Competitions and Industrial Tasks as a Way to Learn Basic Concepts in Robotics

This paper presents a graduate course project based on a challenging industrial task as a way to learn basic concepts in robotics. The students had to face a simplified version of a task proposed as part of an European Competition. The general aim is to identify an object and place a manipulator in a certain target position with respect to it. Students have to use information provided by a stereo camera in order to guarantee a good pose estimation. The object is not placed in a fixed and predefined spot, but the pose can vary in a range within a maximum of 5 cm in position and 3 degrees in rotation on each direction. The learning objectives of both course and project are introduced and compared with the students' background. We discuss the solutions proposed by the students, together with the amount of time they and their instructors dedicated to solve the task. Answers to a survey have been collected and discussed in order to better evaluate the students' experience.