Adaptivity MAS 26
2/3 PIR Multi-Agent Systems MAS 28
2/3 PIR Planning and Scheduling MAS 33
2/3 PIR Probabilistic Methods for Robotics MAS 30
2/3 PIR Robot Perception MAS 31
2/3 PRSD Advanced Control Methods MAS 13
2/3 PRSD Hardware/Software Co-Design MAS 15
2/3 PRSD Mobile Manipulation MAS 17
2/3 PRSD Robot Manipulation MAS 18
2/3 PRSD Robot Navigation MAS 20
2/3 PRSD Robot Systems Design MAS 22
3 LAB Scientific Experimentation and Evaluation MAS 45
3 RND Research and Development Colloquium MAS 37
3 RND Research and Development Project MAS 35
4 MTHES Master Colloquium MAS 40
4 MTHES Master Thesis Project MAS 38

Table of content by module name

Module Module group Semester Page

Adaptive Filtering PIR 2/3 MAS 24
Advanced Control Methods PRSD 2/3 MAS 13
Advanced Scientific Working SEM 2 MAS 43
Advanced Software Technology CC 1 MAS 5
Autonomous Mobile Robots CC 1 MAS 7
Hardware/Software Co-Design PRSD 2/3 MAS 15
Introduction to Scientific Working SEM 1 MAS 41
Learning and Adaptivity PIR 2/3 MAS 26
Master Colloquium MTHES 4 MAS 40
Master Thesis Project MTHES 4 MAS 38
Mathematics for Robotics and Control CC 1 MAS 9
Mobile Manipulation PRSD 2/3 MAS 17
Multi-Agent Systems PIR 2/3 MAS 28
Planning and Scheduling PIR 2/3 MAS 33
Principles of Cognitive Robots CC 1 MAS 11
Probabilistic Methods for Robotics PIR 2/3 MAS 30
Research and Development Colloquium RND 3 MAS 37
Research and Development Project RND 3 MAS 35

MAS 3
Robot Manipulation PRSD 2/3 MAS 18
Robot Navigation PRSD 2/3 MAS 20
Robot Perception PIR 2/3 MAS 31
Robot Systems Design PRSD 2/3 MAS 22
Scientific Experimentation and Evaluation LAB 3 MAS 45
Software Development Project LAB 2 MAS 47

MAS 4
1 Module group “Core Courses” (CC)

Advanced Software Technology

Module group MAS, 1. Semester, Core Courses (CC)

and semester
Credits 6
Weekly hours Lecture: 2, Lab: 2
Responsible Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kraetzschmar

Teacher Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kraetzschmar

Dr. Björn Kahl
Language English
Studdy effort 60 hours
at univesity

Study effort 120 hours

homework
Prerequisits Ability to develop algorithmic solutions for problems. Good program-
ming abilities in object-oriented languages Java and C++. Ability to use
standard software development tools and IDEs like Eclipse.
Learning targets Professional competency:
Knowledge of libraries, tools, and software patterns relevant for solving
advanced programming problems in distributed computing.
Methodological competency:
Ability to apply advanced programming concepts and techniques in gen-
eral contexts. Ability to design software for distributed systems. Ability
to apply these concepts to problems in robotics.
Individual Competency:
Ability to get quickly acquainted with large software libraries and new
tools. Ability to test and debug software applying the learned concepts.

Content The course covers the following topics in-depth:

– advanced data structures: sets, heaps, dictionaries, hashtables
– files, streams, and I/O
– templates and generics
– processes and threads
– inter-process and network communication: sockets, UDP, TCP/IP
– middleware: CORBA, ICE, ZeroMQ
– component-based programming
– model-based software development: UML, Realtime-UML, MDA
Furthermore, the following topics will be included depending on time:
– foreign language interfaces: C, Python, Prolog
– GUI programming
– web technologies: XML
Passing require- Homeworks and Examination
ments

MAS 5
 Form der Participants have to solve example problems in homework assignments.
Studien-leistung The final examination can either be oral, in writing, or by submitting a
term project.
Media Slides, whiteboard, online demonstrations. Moodle supported.
Literature – Deitel & Deitel: C++: How to Program, Pearson Education Limited,
2011
– Deitel & Deitel: Java: How to Program, Prentice Hall International,
2004
– Gamma, Helm, Johnson, Vlissides: Design Patterns, Addison Wesley,
2005
– Kuchana: Software Architecture Design Patterns in Java, Auerbach
Publication, 2004
– McConnell: Code Complete 2, Microsoft Press, 2004
– Tanenbaum: Distributed Systems, Principles and Paradigms, 2nd edi-
tion, Prentice Hall International, 2006

MAS 6
Autonomous Mobile Robots

Module group MAS, 1. Semester, Core Courses (CC)

and semester
Credits 6
Weekly hours Lecture: 2, Lab: 2
Responsible Prof. Dr. Erwin Prassler

Teacher Dr. Björn Kahl

Language English
Studdy effort 60 hours
at univesity

Study effort 120 hours

homework
Prerequisits Bachelor of CS-level knowledge in mathematics and computer science,
fluency in object-oriented programming in C++
Learning targets Professional competency:
The students know basic and advanced concepts of robotics and sen-
sorimotor systems, and essential concepts and techniques for mobility,
navigation and robot control. The students know important properties
and (dis)advantages of different drive systems and sensor, know principles
and limits of mapping and path planning algorithms.
Methodological competency:
The students can structure a complex (software) problem like an mobile
robot controller architecture into modules and subtasks and model the
relationships between system components. They are able to select and
implement appropriate methods to tackle common mobile robot tasks.
They can evaluate and understand the strengths and limits of different
mapping, navigation or planning algorithms in a given task scenario.
They can systematically implement and test a system using modern soft-
ware engineering techniques.
Individual competency:
Strong problem-structuring and solving skills, proficiency in analytical
(“top-down”) problem decomposition. Efficient team team-oriented soft-
ware development under tight time constraints.
Content • Structure of autonomous mobile robots
• Locomotion
• Kinematics
• Sensors and actuators
• Hardware components for mobile robots
• Exploration and mapping
• Self-localization and SLAM

MAS 7
 • Path planning and execution
• Navigation and obstacle avoidance

Passing require- Homeworks and Examination

ments
Expected study ef- Active participation in lectures and lab, solution of homework exercises
forts (50% must be correct), programming of robots, designing and performing
experiments, oral or written examination.
Media Slides, blackboard, multimedia material, demonstrations with simulated
robots
Literature Textbook
• Siegwart & Nourbakhsh: Introduction to Autonomous Mobile
Robots. MIT Press, 2004.
Supplementary:
• Thrun & Burgard & Fox: Probabilistic Robotics. MIT Press, 2005.
• Arkin: Behavior-Based Robotics. MIT Press, 1998.
• Murphy: Introduction to AI Robotics. MIT Press, 2000.
• Nehmzow: Mobile Robots: A Practical Introduction. Springer,
2000.
• Jones & Flynn & Seiger: Mobile Robots. AK Peters, 1999.

MAS 8
Mathematics for Robotics and Control

Module group MAS, 1. Semester, Core Courses (CC)

and semester
Credits 6
Weekly hours Lecture: 2, Lab: 2
Responsible Prof. Dr. Paul Plöger
Teacher Prof. Dr. Paul Plöger
Language English
Studdy effort 60 hours
at univesity

Study effort 120 hours

homework
Prerequisits good knowledge in linear algebra and analysis, fluent knowledge in some
mathematical scripting language, preferably MATLAB/SIMULINK
Learning targets Professional competency:
Knowing and understanding modeling principles; knowing and under-
standing basic problems and requirements for robust control, knowledge
and understanding of mathematical concepts behind simulation.
methodological competency:
Apply coherent solution principles, be able to structure and abstract.
Ability to model / simulate / control typical sample problems in mo-
bile robotics, apply theoretical principles to restricted sample problems.
Transfer insights from models to more realistic systems.
Individual competency:
Strong problem-solving skills using mathematical methods, proficiency in
handling of mathematical concepts, notations, and argumentations.
Content Modern design flows for the programming of robotic systems require the
modeling and simulation of systems in order to develop stable control
and filtering algorithms. This course will lay the necessary foundations
in modeling based on primarily linear system theory, then performing nu-
merical simulation based on real world parameterized models and finally
development of robust control algorithms.
Exercises will be solved using the MATLAB/SIMULINK programming
environment.
Passing require- Homeworks and Examination
ments
Expected study ef- Active participation in lectures, solution of homework exercises. 80%
forts submissions are required, 50% must be correct, passing all written ex-
amination(s). There will be drill, advanced and programming exercises.

Media Lecture using predominantly visual media, on the blackboard, exercises,

interactive learning platform, educational articles, and technical writings
like application notes

MAS 9
 Literature • Press & Teukolsky & Vetterling & Flannery: Numerical Recipes in
C++, 2nd edition. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2002.
• Kwakernaak & Sivan: Linear Optimal Control Sys-
tems. Willey interscience, 1972, available online
(http://www.ieeecss.org/PAB/classics/).
• Kailath: Linear Systems. Prentice Hall, 1980.
• Choset et.al.: Principles of Robot Motion. MIT Press, 2005.
• Khalil: Nonlinear Systems. Prentice Hall, 2002

MAS 10
Principles of Cognitive Robots

Module group MAS, 1. Semester, Core Courses (CC)

and semester
Credits 6

Weekly hours Lecture: 2, Lab: 2

Responsible Prof. Dr. Erwin Prassler

Teacher Prof. Dr. Erwin Prassler

Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kraetzschmar

Language English

Studdy effort 60 hours

at univesity

Study effort 120 hours

homework

Prerequisits B.S.-level knowledge of computer science, especially knowledge of data

structures and algorithms, and computational complexity.

Learning targets Professional competency:

Knowing and understanding basic concepts and architectures in Artificial
Intelligence, such as search algorithms, different types of logics (predicate
logic, first-order logic, temporal logics, and modal logics) and reasoning
and knowledge representation methods.
Methodological competency:
The students can apply concepts and architectures for artificial
intelligence-based systems in practice. They are able to evaluate and
select appropriate methods from several options to solve control prob-
lems in intelligent robotics.
Individual competency:
Strengthened ability to logical arguing and reasoning. Understanding
technological, economic and social aspects of contemporary artificial in-
telligence and its limits. Being able to argue for or against application
of AI methods to real world problems under technological, economic and
other constraints.

Content – Intelligent Agents

– Search methods (Basics, Informed Search, Adversial Search Methods)
– Constraint Satisfaction Problems
– Logics (Propositional, First Order, Logic Programming)
– Knowledge Representation: Conceptualization, Ontologies, Description
Logics
– Survey of Agent Architectures

Passing require- Homeworks and Exam

ments

Expected study ef- Active participation in class. Solution of homework exercises. Performing
forts and documenting experiments. Examination.

Media Slides, whiteboard, online demonstrations. Moodle supported.

MAS 11
 Literature Textbook:
– Russell & Norvig: Artificial Intelligence – A Modern Approach, 2nd
edition. Prentice Hall, 2002.
Supplementary:
– Baader, Calvanese, McGuinness, and Nardi: The Description Logic
Handbook. Cambridge University Press, 2007.
– John Sowa: Knowledge Representation: Logical, Philosophical, and
Computational Foundations. MIT Press, 2000.
– Robin Murphy: Introduction to AI Robotics. MIT Press, 2000.

MAS 12
2 Module group “Specialization Robot Systems Design” (PRSD)

Advanced Control Methods

Module group MAS, 2. Semester, Specialization “Principles of Robotics Systems De-

and semester sign” (PRSD)
Credits 6
Weekly hours Lecture: 2, Lab: 2
Responsible Prof. Dr. Paul Plöger
Teacher Prof. Dr. Paul Plöger
Language English
Studdy effort 60 hours
at univesity

Study effort 120 hours

homework
Prerequisits An understanding of system theory, basics of physical robot models (kine-
matic and dynamic), ODE foundations, linear algebra foundations, all
which have been coverd in the core course Mathematics for Robotics and
Control
Learning targets Professional competency:
Knowing and understanding control principles; knowing and understand-
ing basic problems and requirements for robust control, knowledge and
understanding of mathematical concepts behind failures, diagnostics and
failure removal.
Methodological competency:
Apply coherent solution principles, be able to structure and abstract.
Ability to formalize typical control problems in mobile manipulation, ap-
ply theoretical principles to restricted sample problems. Transfer insights
from easy models to realistic systems.
Individual competency:
Strong problem-solving skills using mathematical methods, proficiency
in handling of mathematical concepts, notations, and argumentations.

Content 1. Elements of Linear System Theory

2. Analysis of Linear Control Systems
3. Optimal Linear State Feedback Control Systems
4. Optimal Linear Reconstruction of the State
5. Optimal Linear Output Feedback Control Systems
6. Linear Optimal Control Theory for Discrete-Time Systems
7. Robust control
8. Failure detection isolation and removal

MAS 13
 Passing require- completion of the placement tests, written final examination
ments
Expected study ef- Active participation in lectures, solution of homework exercises. 50%
forts submissions are required as, 50% of the points have to be reached. There
will be drill, advanced and project-like assignments.
Media Lecture using predominantly visual media, on the blackboard, exercises,
interactive learning platform (MOODLE or Ilias), educational articles,
and technical writings like application notes, experiments on real HW.

Literature • Huibert Kwakernaak, Raphael Sivan, Linear Optimal Control Sys-

tems, Wiley Interscience, NY, 1972
• Rolf Isermann, Fault-Diagnosis Systems, Springer, 2006.
• Kai Müller, Entwurf robuster Regelungen, Teubner, 1996.

MAS 14
Hardware/Software Co-Design

Module group MAS, 2. Semester, Specialization “Principles of Robotics Systems De-

and semester sign” (PRSD)
Credits 6
Weekly hours Lecture: 2, Lab: 2
Responsible Prof. Dr. Paul Plöger
Teacher Prof. Dr. Paul Plöger
Language English
Studdy effort 60 hours
at univesity

Study effort 120 hours

homework
Prerequisits Basic knowledge in hardware related programming and SW components
like low level interfaces and sensors.
Learning targets Professional competency:
Knowing and understanding the workings of advanced sensors like aVLSI
or CSEM camera, low level microcontroller architectures, interface stan-
dards and their usage, signals and signal processing, reprogrammable
HW and the evolution of it; knowing and understanding system design
of robots, interfacing techniques, working principles of sensors.
Methodological competency:
Gain insight in coherent interfacing principles, decompose complex sys-
tems and let components collaborate; application of principles to re-
stricted sample problems, transfer to more realistic ones.
Individual competency:
Build up problem consciousness for building and programming au-
tonomous robots.
Content HW/ SW Co-Design deals with the question, which parts of an algorithm
should go into software, which should go into hardware. In nowadays sen-
sor industry we observe the tendency, to make sensors more and more
’intelligent’ by adding more and more processing power close to the sen-
sors itself. Now when building a mobile robotic systems the question
arises what should be casted in to HW for speed, reliability, energy or
architectural reasons and what is better kept the ’flexible’ form of SW.
Profiling techniques to build a sound basis for a decision are used. We
start with various examples of the working of sensors and its possible
signal shapes, conditioning and coding like analog/digital or PWM. We
study, what functionality may be realized ’close to the sensor’ today.
Then well cover interface techniques at hand of examples like serial links,
USB, CAN and one high speed bus. Then we study biologically inspired
ways of signal processing and finally look at the possibility to use global
optimization strategies from nature (i.e. evolution) for the generation
of HW. The foundations of this lecture lay in the area of sensors, signal
processing, microcontrollers and hardware design.

MAS 15
 Passing require- Homework and Examination
ments
Expected study ef- Active participation in lectures, solution of homework exercises. 80%
forts submissions are required. 50% of the points have to be reached. There
will be drill, advanced and programming exercises.
Media Lecture using predominantly visual media, on the blackboard, exercises,
interactive learning platform, educational articles, and technical writings
like application notes, experiments on real HW.
Literature • Nolfi & Floreano: Evolutionary Robotics. MIT Press, 2004.
• Catsoulis: Designing Embedded Hardware. O’Reilly, 2002.
• Jones & Flynn & Seiger: Mobile Robots. AK Peters, 1999.
• Pfeiffer & Scheier: Understanding Intelligence. MIT Press, 2000.
• Gockel & Dillmann: Embedded Robotics. Elektor-Verlag, 2005

MAS 16
Mobile Manipulation

Module group MAS, 2 Semester, Specialization “Principles of Robotics Systems Design”

and semester (PRSD)
Credits 6
Weekly hours Lecture: 2, Lab: 2
Responsible Prof. Dr. Erwin Prassler

Teacher Prof. Dr. Erwin Prassler

Prof. Dr. Paul Plöger
Dr. Björn Kahl
Language English
Studdy effort 60 hours
at univesity

Study effort 120 hours

homework
Prerequisits Knowledge in robot manipulation, mobile robotics, robot perception,
control architecture
Learning targets Professional competency:
Design and implementation of new (service) robot applications enabled
by mobile manipulation technology.
Methodological competency:
Knowledge of mobile manipulation algorithms; knowledge of control and
coordination architectures and paradigms for mobile manipulation.
Content • Motion planning for mobile manipulators
• Path smoothing and adaptation
• 3D perception and modeling
• Control and coordination
• Architectures for mobile manipulation
• Robotic SDK for Mobile Manipulators

Passing require- Exam

ments
Expected study ef- Active participation in lectures, solution of homework exercises, oral or
forts written examination.
Media Slides, whiteboard
Literature • Steven M LaValle. Planning Algorithms. Cambridge, 2006.
• Rosen Diankov. Automated Construction of Robotics Manipulation
Programs. Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. 2010.

MAS 17
Robot Manipulation

Module group MAS, 2 Semester, Specialization “Principles of Robotics Systems Design”

and semester (PRSD)
Credits 6
Weekly hours Lecture: 2, Lab: 2
Responsible Prof. Dr. Erwin Prassler

Teacher Prof. Dr. Erwin Prassler

Prof. Dr. Paul Plöger
Dr. Björn Kahl
Language English
Studdy effort 60 hours
at univesity

Study effort 120 hours

homework
Prerequisits Basic knowledge in linear algebra and analysis, fluent knowledge in some
programming language, some knowledge in C++ and MATLAB
Learning targets Professional competency:
Knowledge of the principles of robot manipulation. Understanding of
basic mathematical and physical methods and models to describe, design
and program robots for manipulation tasks.
Methodological competency:
Knowledge of kinematical descriptions. Understanding of concept of for-
ward and backward kinematics (position, velocity, force) and motion in
actuator space, joint space and Cartesian space.
Individual competency:
Ability to program a robot manipulation to perform a task including
solution of inverse kinematic problems.
Content 1. History of robot manipulation, applications, and fundamental prob-
lems
2. Spatial descriptions and transformations
3. Manipulator kinematics
4. Inverse manipulator kinematics
5. Jacobians: velocities and static forces
6. Trajectory generation

Passing require- Homework and Examination

ments
Expected study ef- Active participation in lectures, solution of homework exercises, oral or
forts written examination.

MAS 18
Media Slides, whiteboard.
Literature Textbook
• Craig: Introduction to Robotics - Mechanics and Control. 2004.
Supplementary
• Siciliano, Sciavicco et al.: Robotics - Modelling, Planning, and Con-
trol, 2008.
• Spong, Hutchinson, Vidyasagar: Robot Dynamics and Control,
2004.

MAS 19
Robot Navigation

Module group MAS, 2. Semester, Specialization “Principles of Robotics Systems De-

and semester sign” (PRSD)
Credits 6
Weekly hours Lecture: 2, Lab: 2
Responsible Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kraetzschmar

Teacher Dr. Björn Kahl

Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kraetzschmar
Language English
Studdy effort 60 hours
at univesity

Study effort 120 hours

homework
Prerequisits Sound knowledge of linear algebra. Good programming skills in Java and
C++. Solid knowledge of systematic and heuristic search algorithms.

Learning targets Professional competency:

Advanced understanding of the problem of pose recognition and naviga-
tion. Knowledge of state-of-the-art solution approaches to localization,
path planning and motion planning.
Methodological competency:
The students are able to describe and program methods for map-building,
pose estimation, path planning, and obstacle avoidance.
Individual competency:
Ability to cognitively grasp and reason about multi-dimensional spaces
and trajectories therein. Improved abstract and mathematical thinking.

Content – self-localization and state estimation

– robot mapping and exploration, SLAM
– potential field methods
– grid-based methods, polygon-based methods
– random tree-based approaches
– collision detection and obstacle avoidance
– navigation architectures
– integration of navigation in robot control architectures
Passing require- Homeworks and Examination
ments
Expected study ef- Active participation in class. Solution of homework exercises. Performing
forts and documenting motion planning experiments. Examination.
Media Slides, whiteboard, online demonstrations. Moodle supported.
Literature Textbook:
– Thrun, Burgard, Fox: Probabilistic Robotics, MIT Press, 2005.

MAS 20
– Latombe: Robot Motion Planning, Kluwer, 1990.
Supplementary:
– del Pobil, Serna: Spatial Representation and Motion Planning,
Springer, 2008.
– Ito: Robot Vision: Strategies, Algorithms, and Motion Planning, Nova
Science, 2009.

MAS 21
Robot Systems Design

Module group MAS, 2. Semester, Specialization “Principles of Robotics Systems De-

and semester sign” (PRSD)
Credits 6
Weekly hours Lecture: 2, Lab: 2
Responsible Prof. Dr. Erwin Prassler

Teacher Prof. Dr. Erwin Prassler

Language English
Studdy effort 60 hours
at univesity

Study effort 120 hours

homework
Prerequisits Basic understanding of robot navigation and manipulation.
Learning targets Professional competency:
Derivation of system requirements and operation principles from intended
application and/or task; development and implementation of overall sys-
tem concept.
Methodological competency:
Application of established design methods to robotics. Systematic se-
lection of best-suited components form available technology based on
required functionalities, performances and desired cost-value relation.

Content • design methodology

• materials and their properties
• morphological structures and variations in nature and engineering
– work space analysis
– kinematic configurations
• actuation principles
– drive systems (basic principles, scaling)
– power transmission and gear mechanisms
– energy supply and management
• sensing principles and sensors
– proprioceptive sensing
– exteroceptive sensing (vision, range, force & torque, . . . )
• control concepts
– actuation control
– joint space control

MAS 22
 – work space control
• system architecture
– modularity and component concepts
– buses and communication
• user interface and programming

Passing require- Homework and Examination.

ments
Expected study ef- Active participation in lecture and lab class. Written or oral exam.
forts
Media Slides, whiteboard.
Literature • Gerry B. Andeen. Robot Design Handbook. McGraw-Hill, 1988.
• Eugene I. Rivin. Mechanical design of robots. McGraw-Hill, 1988.

MAS 23
3 Module group “Specialization Intelligent Robots” (PIR)

Adaptive Filtering

Module group MAS, 2. Semester, Specialization “Principles of Robotics Systems De-

and semester sign” (PRSD)
Credits 6
Weekly hours Lecture: 2, Lab: 2
Responsible Prof. Dr. Paul Plöger
Teacher Prof. Dr. Paul Plöger
Language English
Studdy effort 60 hours
at univesity

Study effort 120 hours

homework
Prerequisits Foundations of signal / systems theory, profound mathematical, techni-
cal, physical and scientific knowledge, interest in technical application
domains of embedded systems (eg consumer electronics, automotive ap-
plications, medical devices, telecommunications devices, ...) and applied
mathematics
Learning targets Professional competency:
Understanding the principles of the adaptation process as such. In-depth
knowledge of the methodological and theoretical foundations of systems
for signal processing in time, frequency and z-domain.
Individual competency:
Ability to study and understand in-depth specializations like adaptive
vision, sound and speech processing.
Content Work-out and deepening of deterministic and random signals in linear,
time-invariant systems. Study the foundations and applications of adap-
tive filters and adaptive prediction. Treatment of selected non-linear and
multi-dimensional systems and deepening the knowledge in convergence
of iterative solution methods.
Passing require- Solutions to Exercises and successful completion of the placement tests,
ments written final examination
Expected study ef- Active participation in lectures, solution of homework exercises. 50%
forts submissions are required and 50% of the points have to be reached. There
will be drill, advanced and programming exercises.
Media Lecture using predominantly visual media, on the blackboard, exercises,
interactive learning platform (MOODLE or Ilias), educational articles,
and technical writings like application notes, experiments on real HW.

Literature • B. Widrow, S. D. Stearns, Adaptive Signal Processing, Pearson Ed-

ucation, ISBN 9788131705322, 2nd printing 2009;

MAS 24
• B. Farhang-Boroujeny, Adaptive filters, Wiley, ISBN 978-0-471-
98337-8, 2006.
• B.D.O. Anderson, J.B. Moore, Optimal Filtering, Dover Books on
Engineering
• Oppenheim, Schaefer: Discrete Time Signal Processing, Prentice
Hall

MAS 25
Learning and Adaptivity

Module group MAS, 2. Semester, Specialization “Principles of Intelligent Robotics”

and semester (PIR)

Credits 6
Weekly hours Lecture: 2, Lab: 2
Responsible Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kraetzschmar

Teacher Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kraetzschmar

Language English
Studdy effort 60 hours
at univesity

Study effort 120 hours

homework
Prerequisits Familiarity with basic concepts of information theory, computational
complexity, and probability theory.
Learning targets Professional competency:
Students know the benefits and pitfalls, as well as prerequisites and lim-
itations of contemporary learning approaches and their associated meth-
ods and techniques. They have practical experience in designing and
implementing self-learning systems.
Methodological competency:
Ability to apply concepts, methods, and tools that enable learning and
adaptivity to various robotic tasks. Ability to analyze and prepare data
sets for learning tasks.
Individual competency:
Improved skills for data visualization, including in high-dimensional
spaces. Ability to understand, discuss and reason about such spaces
and visualizations.
Content – Learning Architectures and Learning Problems
– General Concepts in Machine Learning
– Version Space Learning
– Decision Tree Learning
– Inductive Logic Programming
– Neural Networks: Biological Foundations
– Artificial Neural Network Learning
– Competitive Learning
– Reinforcement Learning
– Genetic Algorithms
Passing require- Homeworks and Examination
ments
Expected study ef- Active participation in class. Solution of homework exercises. Performing
forts and documenting learning experiments. Written or oral examination.

MAS 26
Media Slides, whiteboard, online demonstrations. Moodle supported.
Literature Textbook:
• Alpaydin: Introduction to Machine Learning. MIT Press, 2004.
Supplementary:
• Mitchell: Machine Learning. McGraw Hill, 1997.
• Haykin: Neural Networks. 2nd ed. Prentice-Hall, 1998.
• Sutton & Barto: Reinforcement Learning. MIT Press, 1998.
• Russell & Norvig: Artificial Intelligence – A Modern Approach, 2nd
edition. Prentice Hall, 2002.
• Weiss: Multiagent Systems: A Modern Approach to Distributed
Artificial Intelligence. MIT Press, 1999.

MAS 27
Multi-Agent Systems

Module group MAS, 2. Semester, “Principles of Intelligent Robotics” (PIR)

and semester
Credits 6
Weekly hours Lecture: 2, Lab: 2
Responsible Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kraetzschmar

Teacher Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kraetzschmar

Language English
Studdy effort 60 hours
at univesity

Study effort 120 hours

homework
Prerequisits Sound knowledge of logics and basic AI concepts.
Learning targets Professional competency:
Knowing and understanding basic concepts and architectures of multia-
gent systems.
Methodological competency:
The students can apply concepts and architectures for multiagent-based
and distributed artificial intelligence-based systems in practice.
Individual competency:
Strengthened ability to think about, conceive, and construct distributed
and concurrent systems and to understnd their dynamic and emergent
properties.
Content • Intelligent autonomous agents
• Logical foundations of multiagent systems
• Agent architectures development frameworks
• Agent communication and coordination
• Agent competition and cooperation
• Multiagent decision making
• Markets and multiagent systems
• Auctions and mechanism design

Passing require- Exam

ments
Expected study ef- Active participation in class. Solution of homework exercises. Successful
forts solution of a term project. Examination.
Media Slides, witeboard, online demonstrations, moodle supported.

MAS 28
Literature • Michael Wooldridge: An Introduction to Multiagent Systems, Wi-
ley, 2009
• Mark d’Inverno, Michael Luck: Understanding Agent Systems,
Springer, 2010
• Yoav Shoham, Kevin Leyton-Brown: Multiagent Systems: Algorith-
mic, Game-Theoretic, and Logical Foundations, Cambridge Univer-
sity Press, 2008

MAS 29
Probabilistic Methods for Robotics

Module group MAS, 2. Semester, Specialization “Principles of Intelligent Robotics”

and semester (PIR)

Credits 6
Weekly hours Lecture: 2, Lab: 2
Responsible Prof. Dr. Prassler

Teacher Prof. Dr. Prassler

Language English
Studdy effort 60 hours
at univesity

Study effort 120 hours

homework
Prerequisits Familiarity with basic concepts of theory of computation and complexity
theory, basic knowledge of probability theory, linear algebra and differ-
ential equations.
Learning targets Professional competency:
The students know probabilistic models like Bayesian Networks, Gaus-
sian and other probability distributions to describe uncertain processes.
Methodological competency:
Ability to apply probabilistic methods like Kalman Filters or Particle
Filters to data processing, modeling and reasoning tasks.
Individual competency:
Sensibility for strength and limits of the significance and validity of prob-
abilistic descriptions and probability based arguments.
Content • Probability theory and uncertainty
• Probabilistic reasoning and bayesian networks
• Probabilistic reasoning over time
• Dynamic Bayesian Networks
• Making simple decisions
• Making complex decisions

Passing require- Homework and Examination

ments
Expected study ef- Active participation in class. Solution of homework exercises. Oral or
forts written examination.
Media Slides, whiteboard.
Literature Thurn & Burgard & Fox: Probabilistic Robotics. MIT Press, 2005.

MAS 30
Robot Perception

Module group MAS, 2. Semester, Specialization “Principles of Intelligent Robotics”

and semester (PIR)

Credits 6
Weekly hours Lecture: 2, Lab: 2
Responsible Prof. Dr. Paul Plöger
Teacher Prof. Dr. Paul Plöger
Language English
Studdy effort 60 hours
at univesity

Study effort 120 hours

homework
Prerequisits profound mathematical, physical and especially geometric knowledge
Learning targets Professional competency:
The students know the foundations of image geometry, have a deep un-
derstanding of the methodological and theoretical aspects of 3D sensors,
3D-vision, -mapping and -reconstruction techniques. They understad the
correspondence problem and its partial solutions as well as techniques for
motion capture and visual navigation.
Methodological competency:
Application of theories to generated real life data, parameter adaptation
of theoretical algorithms to experimental data, confident application of
mathematical methods.
Individual competency:
Build up problem consciousness for 3D mapping, understanding solu-
tion approaches and ability to transfer the solution procedures to related
problems.
Content Rigid body transformations, Image Formation, Image Primitives and
Correspondence, Reconstruction from two calibrated Views, Estimation
of Motions from two views.
Passing require- Exam
ments
Expected study ef- Active participation in lectures, solution of homework exercises. 50%
forts submissions are required. 50% of the points have to be reached. There
will be drill, advanced and programming exercises
Media Lecture using predominantly visual media, on the blackboard, exercises,
interactive learning platform, educational articles, and technical writings
like application notes.
Literature • Hanspeter A. Mallot und John S. Allen : Computational Vision:
Information Processing in Perception and Visual Behavior (Com-
putational Neuroscience). MIT Press, 2000

MAS 31
 • Desolneux et.al.: From Gestalt Theory to Image Analysis. Springer,
2008.

• Yi Ma et.al.: An Invitation to 3-D Vision. Springer, 2004

• Gonzalez & Woods: Digital Image Processing. Prentice Hall, 2002

MAS 32
Planning and Scheduling

Module group MAS, 2. Semester, Specialization “Principles of Intelligent Robotics”

and semester (PIR)

Credits 6
Weekly hours Lecture: 2, Lab: 2
Responsible Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kraetzschmar

Teacher Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kraetzschmar

Language English
Studdy effort 60 hours
at univesity

Study effort 120 hours

homework
Prerequisits Sound knowledge of data structures and algorithms, computational com-
plexity, and concepts of logics and probability theory. Familiarity with
programming languages C++ and Java.
Learning targets Professional competency:
The students know concepts, methods, and tools for task-level planning
and scheduling.
Methodological competency:
The students know the state-of-the-art in task planning and are able to
select and apply adequate methods for use in robot applications.
Individual competency:
Improved ability to perform abstract thinking and logical reasoning.
Ability to formalize domain concepts in appropriate logics.
Content – Knowledge representation
– Formalizing action and action theories
– State space planning: STRIPS and friends
– Plan space planning: POP and friends
– Graph-based planning
– SAT-based planning
– HTN planning
– Scheduling and resource constraints
– Temporal planning
– Conditional planning, POMDPs
– Multiagent planning
Passing require- Exam
ments
Expected study ef- Active participation in class. Solution of homework exercises. Successful
forts solution of a term project. Examination.
Media Slides, whiteboard, online demonstrations. Moodle supported.
Literature Textbook and Survey Articles:

MAS 33
 • Ghallab & Nau & Traverso: Automated Planning. Morgan Kauf-
mann, 2004.
• Russell & Norvig: Artificial Intelligence – A Modern Approach, 2nd
edition. Prentice Hall, 2002.
• Weld: An Introduction to Least Commitment Planning. AI maga-
zine, 15(4), 27-61, 1994.
• Weld: Recent Advances in AI Planning. AI magazine, 20(2), 93-122,
1999.

MAS 34
4 Module group “R&D Project” (RND)

Research and Development Project

Module group MAS, 3. Semester, R&D Project (RND)

and semester
Credits 15
Weekly hours 2

Responsible Prof. Dr. Erwin Prassler

Teacher Prof. Dr. Erwin Prassler

Prof. Dr. Paul Plöger
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kraetzschmar
Dr. Björn Kahl
et al.
Language English
Studdy effort 30 hours
at univesity

Study effort 420 hours

homework
Prerequisits Core Courses, ISW
Learning targets Professional competency:
Solid understanding of the state of the art of selected research topic.
Methodological competency:
Solving a given limited scientific problem independently, organizing the
necessary work steps (time and project management), preparing a state
of the art, identifying short comings and possible enhancements.
Individual competency:
Proposing a solution to an open scientific problem. Arguing scientifi-
cally in written form for the proposed solution, describing its main ideas,
relation to previous work and its limits.
Content Performing research and technological development in a limited context
in the field of autonomous systems. Activities include creating a lit-
erature survey, identifying open questions or short-comings of existing
approaches, proposing enhancements to known solutions, implementing
proof-of-concept solutions. Previous list is neither exclusive nor are all
activities necessarily present in a given R&D project.
The project will be closely guided by typically two advisors, at least one
of which is a MAS professor.
Passing require- Project report.
ments
Expected study ef- Combined oral exam with RDC
forts
Media n/a

MAS 35
 Literature Will be individually assigned, based on selected project topic.

MAS 36
Research and Development Colloquium

Module group MAS, 3. Semester, R&D Project (RND)

and semester
Credits 3
Weekly hours 2

Responsible Prof. Dr. Erwin Prassler

Teacher Prof. Dr. Paul Plöger

Prof. Dr. Erwin Prassler
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kraetzschmar
Dr. Björn Kahl
et al.
Language English
Studdy effort 30 hours
at univesity

Study effort 60 hours

homework
Prerequisits RDP

Learning targets Professional competency:

Different presentation and publication forms of scientific results. Method-
ological competency:
Preparing written and oral presentations of own scientific results. Writ-
ing and revising scientific papers for conference or journal publications.
Individual competency:
Presenting own scientific results to a wider auditorium, both in written
form and as oral presentation.
Content n/a
Passing require- Oral Exam
ments
Expected study ef- Public presentation and (non-public) questioning.
forts
Media n/a
Literature n/a

MAS 37
5 Module group “Master-Thesis” (MTHES)

Master Thesis Project

Module group MAS, 4. Semester,Master-Thesis (MTHES)

and semester
Credits 24
Weekly hours 2

Responsible Prof. Dr. Paul Plöger

Teacher Prof. Dr. Erwin Prassler
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kraetzschmar
Prof. Dr. Paul Plöger
et.al.
Language English
Studdy effort 30 hours
at univesity

Study effort 690 hours

homework
Prerequisits RDP and RDC, all mandatory course work finished
Learning targets Professional competency:
Advance understanding of the state of the art of selected research topic
and its limits.
Methodological competency:
Identifying a limited open scientific problem, analyzing the relevant state
of the art and its short comings. Devising a work hypotheses for overcom-
ing the problem. Organizing the necessary work steps (time and project
management) to investigate the problem and its proposed solution and.
Design and conduct necessary experiments. Report in writing about the
scientific findings, its advantages and limits.
Individual competency:
Discovering limits and loop holes of scientific results. Proposing a solu-
tion to an identified scientific problem. Arguing scientifically orally and
in and written form for own scientific findings, describing its main ideas,
relation to previous work and its limits.
Content Performing research and technological development in a limited context
in the field of autonomous systems, advancing the state of the art. Ac-
tivities include creating a literature survey, identifying open questions or
short-comings of existing approaches, proposing enhancements to known
solutions, implementing proof-of-concept solutions. Previous list is nei-
ther exclusive nor are all activities necessarily present in a given Master
Thesis Project. Typically the Master Thesis Project is a continuation
of an R&D project, but more focused on scientific presentations and in-
depth theoretical as well as experimental analysis and comparison of the
proposed approach to the published state of the art.

MAS 38
Passing require- Project report.
ments
Expected study ef- Combined oral exam with MC.
forts
Media n/a
Literature n/a

MAS 39
Master Colloquium

Module group MAS, 4. Semester,Master-Thesis (MTHES)

and semester
Credits 3
Weekly hours 2

Responsible Prof. Dr. Paul Plöger

Teacher Prof. Dr. Erwin Prassler
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kraetzschmar
Prof. Dr. Paul Plöger
et.al.
Language English
Studdy effort 30 hours
at univesity

Study effort 60 hours

homework
Prerequisits RDP, RDC and MTP, all mandatory course work finished
Learning targets Professional competency:
Different presentation and publication forms of scientific results. Method-
ological competency:
Preparing written and oral presentations of own scientific results. Writ-
ing and revising scientific papers for conference or journal publications.
Individual competency:
Presenting own scientific results to a wider auditorium, both in written
form and as oral presentation. Publishing scientific results to a conference
or journal.
Content n/a
Passing require- Oral Exam
ments
Expected study ef- Public presentation and (non-public) questioning.
forts
Media n/a
Literature n/a

MAS 40
6 Module group “Seminars” (SEM)

Introduction to Scientific Working

Module group MAS, 1. Semester, Seminars (SEM)

and semester
Credits 6
Weekly hours 2

Responsible Prof. Dr. Erwin Prassler

Teacher Prof. Dr. Erwin Prassler

Language English
Studdy effort 30 hours
at univesity

Study effort 150 hours

homework
Prerequisits Curiosity, systematic thinking, endurance, willingness to work hard.

Learning targets Professional competency:

Performing a literature survey. Knowing criteria to distinguish good from
weak research papers. Proficiency in using scientific literature databases
and using tools for literature and idea management.
Methodological competency:
Systematically approach a new (scientific) subject, identify the state of
the art in a certain field. Distinguish what has been achieved and where
the hard problems and open issues are. Concisely defining the direction
of own research.
Individual competency:
Doing first steps towards ones own research.

Content In group work we will address the following issues and questions:
• What are helpful resources for literature search?
• What is a citation index and how to use it?
• How to systematically search papers?
• How to create a key word structure and identify related topics?
• How to create "your own" citation index?
• How to sort and classify all the literature which you found?
• How to create a bibliography and what styles to use?
• How to create an annotated bibliography?
• How to read and analyze scientific articles?

MAS 41
 • What is a good paper and what is a bad one?

Passing require- Leistungsnachweis

ments
Expected study ef- Annotated, sorted and structured bibliography covering the 30 most rel-
forts evant papers for a give subject.
Media Whiteboard, Slides, Handouts
Literature Prassler E. (2005). How to do a systematic literature survey - some
basic techniques.
Lawrence, S. C. L. Giles, K. Bollacker. (1999). Digital Libraries
and Autonomous Citation Indexing. IEEE Computer, Volume 32,
Number 6, pp. 67-71. http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/aci-computer/aci-
computer99.html.
Wes Huang (2001). How to read a research paper. Rensselaer Polytech-
nic Institute.
Mike Ashby (2000). How to write a paper. Univ. of Cambridge, UK.
http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/mleone/web/how-
to.html (accessed: 2011-07-10)

MAS 42
Advanced Scientific Working

Module group MAS, 2. Semester, Seminars (SEM)

and semester
Credits 6
Weekly hours 2

Responsible Prof. Dr. Erwin Prassler

Teacher Prof. Dr. Erwin Prassler

Language English
Studdy effort 30 hours
at univesity

Study effort 150 hours

homework
Prerequisits curiosity, systematic thinking, endurance, module ISW
Learning targets Professional competency:
Knowing structure and style of different kinds of scientific writings. Ci-
tation styles and proper handling of references and third party contribu-
tions.
Methodological competency:
To identify the state of the art in a certain field and the major achieve-
ments and contributions. Ability to analyze and evaluate a scientific
paper and its scientific contributions and deficits. Identifying the scien-
tific challenges and problems in a field, generating a problem formulation
for ones own research.
Individual competency:
Ability to work on a scientific subject and to conduct independent re-
search beyond the state of the art.

Content In group work we will address issues such as:

• how to read and evaluate a paper
• how to analyze and present the scientific content of a paper
• how to compare several scientific approaches
• how to identify the 30 most relevant article in a selected field
• how to sort and classify this articles
• how to write a state-of-the-art report
• how to write a survey article on a selected field, and
• how to derive from the state of the a problem formulation of own
research

MAS 43
 Passing require- Leistungsnachweis
ments
Expected study ef- • Six essays analyzing the contributions and deficits of six selected
forts scientific papers.
• Annotated bibliography for R&D project.
• Problem formulation for R&D project.
• Extended abstract.

Media Wiki and Whiteboard

Literature George D. Gopen and Judith A. Swan. The Science of Scientific Writing.
American Scientist, Volume 78, 550-558, 1990.

MAS 44
7 Module group “Lab Courses” (LAB)

Scientific Experimentation and Evaluation

Module group MAS, 3. Semester, Lab Courses (Lab)

and semester
Credits 3
Weekly hours 4

Responsible Dr. Björn Kahl

Teacher Dr. Björn Kahl
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kraetzschmar
Language English
Studdy effort 60 hours
at univesity

Study effort 30 hours

homework
Prerequisits BCS level understanding of mathematics und physics. Modules AMR
and MRC.
Learning targets Professional competency:
Knowledge and understanding of: Different types of scientific experi-
ments. Mathematical methods to model physical processes, mathemat-
ical models of the measurement process. Methods for statistical data
analysis.
Methodological competency:
Formulating scientific hypotheses. Designing, conducting and document-
ing scientific experiments in the domain of mobile robots and autonomous
systems. Careful evaluation of experimental data, assessing scientific
soundness of various statistical data analysis methods in different con-
texts. Selecting the appropriate sensors and evaluation methods for sci-
entific experiments.
Individual competency:
Systematic analysis of complex systems. Accurate empirical working and
observing. Being aware of own biases and expectations. Maintaining a
critical distance to own scientific findings.
Content Based on real mobile robots (like mindstorm kits or similar educational
robots) the scientific experimentation in the context of mobile robots and
autonomous systems is practiced. Topics to cover are:
Theoretical design and practical conduction and proper documentation
of scientific experiments.
What to measure and how to measure. The measurement process. Mod-
eling measurement errors, error propagation, stochastic analysis.
Identifying and eliminating unwanted side-effects.
Sensors and actors used in mobile robots, their properties and limitations.
Data visualization.

MAS 45
 Passing require- Leistungsnachweis
ments
Expected study ef- Regular lab participation, solving the experimental tasks, written reports
forts for each experiment conducted, sort oral presentations of experiments and
findings.
Media Practical lab course, work in small groups (3-5 persons), designing,
setting-up and conducting experiments using robot experimentation kits
like Lego mindstorm and other hardware.
Literature Textbook:
• Experimentation: An Introduction to Measurement Theory and Ex-
periment Design. D.C. Baird 1995 (ISBN-13: 978-0133032987)
Supplementary books (selection):
• Design of Experiments: A Realistic Approach. Virgil L. Ander-
son, John Ed. Anderson, Rober A. McLean 1974 (ISBN-13: 978-
0824761318)
• Experimentation and Measurement. W.J. Youden 1999 (ISBN-13:
978-0486404516)
• Statistics for Experimenters: An Introduction to Design, Data Anal-
ysis and Model Building (Wiley Series in Probability & Mathemat-
ical Statistics). George E.P. Box, William G. Hunter, J. Stuart
Hunter 1978 (ISBN-13: 978-0471093152)

MAS 46
Software Development Project

Module group MAS, 2. Semester, Lab Courses (Lab)

and semester
Credits 6
Weekly hours 6

Responsible Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kraetzschmar

Teacher Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kraetzschmar

Dr. Björn Kahl
et al.
Language English
Studdy effort 90 hours
at univesity

Study effort 90 hours

homework
Prerequisits C++ and Java programming experience
Learning targets Professional competency:
Knowing modern software engineering methods: Description languages
to model data, process or control flow aspects of software systems. Un-
derstanding specific challenges of distributed or multi-threaded architec-
tures. Knowing standard algorithms and data structures for data man-
agement (lists, trees, sets etc.) Understanding usability and accessibility
constraints.
Methodological competency:
Creating and assessing software designs for given application problems.
Analyzing failure modes and error conditions for software systems. Con-
cise specification of requirements of software systems. Maintaining com-
plete and accurate software documentation (user documentation as well
as implementation documentation).
Individual competency:
Structuring complex (software) problems into its constituents. Orga-
nizing and conducting collaborative work in a team. Creating detailed
specifications from vague problem descriptions.
Content Agile software team techniques are studied and practiced in the context
of developing software for robotics and embedded systems.
– object-oriented software design
– agile software development, extreme programming
– model-driven software development
– software patterns
– refactoring
In addition, students will deepen their practical skills with state-of-the-
art software development tools (e.g. Eclipse, Subversion, Git, Hudson).

MAS 47
 Passing require- Project work and Examination
ments
Expected study ef- Active participation in class. Successful formation of and participation
forts in student teams. Solving project assignments at home and in theory
and practice sessions. Examination.
Media Slides, whiteboard, online demonstrations. Moodle supported. Project
repository.
Literature Textbook:
– Martin: Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns, and Prac-
tices. Prentice Hall/Pearson Education, 2003.
– McConnell: Code Complete 2
Supplementary:
– Summerville: Software Engineering, 7th edition. Addison Wesley, 2004.
– Gamma, Helm, Johnson, Vlissides: Design Patterns, Addison Wesley,
2005
– Zeller: Why Programs Fail: A Guide to Systematic Debugging, 2nd
edition, Morgan Kaufmann 2009

MAS 48