CS 580: Intelligent Robotics (Fall 2026)#

Information#

  • Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
  • Location: Morgridge Hall, Room B2550
  • Instructor: Mike Hagenow (mhagenow@wisc.edu)
  • Instructor Office Hours: Tuesdays from 10:45 AM – 12:00 PM
    • ABC (Anything But Class) Fridays 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM
  • Instructor Office Location: Morgridge Hall, Room 6584
  • Teaching Assistant (TA): Yuna Hwang (yhwang56@wisc.edu)
  • TA Office Hours: Monday 11am-12pm, Thursday 1-2pm
  • TA Office Location: Morgridge Hall 6617
  • Piazza Webpage (for discussion and notifications): Link
  • Piazza Signup: Link

Note: For email, please put [CS580] in the subject title. Thanks!

Course Description#

Robots are intelligent systems that plan, sense, and act on the physical world. In this course, we offer an introduction to the different modeling and algorithmic approaches used broadly in robotics. By the end of this course, you will gain a fundamental understanding of essential topics for building robot systems; including representations, kinematics, motion planning, perception, state estimation, learning, and control. We will discuss two main classes of robot systems: robot arms and mobile robots. In addition to lectures, you will have the opportunity to program simulated robots as part of homework assignments, participate in discussions on topics like robot learning, and to complete a final capstone project where you develop a robot system leveraging the tools discussed in the class. The class has two midterm exams covering most of the class concepts, but no final exam (only the final project).

Prerequisites#

Previous programming experience is required. Students entering this class are expected to have background knowledge in calculus, linear algebra, and probability. Students who do not fit this profile must seek permission from the instructor prior to enrolling.

(COMP SCI 400 or 320) and (MATH 320, 340, 341, 345 or 375) and (STAT 311, 324, 333, 340, 371, STAT/MATH 309, 431, MATH 331 or 531), or grad/professional standing.

None of the textbooks are required, though you may find them helpful to aid in your learning. The first two textbooks are available online for free. The third textbook (just used for the state estimation lectures) has availble online resources.

Discussion Forum#

The instructor will post announcements, clarifications, hints, etc. on Piazza.
Students should check the CS580 Piazza page frequently throughout the term.
If you have a question, the best option is to post a message on Piazza.

Helpful guidelines:

  • Please check if someone has posted the same/similar question before yours; it’s easier if we build on the thread.
  • Use an informative “Summary” line to help others.

If your question is personal or not of interest to others, you may mark your question as private on Piazza so only instructors will see it.
You are also welcome to come to office hours for individual discussion.

Grading#

Grading will be based on:

  • Participation (e.g., polls, responses, feedback): 5%
  • Programming Assignments: 30%
  • Midterm Exams: 40%
  • Final Project: 25%

Letters of Recommendation#

As a general policy, I do not provide letters of recommendation based on CS580 for students who are currently enrolled in the course. You want strong letters of recommendation that provide concrete evidence of your skills and past work. While the course is still in progress, it is difficult for me to write a compelling letter because I cannot point to your final performance in the class or discuss the results of your final project. However, I am always happy to help students brainstorm potential letter writers. If this might be useful, please come by ABC office hours!