The field of Robotics integrates sensing, information processing, and movement to accomplish specific tasks in the physical world. As such, it encompasses several topics, including mechanics and dynamics, kinematics, sensing, signal processing, control systems, planning, and artificial intelligence. Applications of these concepts appear in many areas including medicine, manufacturing, space exploration, disaster recovery, ordinance disposal, deep-sea navigation, home care, and home automation.

The faculty of the Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics (LCSR), in collaboration with the academic departments and centers of the Whiting School of Engineering, offers a Robotics Minor in order to provide a structure in which undergraduate students at Johns Hopkins University can advance their knowledge in robotics while receiving recognition on their transcript for this pursuit. The minor is not “owned” by any one department, but rather it is managed by the LCSR itself. Any student from any department within the university can work toward the minor.

Robotics is fundamentally integrative and multidisciplinary. Therefore, any candidate for the Robotics Minor must cover a set of core skills that cut across these disciplines, as well as obtain advanced supplementary skills.

Core skills include the following:

• Robot kinematics and dynamics (R)
• Systems theory, signal processing, control (S)
• Computation and sensing (C)

Supplementary advanced skills may be obtained in specialized applications — such as space, medicine, or marine systems — or in one of the three core areas listed above.

The full minor course listing (see below) lists which courses fill these requirements. Note that ALL core areas must be filled, but that ANY advanced/supplementary courses can be chosen from the list. This allows students to strike a balance between breadth and depth.

If you are interested in declaring a Robotics minor, please contact Brendan Guerzon bguerzo1@jh.edu

• Requirements

  An undergraduate qualifies for the minor provided he or she has taken at least 18 credits (at the 300 level or above, with a letter grade, and a C- or above) from an approved list of courses (provided on the Robotics Minor website), with the following requirements and restrictions:

  • Between 6 and 12 credits chosen to cover the three core skills (see table below).
  • At least 6 credits chosen from advanced supplementary skills (see table).
  • At least 3 credits of the 18 must be a laboratory course (at least 15 hours of laboratory time that includes working with physical hardware and/or real data);
  • At most 3 credits of the 18 can be an independent research or individual study with a faculty member on the list of approved faculty advisors;
  • At least 6 credits must be primarily listed in a department other than the student’s home department (it is acceptable if such a course is cross-listed in the student’s home department).
  • At most one course up to 3 credits (including independent research or individual study) may be taken S/U, but all other courses must be taken for a letter grade.

• Checklist Sheet

  Click here to download the Robotics Minor checklist.
  

• Minor Advising

  1. All students interested in the minor are required to email Brendan Guerzon in the LCSR to receive guidance about the program.

     Email: bguerzo1@jh.edu

  2. Students who decide to pursue the minor should also review their academic transcript with their minor advisor to ensure they will be able to complete the requirements.
  3. Fill out and submit an Add Minor form (which can be obtained from the registrar’s office)
  4. Complete the Requirements Checkout tables in the CheckOut sheet, downloadable on this web page. You should meet with your minor advisor periodically (at least once per year), bringing a copy of this form for review.
  5. During your senior year, you must also note the Robotics Minor on your Application for Graduation.
  6. When all requirements have been completed, take the completed form to the Robotics Minor Program Coordinator for review and signature.

  Undergraduates interested in completing the minor must be assigned a minor advisor. The advisor is responsible for helping the student choose courses and helps to ensure all requirements for the minor are met. Alison Morrow will assign the faculty advisor.

• Sample Minor Curricula for Students in Different Majors

  Below are sample curricula for ME, CS, ECE and BME majors. These sample curricula were designed to highlight certain requirements:

  1. Courses must collectively cover the three core areas.
  2. At least 2 courses must be advanced supplementary courses.
  3. At least 3 credits must be from a laboratory course (marked with *).
  4. At least 2 courses must be outside the major (text in blue).

  Note: these are just samples. For the full list of requirements see Overview, above. For a complete list of courses, see Robotics Minor Courses, below.
  A sample Mechanical Engineering Student Robotics Minor:

  Dept	Num.	Title	R	S	C	Sup
  ME	530.343	Design and Analysis of Dynamic Systems*	X	X
  ME	530.420	Robot Sensors & Actuators*	X		X
  ECE	520.353	Control Systems		X
  CS	601.463	Algorithms for Sensor-Based Robotics	X	X	X
  ME	530.424	Dynamics of Robots and Spacecraft	X			X
  ME	530.646	Robot Devices, Kinematics, Dynamics, and Control	X	X		X

  A sample Computer Science Student Robotics Minor:

  Dept	Num.	Title	R	S	C	Sup
  CS	601.436	Algorithms for Sensor-Based Robotics	X		X
  CS	601.461	Computer Vision*		X	X
  ECE	520.353	Control Systems		X
  ECE	520.435	Digital Signal Processing		X	X
  CS	601.455	CIS I*	X	X		X
  CS	601.456	CIS II*			X	X

  A sample Electrical and Computer Engineering Student Robotics Minor:

  Dept	Num.	Title	R	S	C	Sup
  ECE	520.353	Control Systems		X
  ECE	520.454	Control System Design*		X	X	X
  CS	601.463	Algorithms for Sensor-Based Robotics	X		X
  ECE	520.435	Digital Signal Processing		X	X
  ECE	520.448	Electronics Design Lab*			X	X
  CS	601.461	Computer Vision*		X	X	X

  A sample Biomedical Engineering Student Robotics Minor:

  Dept	Num.	Title	R	S	C	Sup
  BME	580.471	Principals of Design of Biomedical Instrumentation*			X
  ME	530.646	Robot Devices, Kinematics, Dynamics, and Control	X	X		X
  CS	601.461	Computer Vision*			X	X
  CS	601.455	Computer-Integrated Surgery I*	X	X		X
  BME	580.472	Medical Imaging Systems			X
  ECE	520.435	Digital Signal Processing		X	X

• Full Minor Course Listing

  List of courses HERE

  * Note: 530.343 will only count as a lab if the student is also enrolled in 530.344.

  (*)Note: To bring CS in parity with most of WSE, as of Fall 2013, CS course numbers are beginning to change. Some CS some courses had dual designations of 600.3xx level (undergrad) and 600.4xx (grad), but this has changed to 600.4xx (undergrad) and 600.6xx (grad). You will receive minor credit according to whether your course was undergrad/grad.

The minor is managed by faculty of the the LCSR in collaboration with academic departments and centers of the Whiting School of Engineering. If you have questions regarding the minor, please direct them to Brendan Guerzon bguerzo1@jh.edu.