CO7316 Robotics Assignment 1 Brief 2025 | UOC

CO7316 Summary

Design a robot to solve a real-world problem and demonstrate its functionality using the 3D simulation platform Webots. The project involves identifying a practical application, developing a suitable robot design, and simulating its operation in a realistic environment to showcase its effectiveness.

CO7316 Instructions

This assignment places you in the position of requesting funding to build a robot. To secure this funding, you must argue the purpose of your robot, e.g., what service it provides, what impact it will have and what requirements it must meet. The purpose of your robot is for you to decide, and it can be in any domain of your choosing. However, robots must not require weapons or any form of sexual content. You must discuss the physical design of your robot, justifying every motor, hinge, and sensor. You must also describe the control system that you will use. The control system should be hypothetical and involve algorithms/techniques to achieve the requirements that your robot is designed to meet. And you must discuss any ethical implications your robot will have.

The funding body has requested that you provide a video (e.g., MP4, MOV or WMV) of a 3D simulation demonstrating your robot working on the task that you have specified. This video will fully demonstrate the purpose of your robot and its intended purpose. You are not required to implement a fully functional control system, but doing so may award you extra marks. For example, a keyboard-controlled robot with a highly detailed discussion of its control system may achieve the same marks as an autonomous robot with a less detailed discussion.

The recommended tool that you should use for this 3D simulation is Webots:
Webots is an open-source robot simulation tool 
(Follow the tutorials to learn how to use the Webots package, along with the videos and discussions on the CO7316 Moodle page.

Webots allows you to record simulations, but you may use a screen recorder, such as OBS Studio, to record your simulations. If your video is too large for submission, then a OneDrive link in your report is the recommended alternative. You are allowed to submit multiple videos to demonstrate different actions that your robot performs; no extra marks will be awarded for editing multiple scenes into a single video. However, if you do wish to edit your videos, then Adobe Premiere Pro is available on the university machines.

When you submit your Webots project, please ensure to submit the root folder with all the subfolders included: controllers, plugins, resources, and worlds.

Task Breakdown:

1. Write a report (approx. 3000 words) detailing (70%). Word count penalties will be applied.

a. The task the robot will perform (10 Marks)

• Describe the purpose of the task, i.e. why it is important
• Give justification of why this task should be performed by a robot

b. Discuss the design of the robot (15 Marks)

• Why have you designed it this way, concerning the task
• Discuss how the robot moves and its degrees of freedom
• Detail all sensors, motors, actuators, etc., that you have used and why

c. Discuss the control system of the robot (10 Marks)

• Mention whether your robot is autonomous or keyboard-controlled in your simulation
• Discuss the level of autonomy your robot has and what it can do. If your robot(s) are keyboard controlled, then this will be hypothetical, i.e., what would be automated if it weren’t controlled by the keyboard
• The limitations of your robot and how you may get around them
• Reflect on the difficulties you encountered while programming the controller – if your robot(s) is/are keyboard controlled, then state what problems you would encounter if you were to make it autonomous

d. Evaluation of the robot’s performance in the simulation (15 Marks)

• Strengths and weaknesses of your robot
• How your robot compares to other robots in literature

e. Literature review detailing what robots currently exist in this area (20 Marks)

• What impact do they have
• Their advantages and disadvantages.

2. Build your robot and its controller using a 3D simulation tool, such as Webots. (30%)

a. Produce a 3D simulation (15 marks)

• Containing your robot(s) and any obstacles or elements it will interact with
• A simulation to play out by simply pressing a play button (if you use another tool, then please provide instructions)

b. Write a controller to operate your robot either autonomously or keyboard controlled, and append your controller code to your report for Turnitin plagiarism detection (10 Marks)

c. Record a video of the simulation – this recording should show exactly what your robot(s) is/are doing. If you are using keyboard controls then you should demonstrate a good example of the robot's functionalities. (5 Marks)

Additional Information Assessment Criteria

Note that marks may be reallocated to ensure that students achieve an overall grade that reflects the strengths of the assignment, e.g.,

To obtain a pass mark, you will have to discuss the application of the robot with an adequate implementation. The implementation does not need to be fully working, but it must show a good understanding of the process. (50-59%)

To achieve a mark above a pass, you will provide a more thorough discussion of the robot’s application and its justifications. The simulation may not be very complex, but it will be a working implementation. (60-69%)

To achieve top marks, the report will be very thorough with a working implementation. The implementation will be of high complexity, with many moving parts and interactions. (70%+)

CO7316 Learning Outcomes Assessed

• Demonstrate a critical awareness of the capabilities of artificial intelligence and robotics.
• Apply theoretical solutions to issues of robotics.
• Critically analyse the role that systems such as neural networks or software agents, for example, can play in the development of robotic technologies.
• Critically evaluate how organisations in various domains can utilise intelligent hardware.
• Use suitable software tools to: design, implement, test, document and evaluate software that demonstrates intelligence, or to design an intelligent architecture within robotics.

CO7316 Submission Information

For projects that include programming code:

The TurnItIn submission box will have multiple parts. You must submit to the appropriate part

• A PDF file containing your report as well as all programming code in an appendix, followed by a reference list in APA format.
• A ZIP file containing the project

Both files must be named with your assessment (J number), e.g. J123456.pdf and J123456.zip. The name for each entry on TurnItIn must also be your assessment number.

Files submitted in an incorrect format will usually be marked as zero.

All components must be submitted to avoid receiving a mark of zero.

Any late work penalties for assignments will be calculated using the latest submission date/time.