ROBOTICS AND VIRTUAL REALITY

2014-2015
Prof. Ctlin Buiu
SUBJECTS FOR THE FINAL EXAMINATION
Access to the final examination is granted upon presentation of a valid ID card and of a valid student
card
No. Subject
1
2

Your personal view on hypes and hopes in robotics.

Give at least 5 areas of applications for robots (with clear examples for each area).

From
course
1
1

Possible uses of telepresence robots in education.

What is an MDS robot?

5
6
7

What is a rover? Brief comparison of Mars rovers.

Robotic exoskeletons and brain-machine interfaces.
Present Asimos capabilities in terms of interaction with Michio Kaku.

2
2
3

Narrow (weak) AI , machine intelligence, intelligent machines (Strong AI)

9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18

Virtual reality and tele-immersion.

Virtual and augmented reality. Definitions and examples.
Augmented reality vs. diminished reality. Examples.
PlaceAvoider: Steering First-Person Cameras away from Sensitive Spaces*
Augmented reality vs. augmented virtuality. Examples.
Reality-virtuality continuum.
Teleimmersion, telepresence and teleoperations.
The three Is of virtual reality.
The four key elements of a virtual reality experience.
What methods have used the NASA engineers to cope with potential problems in real-time
navigation of Martian rovers?
Give at least three definitions for a robot. Analyze and compare these three points of view.
What is mechatronics? FSLBOT as an example of a mechatronic system.
Block diagram of a mechatronic device.
Traditional sequential design approach vs. mechatronics parallel design approach.
Give at least three ways to classify robots.
Classify robots according to their degree of adaptability to the environment.
Classify unmanned maritime vehicles.
Classify unmanned aerial vehicles.
Classify the robot iPACK and its working environment. Give a list of potential applications
for iPACK.
Classify the robot NEMO and its working environment. Give a list of potential applications
for NEMO.
Classify the robot Robo_Cooki and its working environment. Give a list of potential
applications for Robo_Cooki.
Classify the robot ROBEAR and its working environment. Give a list of potential

3
3,4
3
3
4
4
3,4
4
4
5

19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

5
5
6
6
6
6
6
6
7
7
7
7

39

applications for ROBEAR.

Classify the robot Spot and its working environment. Give a list of potential applications for
Spot.
Robots as agents. Taxonomy of environments.
Primary objectives of an intelligent (Sci-Fi) robot design.
Give some examples of robotics foundations disciplines.
Classification of sensors frequently used in robotics.
Brief description of the two main development directions in robotics. Examples.
Define STRIPS predicates climbUp(B) and climbDown(B) (climb on, and off, a box),
turnOn(S) and turnoff(S) (turn the light switch on and off, respectively).
Capabilities or aspirations that will make robots even more useful, more productive, and
more accepted.
Three general characteristics of personal robots.

40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
*

What is a point cloud? Examples of libraries and applications.

3D perception sensors. Examples.
SLAM problem. Definition, phases, applications.
Full software solutions for robots. Present a detailed example.
Robotic (self-driving) cars: motivation, hardware, and software.
Levels of autonomy for robotic cars.
Compare two self-driving car concepts.
Security and privacy with AR technologies. Challenges and solutions.*
Mixed reality and mediated reality.
Tangible user interfaces.
Supplementary materials (home study).

31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38

7,8
7
8
8
8
9
9
9
9
10
10
10
10
9, 11
9, 11
9, 11
11
11