ROB104 · Kinematics and Motion Basics
About Course
Learn the math that describes how robots move: coordinate frames and poses, differential-drive kinematics and odometry, forward and inverse kinematics of a simple arm and smooth motion profiles, all practiced in Python and Webots.
Who it is for
Learners who can program basic robot behaviors and want to control motion precisely rather than by trial and error.
Prerequisites
ROB103 (Python robot controllers); high-school algebra and basic trigonometry (sine, cosine).
What you will be able to do
- Represent robot poses and convert points between coordinate frames using 2D rotations and translations.
- Compute differential-drive wheel speeds from a desired motion and estimate pose by odometry from encoders.
- Solve forward and inverse kinematics for a two-link planar arm and identify its workspace limits.
- Generate a trapezoidal velocity profile and explain why smooth motion matters.
Lessons
- Lesson 1 · Coordinate frames, poses and transforms
- Lesson 2 · Mobile robot kinematics and odometry
- Lesson 3 · Arm kinematics and smooth motion
- Lesson 4 · Lab and assignment
Lab: Odometry and arm kinematics in Python and Webots
In Python you implement forward and inverse kinematics for a two-link arm and plot its workspace. In Webots you drive an e-puck along a 0.3 m square using wheel kinematics, estimate its pose from wheel encoders and compare your odometry with the true pose reported by a Supervisor node to measure drift.
Free tools: Google Colab or local Python with NumPy and matplotlib (free), Webots (free)
Assessed assignment
Submit your Colab notebook and Webots controller with logs and plots. Report the final position error of your odometry after one and after three laps of the square and explain the sources of drift. Show your workspace plot and one inverse-kinematics example with both solutions. Explain in a paragraph how a trapezoidal profile changed the motion compared with instant speed changes.
| Criterion | Weight | What excellent work looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Arm kinematics | 25% | FK and IK are correct, both IK solutions are verified and the workspace plot is accurate. |
| Mobile kinematics and odometry | 30% | Wheel-speed computation and odometry updates are correct and the square is driven as specified. |
| Error analysis | 25% | Drift is quantified across laps and its causes (slip, rounding, wheel parameters) are explained. |
| Motion profile and communication | 20% | The trapezoidal profile is implemented and its effect is clearly explained with evidence. |
Portfolio piece
A kinematics notebook and an odometry-validated Webots controller you can reuse as a motion-control reference.
Next step
Continue with ROB105 · Robot Perception with Computer Vision · 8 hours · $56.00
Course Content
ROB104 · Kinematics and Motion Basics (6 h)
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Lesson 1 · Coordinate frames, poses and transforms
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Lesson 2 · Mobile robot kinematics and odometry
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Lesson 3 · Arm kinematics and smooth motion
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Lesson 4 · Lab and assignment
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ROB104 Assessment · Kinematics and Motion Basics