ROBOTICS ESSENTIALS

Design and building robotic systems.

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Overview
The convergence of the cloud, Internet of Things, rapid prototyping and other technologies, and the need for
operational efficiencies driven by global competition have ushered in a new era: the age of robotics. The
traditional place for robots, the factory floor, is seeing record numbers — 2.7 million robots worldwide,
according to the International Federation of Robots. Further, the meteoric growth in artificial intelligence and
the rise of human—robot interactions has increased the demand for professionals who can harness the
massive power of automation.

Organizations need talent with the right combination of skills to bridge the technical aspects of robotics and
the strategic imperative for business cases. MIT xPRO's Robotics Essentials program offers an immersive
curriculum where you can strengthen your understanding of real-world robotic systems, human-robot
interactions, and the very real challenges of implementing robotic systems in society.

MIT xPRO's online learning programs feature vetted content from world-renowned experts to make learning
accessible anytime, anywhere. By the end of this program, you will have exposure to a wide range of robotic
controls and systems, a framework for understanding full stack robotics, and a deeper appreciation of
opportunities for using robotics and automated technologies.

PRICE DURATION
USD 2,600 10 weeks
4–6 hours/week The global robotics market is set to reach
USD 74 billion by 2026.
Source: Modor Intelligence

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Key Takeaways
Learn key concepts surrounding robotic systems and human–robot interaction (HRI)

Determine how robotic automation is suitable for specific work tasks

Identify basic robotic subsystems and recognize how these subsystems work together to

influence the function of greater robotic systems

Evaluate how automated technologies can be implemented and determine what barriers exist

to prevent such implementation

Explore robotic systems and architecture

Identify the basics of sensing and control in robotic applications

Program Highlights

A certificate from MIT xPRO to recognize your skills and success

Career-ready skills to position you in a growing market

Workbook to help you apply your learnings

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Tools And Resources In The Program

Motion Control Computational Models

Study systems for motion control, including Explore models for task planning, including
proportional-integral-derivative (PID), linear computational models and their distinguishing
quadratic regulator (LQR), and model characteristics (such as MDP, HMM, POMDP,
predictive controller (MPC). and temporal planning).

Interactive Planning Domain Definition Language (PDDL)

Advance your knowledge through Learn characteristics and limitations of
crowdsourcing and design simulation PDDL, including temporal and generative
activities. planning.

Digital Flipbook Human-Robot Interaction (HRI)

Examine key metrics and quality attributes for
Walk through algorithms and view
human-robot interaction in certain applications.
coding examples.

Note: There are no prerequisites for this program, though a capacity for technical concepts is recommended.

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Who Is This Program For?
The Robotics Essentials online program provides learners with knowledge and resources to identify
basic robotic subsystems, evaluate human-robot interactions, and analyze challenges to the
implementation of robotic systems. This program is an ideal launchpad for those who want to chart a
path forward in full stack robotics, including:

Engineers looking to gain an end-to-end understanding of

robotics and automation to expand their career
opportunities.
Representative roles include:
Control Engineers Automation Engineers
Software Engineers Design Engineers

Product Managers who want to learn the fundamentals of

robotics to inform their product development decisions and
offer more integrated solutions.
Representative roles include:
Product Managers Product R&D Managers
Innovation Managers Innovation Heads
Growth Product Managers

Consultants looking to understand the range of robotic applications and

stay up to date on cutting-edge robotic systems and subsystems.
Representative roles include:
Principal Consultants Robotics and Automation Consultants
Robotics Consultants

Professionals in robotics and related industries, including operations, technology,

and business executives who need to understand how robotic applications can
give their firm a competitive edge.
Representative roles include:
Technology Managers CTOs Founders
Operations Managers Vice Presidents Co-Founders
Directors of Technology

With a growth rate of Robotics Engineer 40%,

ranks 2nd among LinkedIn's top-15 emerging jobs in the US.
Source: LinkedIn. 2020 Emerging Jobs Report.
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Program Schedule
This program provides foundational knowledge in full stack robotic systems that will equip you to examine the
possible implementation of robotics and automation in more strategic ways within your organization.

What you will learn:

Build the foundation

- Understand key concepts about robotics and HRI.
- Investigate control systems and sensors to examine and establish control of key performance
algorithms in robotics.
- Learn about robotic systems and architecture.

Build confidence
- Explore the various capabilities of robotics through discussions and interactive scenarios.
- Discover critical strategies underlying the safe deployment of robotics and automation.

Build job readiness

- Gain expertise in robotic systems and automation terminology.
- Use the course workbook to reflect and map out next steps for robotic implementation.
- Expand your peer network.

Program Modules
This 10-week program includes a precourse discussion session along with the following modules:

Week 1:
Orientation Week
You will gain access to the learning platform from the program start date, and have the opportunity to
familiarize yourself with the classroom environment and prepare for the program ahead.

Week 2:
Why automation and robotics?
Learn the fundamentals of robotic and automation systems to evaluate opportunities and barriers for adoption
and implementation.
- Analyze society’s influence on automation technology.
- Identify robot and human strengths.
- Discuss how robotics and automation can be integrated to create value in a workplace and society.

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Week 3:
Design and development of robotics
Identify robot subsystems and various architecture paradigms and articulate the roles sensing, planning, and control
play when considering a full robotic system.
- Identify robotic systems and hardware.
- Identify level of robot autonomy and their trade-offs.
- Summarize key considerations and skills required for developing a full robotic system and for a career in full stack
robotics.

Week 4:
Sensing and perception
Delve into the important roles that sensors play in robotic architecture to understand how robots accomplish tasks.
- Assess the impact of models in perception.
- Describe the robot sensing process.
- Identify sensing hardware and the data it measures.

Week 5:
Robot decision-making
Explore robot task planning and how to use planning models and decision processes as tools to program robot
decision-making actions.
- Discuss how a robotic system uses levels of planning to perform selected tasks.
- Define planning models by their characteristics.
- Define categories of planning problems.

Week 6:
Motion planning and trajectory generation
Examine motion planning and its applications – manipulation planning and navigation planning – to understand
how it can be successfully integrated into various robotic systems.
- Define different types of motion planning problems, including manipulation and navigation.
- Compare the strengths and weaknesses of sample-based and optimization-based planning.
- Investigate the potential of planning capability and performance to increase due to incorporating machine
learning into task planning.

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Week 7:
Establishing control
Learn the basics of function and movement of various parts of a robot system, including several fundamental
techniques and characteristics that impact movement performance.
- Define the essential elements of a control problem for a particular control task.
- Explore applications of PID, LQR, and MPC.
- Compare the strengths and weaknesses of various methods of control.

Week 8:
Concurrency and real-time systems
Discuss and evaluate how to manage challenges of robot concurrency, the tendency for things to happen at
the same time in a robotic system, and how to use real-time scheduling and real-time requirements to order
and sequence robot tasks within a constraint time frame.
- Discuss concurrent processes in robotic systems, including failures due to concurrency.
- Apply scheduling algorithms to a task.
- Identify characteristics of robot networking.

Week 9:
Human–robot interaction
Complete a thorough examination of human–robot interaction (HRI), including why it is needed, the challenges it
presents in real-world deployments, and the connection between robot decision-making and robotic development.
- Differentiate between categories of HRI.
- Learn the challenges, successes, and side effects related to HRI.
- Discuss safety considerations and difficulties in robot deployment.

Week 10:
Present and future of robotics
Highlight approaches and automation characteristics that might benefit certain robotic systems and come full
circle to the role of robots in society as you look towards the future.
- Select an emerging trend in robotics and relate it to fundamental technologies in automation.
- Identify hard and soft automation characteristics.
- Discuss your vision for the future of robotic systems that interact with society.

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Assignments And Projects

Developing intuition Crowdsourcing

Explore various robotic capabilities Build an understanding of real-world robotic
through interactive scenarios. applications through crowdsourcing exercises.

Course workbook Try-It activities

Record reflections for each lesson, and make Test your understanding of key concepts in robotics
plans to integrate full stack robotics into your through short interactive assessments.
career or organization.

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 Faculty
Julie Shah
Professor in MIT Department of Aeronautics and
Astronautics; leads Interactive Robotics Group
in MIT Computer Science and Artificial
Intelligence Laboratory.
Julie Shah is Associate Dean of Social and
Ethical Responsibilities of Computing at MIT, a
professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and
Director of the Interactive Robotics Group, which
aims to imagine the future of work by designing
collaborative robot teammates that enhance
human capability. She is expanding the use of
human cognitive models for artificial intelligence
and has translated her work to manufacturing
assembly lines, healthcare applications,
transportation, and defense. Before joining the
faculty, she worked at Boeing Research and
Technology on robotics applications for
aerospace manufacturing. Prof. Shah has been
recognized by the National Science Foundation
with a Faculty Early Career Development
(CAREER) award and by MIT Technology Review
on its 35 Innovators Under 35 list. Her work on
industrial human-robot collaboration was also in
Technology Review’s 2013 list of 10 Breakthrough
Technologies. She has received international
recognition in the form of best paper awards
and nominations from the ACM/IEEE
International Conference on Human-Robot
Interaction, the American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics, the Human
Factors and Ergonomics Society, the
International Conference on Automated
Planning and Scheduling, and the International
Symposium on Robotics. She earned degrees in
aeronautics and astronautics, and in
autonomous systems, from MIT.
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Alberto Rodriguez
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at
MIT; Class of 1957 Career Development Professor
Alberto Rodriguez is the Class of 1957 Associate
Professor at the Mechanical Engineering
Department at MIT. Alberto graduated in
mathematics ('05) and telecommunication
engineering ('06) from the Universitat Politècnica
de Catalunya, and earned his PhD (’13) from the
Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.
He leads the Manipulation and Mechanisms Lab at
MIT (MCube), researching autonomous dexterous
manipulation, robot automation, and end-effector
design. Alberto has received best paper awards at
conferences RSS’11, ICRA’13, RSS’18, IROS'18, and
RSS'19, the 2018 Best Manipulation System Paper
Award from Amazon, and has been finalist for
best paper awards at IROS’16, IROS'18, ICRA'20 and
RSS'20. He led Team MIT-Princeton in the Amazon
Robotics Challenge between 2015 and 2017, and
received Faculty Research Awards from Amazon in
2018, 2019 and 2020, and from Google in 2020. He
is also the recipient of the 2020 IEEE Early
Academic Career Award in Robotics and
Automation.
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Certificate
Get recognized! Upon successful completion of this
course, MIT xPRO grants a certificate of completion to
participants. This course is graded as a pass or fail;

E
participants must receive 75% to pass and obtain the

P L
certificate of completion.

AM
This is to certify that

Your Name

S
has successfully completed
After successful completion of the program, your verified digital Robotics Essentials
certificate will be emailed to you, at no additional cost, with the Date

name you used when registering for the program. All certificate
Sanjay Sarma Julie Shah Alberto Rodriguez
images are for illustrative purposes only and may be subject to Vice President for Open Learning
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Professor in MIT Department of Aeronautics and
Astronautics, leads Interactive Robotics Group
Associate Professor of Mechanical
Engineering at MIT, Class of 1957
in MIT Computer Science and Artificial Career Development Professor
Intelligence Laboratory

change at the discretion of MIT.

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