Programming Autonomous Robots

COSC2781 (PG) | COSC2814 (UG) | Semester 1 2024

Research Presentation (v1.0)

Assessment Type Individual Assessment. Pre-recorded Video Presentation.

Due Date 11.59pm, Wednesday 27 March 2024 (Week 4)

Silence Period From 5.00pm, Tuesday 26 March 2024 (Week 4)

Weight 25% of the final course mark

Submission Online via Canvas. Submission instructions are provided on Canvas.

1 Assessment Details

In this assessment you will conduct a video research presentation on a chosen topic. You will need to conduct
research into the topic, find multiple research papers related to this topic, and may draw upon course material.
You will need to conduct a critical analysis of the work(s) you find, analysing the significance of the work(s) for
autonomous robotics, along with an evaluation of the critical quantitative or qualitative evidence that supports
the findings of the work(s). You will then present your findings in a 10 min recorded video presentation, that
will be made available to all students in the course. Your presentation will be graded on the quality of your
research, your critical analysis, and your presentation skills.

1.1 Presentation Topics

The theme of the video research presentations is:
“Important algorithm in autonomous robotics used on a
seminal autonomous robot”
You must identity and research one important algorithm within the
field of Artificial Intelligence for Autonomous Robots. You must
choose a specific algorithm, not a class of algorithms, such as the
GraphSLAM algorithm instead of the concept of SLAM. In your pres-
netation, you must:
• Give an overview of the problem the algorithm is solving
• Given an overview of the algorithm
• Critically analysis and evaluate the significance of the algorithm.
You do not need to understand every aspect or detail of the algorithm.
That is, the purpose of the presentation given an overview and anal-
yse the significance of the algorithm within the field of autonomous Figure 1: SRI’s “Shakey” robot (1972).
robotics. Image Copyright: SRI International.
You must also identify and research one important autonomous robotic
platform on which the algorithm has been applied in practice. Your

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chosen robot has been developed and used in industry, education, or research since the 1960s. You could choose
the autonomous robot from the below list, or select another autonomous robot.
For example, the Shakey robot pictured in Figure 1 was developed in the late 1960s to early 1970s, and was used
to experimentally evaluate numerous foundational autonomous robotics algorithms and techniques, including
the Sense-Plan-Act software architecture and STRIPS task planning, the latter of which is still used today.
Autonomous robotic platforms you could consider include:
• Shakey the robot
• Boston Dynamics BigDog
• Sony Aibo
• iRobot Baxter
• Aldebaran/Softbank Nao
• Aldebaran/Softbank Pepper
• Boston Dynamics ATLAS

1.2 Research Requirements

An aspect of this assessment is academic research of both your chosen robotic platform and algorithm. This
includes finding accurate, reliable resources, and peer-reviewed resources. Your research should not solely depend
on “internet” sites, such as Wikipedia. Therefore, as part of your research, you must find at least 2 published
and peer reviewed research papers that are relevant to your chosen algorithm and platform. The peer reviewed
aspect is important. The papers you find cannot be self-published as technical reports or by via platforms such
as arXiv. If you are unsure if a paper is suitably peer-reviewed, then consult with Tim.
To find appropriate sources, you could use sources including:
• Google Scholar
• Scopus
• The RMIT Library
• Papers cited in the references sections of the course textbooks.
You must submit a PDF copy of your chosen papers. You must provide references to all resources that you used
as part of your presentation, typically at the end of your presentation slide deck. You may choose any suitable
referencing format to cite your work, provided that the citation format is consistent and understandable.

1.3 Critical Analysis

In your video presentation you must critically analyse the benefits of your chosen algorithm. Your analysis
should consider the following elements:
• Significance to autonomous robotics. This positions the algorithm within the field of autonomous robotics
literature, and presents the why it is important. If your algorithm is no longer used, you should place this
significance within a historical context.
• Relevance for our study of autonomous robotics in PAR. This presents why in PAR we should care
about the algorithm today (compared to other related topics) and what applications it may have in our
coursework, projects or further studies.
• An Evaluation that presents a critical quantitative or qualitative evidence backed measurement of the
algorithm as conducted on your chosen platform. This should include the strength and weakness of
aspects of the algorithm.
Another way to contextualise the three elements is by posing different, but related, questions:
• Significance - "What is important about this topic?"
• Relevance - "Why do we care about this topic?"
• Evaluation - "What is good or bad about aspects of this topic?"
You will need to present this analysis in a clear and concise manner. The ability to clearly describe your research
to others, and condense complex information into short explanations is an important skill. Poorly presented
research no matter how significant and amazing, is likely to be rejected from publication.
After the submission date, all video presentations will be made available to all students in the course to view
and learn about topics they did not research. Thus, as you create your presentation keep in mind that your
presentation will be available to others.

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1.4 The Video Presentation
Your video presentation must be no more than 10 minutes long. For consistency, any aspect of the video past
the 10 minute mark from the very start of the video will not be graded. In your presentation you may use
slides, handouts, diagrams, videos, and/or robot demonstrations to assist your presentation.
An aspect of this assessment is that the target audience of your video presentation is other students in the
course. The purpose of the video is to present your research and analysis to the course. Thus, in creating your
presentation should should consider:
• Clarity - is your presentations, explanation and analysis clear and easy to understand with the expected
knowledge of your audience?
• Materials - do you use suitable slides, tables, figures, text, and other visualisations?
• Engagement - is your presentation engaging, interesting and holds the audiences attention?
• Referencing - have you appropriately referenced and attributed the work(s) that you have presented?
To record and edit your presentation you may make use of recording and editing software of your choice, provided
that the final video is clear and easy to understand. If you are unsure of appropriate software and tools, you
should consult with Tim.

1.5 Learning Outcomes

This assessment relates to the following course learning outcomes:
CLO1 Discuss and Critically Analyse and a variety of software architectures and algorithms for solving
typical problems in the context of autonomous robot systems; Discuss and Critically Analyse the strengths
and limitations of these architectures and algorithms.
CLO2 Discuss and Critically Analyse the challenges of designing and developing software for a variety of
robot systems of different complexities, including noise, uncertainty, and computational power.
CLO3 Research, Discuss, and Use new and novel algorithms for solving problems with autonomous robot
systems.
CLO5 Develop skills for further self-directed learning in the general context of software, algorithms, and
architectures for autonomous robot systems; Adapt experience and knowledge to and from other computer
sciences contexts such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and software design.

2 Submission

Follow the instructions on Canvas to submit your work for this assignment. You will need to submit your
video recording, chosen papers, and any additional materials used in your presentation, such as your slide deck.
Assessment declaration: When you submit work electronically, you agree to the assessment declaration.

2.1 Release of Video

After submissions have finished, the video presentations of all students will be made available to all students in
the course to view.

2.2 Silence Period

A silence policy will take effect from 5.00pm, Tuesday 26 March 2024 (Week 4). This means no questions
about this assignment will be answered, whether they are asked on the discussion board, by email, or in person.
Make sure you ask your questions with plenty of time for them to be answered.

2.3 Late Submissions & Extensions

A penalty of 10% per day is applied to late submissions up to 5 days, after which you will lose ALL the
assignment marks. Extensions will be given only in exceptional cases; refer to Special Consideration process.
Special Considerations given after grades have been released, videos of other students published, and/or solutions
have been discussed will automatically result in an equivalent assessment, which may take the form of a test,
assessing the same knowledge and skills of the assignment.

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3 Marking guidelines

Marking You are assessed across 5 categories:

• Research Coverage (5 marks)
• Analysis of Significance (5 marks)
• Analysis of Relevance (5 marks)
• Evaluation (5 marks)
• Presentation Skills & Quality (5 marks)
The detailed breakdown of this marking guidelines is provided on the rubric linked on Canvas.

4 Academic integrity and plagiarism (standard warning)

Academic integrity is about the honest presentation of your academic work. It means acknowledging the work
of others while developing your own insights, knowledge and ideas. You should take extreme care that you have:
• Acknowledged words, data, diagrams, models, frameworks and/or ideas of others you have quoted (i.e.
directly copied), summarised, paraphrased, discussed or mentioned in your assessment through the ap-
propriate referencing methods
• Provided a reference list of the publication details so your reader can locate the source if necessary. This
includes material taken from Internet sites. If you do not acknowledge the sources of your material, you
may be accused of plagiarism because you have passed off the work and ideas of another person without
appropriate referencing, as if they were your own.
RMIT University treats plagiarism as a very serious offence constituting misconduct. Plagiarism covers a variety
of inappropriate behaviours, including:
• Failure to properly document a source
• Copyright material from the internet or databases
• Collusion between students
For further information on our policies and procedures, please refer to the RMIT Academic Integrity Website.
The penalty for plagiarised assignments include zero marks for that assignment, or failure for this course. Please
keep in mind that RMIT University uses plagiarism detection software.

4.1 Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools in this Assessment

The majority of your work in this assessment should be your own work, and not plagiarised from other sources,
or sourced from the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools. Therefore, the use AI tools are restricted in certain
ways for this assessment task.
In this assessment task, you may use AI tools to support you in developing and completing your work by
generating ideas, planning, and/or drafting only . Any use of such tools must be acknowledged and referenced.
Work that is significantly produced by AI tools, or where AI tools are used to complete this assessment without
attribution may result in an allegation of academic misconduct