BE 107, Spring 2015: Difference between revisions

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Students will formulate and implement an engineering project desired to explore a biological principle or property that is exhibited in nature.  Students will work in small teams in which they build a hardware platform that is motivated by a biological example in which a given approach or architecture is used to implement a given behavior.  Alternatively, the team will construct new experimental instruments in order to test for the presence of an engineering principle in a biological system.  Example topics include bio-inspired control of motion (from bacteria to insects), processing of sensory information (molecules to neurons), and robustness/fault-tolerance.  Each project will involve proposing a specific mechanism to be explored, designing an engineering system that can be used to demonstrate and evaluate the mechanism, and building a computer-controlled, electro-mechanical system in the lab that implements or characterizes the proposed mechanism, behavior or architecture.
Students will formulate and implement an engineering project desired to explore a biological principle or property that is exhibited in nature.  Students will work in small teams in which they build a hardware platform that is motivated by a biological example in which a given approach or architecture is used to implement a given behavior.  Alternatively, the team will construct new experimental instruments in order to test for the presence of an engineering principle in a biological system.  Example topics include bio-inspired control of motion (from bacteria to insects), processing of sensory information (molecules to neurons), and robustness/fault-tolerance.  Each project will involve proposing a specific mechanism to be explored, designing an engineering system that can be used to demonstrate and evaluate the mechanism, and building a computer-controlled, electro-mechanical system in the lab that implements or characterizes the proposed mechanism, behavior or architecture.


=== Lecture Schedule ===
<center>'''[http://www.cds.caltech.edu/be107 Course homepage]'''</center>
{| class="mw-collapsible " width=100% border=1 cellpadding=5
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| '''Date'''
| '''Topic'''
| '''Reading'''
| '''Homework'''
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=== Week 1 ===
* Tue lecture (31 Mar): Motivation (bio and engineering; 60m) + class logistics (30m) - Michael and Richard
** Michael: 15 min class motivation and then 30 min on cool biology
** Richard: 30 min on cool engineering, then 15 min on class logistics
* Wed lab session #1, 7-10 pm: Introductory Tracking Experiment
* Thu lecture (2 Apr): Programming concepts - Richard
** Wiki's, subversion, plotting data using python (will use later)
* HW/lab description out on Tue, due following Tue
* Lab hours on Mon, 1-4 pm
 
=== Week 2 (RMM out of town on Wed-Fri) ===
* Tue lecture (7 Apr): Mechanical design and fabrication - Floris (or Joel B?)
* Wed lab session #2, 7-10 pm: CAD, Fabrication, Arena
* Thu lecture (9 Apr): Biomechanics - Michael (or Chris)
* HW/lab description out on Tue, due following Tue
* Lab hours on Mon, 1-4 pm
 
=== Week 3 (RMM out of town on Mon-Thu) ===
* Tue lecture (14 Apr): Electrical design, sensing and actuation - David (or Joel B?)
* Wed lab session, 7-10 pm: Sensors/Actuators (Braitenberg bug)
* Thu lecture (16 Apr): Animal sensors/actuators - Michael
* HW/lab description out on Tue, due following Tue
* Lab hours on Mon, 1-4 pm
 
=== Week 4 (MHD out of town all week, RMM ''might'' be out of town on Thu) ===
* Tue lecture (21 Apr): Control systems - Richard
* Wed lab session, 7-10 pm: Controls and Arduino
* Thu lecture (23 Apr): Feedback principles in biology - Floris, with input from Michael
* HW/lab description out on Tue, due following Tue
* Lab hours on Mon, 1-4 pm
 
=== Week 5 ===
* Tue lecture (28 Apr): Image processing - Pietro Perona
* Wed lab session, 7-10 pm: Vision/ROS
* Thu lecture (30 Apr): Animal vision systems - Michael
* HW/lab description out on Tue, due following Tue
* Lab hours on Mon, 1-4 pm
 
=== Week 6 ===
* Tue lecture (5 May): estimation - Richard
** Include things that might mirror what nature does (eg, DGC)
** Kalman filtering; use in avoiding higher order derivatives
* Wed lab session, 7-10 pm: Tracking
* Thu lecture (7 May): Experiment design - Michael (or Chris)
 
* HW/lab description out on Tue, due following Tue
* Lab hours on Mon, 1-4 pm
 
=== Week 7 ===
* Tue lecture (12 May): Robotics/autonomy - Richard
* Lab hours on Wed, 7-10 pm (projects)
* Thu lecture (14 May): Animal behavior - Michael
* Lab hours on Mon, 1-4 pm (projects)
 
=== Week 8 ===
* Tue lecture (19 May): Evolution - Chris
* Lab hours on Wed, 7-10 pm (projects)
* Thu lecture (21 May): Systems design - Richard + Floris?
** This could be swapped with animal navigation lecture
* Lab hours on Mon, 1-4 pm (projects)
 
=== Week 9 ===
* Tue lecture (26 May): TBD
** Hold for topics to be decided later.  Could do lab presentations?
** Could also be a talk on bioinspired control algorithms - Floris
* Lab hours on Wed, 7-10 pm (projects)
* Thu lecture (28 May): TBD
* Lab hours on Mon, 1-4 pm (projects)
 
=== Grading ===
The final grade will be based on homework and a final exam:
* Lab reports (40%) - There will be 6 one-week labs, with a lab writeup (wiki page, with data) due no later than Tuesday at 10:30 am (start of class).  ''Late writeups will not be accepted without <u>prior</u> permission from the instructors.''
* Final project (40%) - The last three weeks of the course will be used to implement a project the demonstrates the principles and tools that are covered in the course.  Students will work in groups of 2-3, with a single grade assigned to the group.
* Class/lab participation (20%) - Students will be assigned by the lecturers and TAs based on their participation in class discussions and lab sessions.
 
=== Collaboration Policy ===
Collaboration on lab work is encouraged. All lab writeups that are handed should reflect your understanding of the lab work and results at the time of writing.
 
Final projects collaborative.


[[Category:Courses]]
[[Category:Courses]]

Latest revision as of 01:08, 30 March 2015

BE 107: Exploring Biological Principles Through Bio-Inspired Design

Instructors

  • Michael Dickinson (BBE), flyman@caltech.edu
  • Richard Murray (CDS/BE), murray@cds.caltech.edu
  • Chris Kempes (CMS/GPS), ckempes@gmail.com
  • Floris van Breugel (BE), floris@caltech.edu
  • Lectures: TuTh, 10:30-12, location TBD
  • Office hours: by appointment

Teaching Assistants

  • David Flicker (ME)
  • Melissa Tanner (ME)
  • Lab session: Wed, 1-4 or 7-10 pm (determine later), location TBD
  • Open lab hours: Mon, 1-4 pm, location TBD

Course Description

Students will formulate and implement an engineering project desired to explore a biological principle or property that is exhibited in nature. Students will work in small teams in which they build a hardware platform that is motivated by a biological example in which a given approach or architecture is used to implement a given behavior. Alternatively, the team will construct new experimental instruments in order to test for the presence of an engineering principle in a biological system. Example topics include bio-inspired control of motion (from bacteria to insects), processing of sensory information (molecules to neurons), and robustness/fault-tolerance. Each project will involve proposing a specific mechanism to be explored, designing an engineering system that can be used to demonstrate and evaluate the mechanism, and building a computer-controlled, electro-mechanical system in the lab that implements or characterizes the proposed mechanism, behavior or architecture.

Course homepage
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