CS 154 Homework #1
Due Wednesday, Jan. 26 


Name(s)  __________________________

Reading for Week 1: Achieving Artificial Intelligence through Building Robots by Rodney Brooks.
Click here for the paper (pdf).



  1. In the introductory slides there is one robotics "timeline" that includes a number of fictional robots. Another timeline includes real robots. Find another fictional and another real robot (or robot species), also with dates, that could be added to these timelines. Write a sentence or two of explanation for each; if possible, include a URL. (I will add them to my slides' collection!)




















    2. According to Benjamin Kuipers of the University of Texas at Austin (www.cs.utexas.edu/users/kuipers/), 
    
  A robot is a computational system coupled with the physical world through its
  sensors and effectors.  An intelligent robot learns about its world from
  experience, and uses the knowledge it accumulates to make better plans to
  achieve its goals.  Robotics is hard, partly because it crosses many of the
  abstraction boundaries that simplify other areas of computer science.
    Given this definition, write a paragraph defending, attacking, or equivocating on the position: a computer (a desktop PC) is an intelligent robot. You might consider specific "abstraction boundaries" that robotics faces in your position.

















  2. An initial webpage for lab project #1

    Please settle on (1) a team of 3 (or so) students with which you will work on the first lab project and (2) a project you would like to work on. Create a webpage for the project with a (very) brief introduction to what you're planning to work on and the team members' names.

    If you are so inclined, feel free to use a spiffy template for your webpage. The Mallard Bane page at http://www.cs.hmc.edu/~dodds/projects/RobS04/DuckHunt/index.html has been the most impressive layout so far -- but only so far! On the other hand, if you prefer a minimalist approach, a plain-text webpage suffices, as well.

    Your URL:     (I'd suggest using turing...)

    Once you indicate your team and what project you'll be working on, I'll set up a lab space for your team to start getting acquainted with the hardware. The earlier you decide this, the better -- if you already have a plan, please let me know!