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The overall goal of this capstone is to design and implement a robotic system that can learn new skills from human demonstration. This involves learning to write software for controlling a humanoid robot (the NAO) using a Kinect RGB+depth camera. Working as a team, students tackle the various sub-problems of (1) human motion capture and interpretation from video, (2) control of a humanoid robot, and (3) application of probabilistic reasoning and machine learning algorithms to the problem of learning from human demonstration. You will gain experience in applying machine learning and probabilistic reasoning algorithms to concrete problems in 3D vision and robotics.
We live in a world of computers. Every day, we use computers to find information, communicate, or be entertained. Capstone design courses are the hallmark of Computer Science & Engineering. In these classes, teams of students tackle complex hardware, software, and embedded system design and implementation projects of their own invention. This year nine different capstones were offered to our students. We had a camera crew ask students what benefits they received from taking a capstone course. Hear how our students describe some of their capstone course experiences.
Homes are ever increasing hotbeds of new technology such as game consoles, TVs, smartphones, cameras, tablets, and remotely controllable lights and locks. This rapid pace of innovation, however, is breeding heterogeneity and complexity that frustrates even technically-savvy users' attempts to manage their technological devices or implement functionality that uses these devices in combination. In this capstone, student focus is on developing solutions for the connected home - a home rich with sensors, actuators, controllers, processors, and input and output devices. Orientation is towards systems software - infrastructure that facilitates building effective applications for the home space. Students work in substantial teams to design, implement, and release a software project that addresses one or more issues in the home, such as configuration-less setup, interoperability, privacy, and usable security.
This capstone began with a brief survey of computer audio techniques for sound recording and playback, encoding and decoding, synchronization, sound synthesis, recognition, and analysis/resynthesis. Students then worked in teams to design, implement, and release a software project utilizing some of the techniques surveyed.
In 2009-10, for the third year, Computer Science & Engineering joined with Human Centered Design & Engineering to offer a year-long senior undergraduate capstone design course on “Designing Technology for Resource-Constrained Environments.” Students in this year’s course worked to develop a low-cost, easy-to-use portable ultrasound for midwives that will be tested in Uganda — the Midwives’ Ultrasound Project. The course is a collaboration of CSE’s Richard Anderson, Ruth Anderson, and Gaetano Borriello, with HCDE’s Beth Kolko.
As cell phones become more capable with connectivity with the internet and sensors such as cameras, compasses, GPS, and accelerometers, there are opportunities to use them as accessibility or assistive devices. In this capstone, students work in teams to create new applications on cell phones that allow persons with disabilities to accomplish tasks that would be difficult to impossible to do without the applications.
The UW CSE capstone design courses are a hallmark of the undergraduate program. During a 10-week quarter, students works in teams on fast-paced projects of their own design within specific areas of computing. This quick overview highlights students' experiences in the following capstones: games, operating systems, animation, advance internet and web access, hardware systems, and accessibility.
The top 10 reasons to take a capstone course, counted down by our own students.
We live in a world of computers. Every day, we use computers to find information, communicate, or be entertained. Capstone courses give students an opportunity to explore ways to use computers to make our lives easier. Hear how our students describe some of their capstone course experiences.
The theme of the digital systems design capstone is technology for low-income environments. In this capstone, students investigate how technology can be used to address problems in education and agriculture in the developing world by prototyping substantional projects by mixing hardware, software, and communication components.
The OS capstone offers an indepth exploration of the Windows operating system. An operating system is the interface between hardware and user, and every computer must have one in order to run other programs. Students work in substantial teams to design, implement, and release a software project involving multiple areas. Emphasis is placed on the development process itself, rather than on the product.
This capstone course, entitled "Multi-Robot Systems: Theory and Implementation," covers key topics in multi-robot systems: distributed algorithms, ad-hoc networking, and coordinated motion. The topics are introduced through a series of labs using 12-robot mini-swarms. The main emphasis of the course focuses on distributed algorithm design, and the goal is to understand how to write software for a large number of robots.
"The Raven Deconstructed" is based on the concept of cellular automata and on the collective behavior of decentralized, self-organized systems. An example of this is the famous BOIDS, which is a visual simulation of a flying flock of birds, where each bird follows simple rules independently. The variant of using separate physical agents derives from the field of swarm robotics. The class appropriated the term "poetry slam," or "slam," to refer to our collective behavior in this project. A Slam is a cloud of sound events of related phrases of a poem, in this case "The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe, as read by James Earl Jones. The choices and the phrases derive from the execution of a set of common rules, without the intervention of any central control. Therefore, the resultant effect is classed as of Emergent Behavior.
The theme for the course was "Technology for Low-Income Regions." In the fall quarter seminar students used a set of readings to familiarize themselves with several interesting problem domains. By the end of the quarter, they had determined some possible project ideas. Then during spring quarter, they developed and refined those ideas into detailed implementation plans for the spring quarter (the CSE477 CompE capstone design course).
Software issues in the design of embedded systems. Microcontroller architectures and peripherals, embedded operating systems and device drivers, compilers and debuggers, timer and interrupt systems, interfacing of devices, communications and networking. Emphasis on practical application of development platforms.
Software issues in the design of embedded systems. Microcontroller architectures and peripherals, embedded operating systems and device drivers, compilers and debuggers, timer and interrupt systems, interfacing of devices, communications and networking. Emphasis on practical application of development platforms.
This capstone featured a set of team projects based on UrbanSim (www.urbansim.org), a system for simulating the development of urban areas over periods of 20-30 years. UrbanSim's purpose is to help inform public decision-making about major transportation and land use decisions, such as expanding a light rail system or a freeway, or rezoning to encourage the redevelopment of part of the city. Many of the projects were done by teams consisting of both CSE undergraduates, and graduate students in a companion class in urban modeling.
Hardware Design Capstone. Students focus on the design and implementation of a large project, which they work on in teams of three or four. They use a combination of hardware and software components including embedded processors, FPGAs, sensors and communication devices to implement their project. Students experience the entire design process from concept to running prototype in the space of a single quarter, including a project proposal, design reviews, and final product documentation / demonstration. (Low bandwidth version here. High bandwidth version here.)
Tablet PC Capstone. Students work in teams to design, implement, and release software projects -- utilizing the Tablet PC as the platform -- to distribute ink between multiple Tablets, editing handwriting, and recognize handwritten diagrams. Projects include "Shared Notes", "Scribbles", and "Diagram Recognition". (Low bandwidth version here. High bandwidth version here.)
Students work in substantial teams to design, implement, and release a software project involving multiple areas of the CSE curriculum. Emphasis is placed on the development process itself, rather than on the product. Teams are expected to develop a work plan, and to track and document their progress against it. This year's projects include: "Something Attacks"; "Star Gopher 32"; and "Pac Inverted Tulip". (Low bandwidth version here. High bandwidth version here.)
This capstone course focuses on robotics projects in which groups of 3 students program robots to perform certain tasks. The groups program Sony AIBO robots using the RoboCup Challenge as example domain. The ultimate goal of the RoboCup project is by 2050, develop a team of fully autonomous humanoid robots that can win against the human world champion team in soccer. (Low bandwidth version here. High bandwidth version here.)
In CSE 477, CSE students collaborated with Industrial Design students to create several digital systems design projects, including: SAVI, a shopping assistant for the visually impaired; HERMES, hospital information exchange; SCANNER RUN, dynamic children's games; and LINGO PAL, a language learning tool. (Low bandwidth version here. High bandwidth version here.)
In CSE 481, student teams create a working video game prototype from scratch. This year's projects include: "Monkey Maximus" a multiplayer action game where you will guide Maximus the gladiator monkey through his path of revenge on his former captors; "Fusion", taking space battles to a new evolutionary plane; and "Sublings", an arcade style game fashioned around the addictive action of smashing funny little creatures.
CSE 476 is a system building course that provides students with a complete experience in embedded system design. Student teams design, simulate, construct, debug, and document a substantial project. (Low bandwidth version here. High bandwidth version here.)
In CSE 477, students use our laboratories to design, simulate, construct, and debug a major project that includes hardware, software, and communication components. Students study the use of embedded processors in digital system design and interfacing techniques. They also write and debug real-time reactive software. (Low bandwidth version here. High bandwidth version here.)
In CSE 481, student teams create a working video game prototype from scratch. This year's class incorporated collaboration with art teams from area high schools. Instructor John Zahorjan has also provided snapshots of 481 students enjoying this unique and rewarding experience here. (Low bandwidth version here. High bandwidth version here.)
Taught by Chris Diorio, this course provided an introduction to CMOS technology and circuit design; implementation of combinational and sequential logic; VLSI design methodologies; CAD tools for layout, simulation, and validation. Students designed a VLSI chip using modern CAD tools. (Low bandwidth version here. High bandwidth version here.)
The 2000 edition of UW CSE's internet "capstone design course," taught by Professor Dan Weld. Students concentrated on the latest techniques for building scalable Internet systems such as search engines, communities, customized portal sites, and electronic commerce platforms. (Low bandwidth version here. High bandwidthversion here.)
Led by Gaetano Borriello, student teams used the hardware laboratory to design, simulate, construct, and debug substantial projects that included hardware, software, and communication components. (Low bandwidth version here.)
The 1999 edition of UW CSE's hardware "capstone design course," taught by Professor Carl Ebeling. (Special support from Xilinx and Intel.)
The 1999 edition of UW CSE's "capstone design course" in embedded system design. Led by Professor Gaetano Borriello, students focused this year on "invisible computing" -- wireless home appliances. This course is supported by Rob Short, Intel Corporation, Motorola Mobile Data Systems, Philips Multimedia Center, Trimble Navigation, and the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center.
The 1998 edition of UW CSE's "capstone design course" in software system design. Led by Professor John Zahorjan and Microsoft developer Dennis Canady, teams of UW CSE students learn commercial software development methodology and synthesize knowledge from a variety of previous courses by designing, implementing, documenting, and demonstrating 3-D multi-player distributed videogames built using VC++, Visual SourceSafe, and DirectX.
The 1998 edition of UW CSE's Computer Engineering "capstone design course," in which teams of students undertake embedded system design and implementation projects -- this year focused on personal digital assistants, with support from Rob Short, Intel Corporation, Motorola Mobile Data Systems, Philips Multimedia Center, Texas Instruments, Trimble Navigation, and the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center.
An integrated version of the three preceding videos: software system design (begins at 00:51), computer animation (begins at 05:08), and embedded system design (begins at 09:55).
Three teams of CSE undergraduates, led by Professor John Zahorjan and professional software developer Dennis Canady from Microsoft, learned commercial software development methodology and synthesized knowledge from a variety of previous courses by designing, implementing, documenting, and demonstrating 3-D multi-player distributed videogames built using VC++, Visual SourceSafe, and DirectX.
A documentary describing seven projects from 1997's undergraduate Computer Engineering capstone design course, including a computer-controlled Etch-a-Sketch, an interface for controlling hardware devices over the web, a system for unobtrusively getting the instructor's attention in distance learning situations, a small robot car that holds a "wheelie," an Internet mouse that controls multiple computers simultaneously, a Bloedel rotating chair used by physicians at the UW Medical Center, and an industrial robot programmed to physically play checkers (including visual recognition of the human opponent's moves).
A documentary describing three neat embedded system projects from 1996's undergraduate Computer Engineering capstone design course: an autonomous vehicle, a 4-legged walking robot, and a voice-activated talking toaster.
This is a distance learning course between thress classroom sites: the University of Washington in Seattle, the Microsoft campus in Redmond, and Lahore University of Management Science in Pakistan. Conference XP was used for real-time video conferencing between the sites, and Classroom Presenter was used on tablet PC's and laptops to allow students to contribute their ideas to the classroom discussion.
Classroom Presenter provides instructors with increased flexibility in delivering a presentation and facilitates interaction with the students in the classroom. Classroom Presenter has been used in a range of scenarios including distance education and in-class instruction. (Low bandwidth version here. High bandwidth version here.)
A compilation of segments from KOMO 4 News featuring CSE student projects in computer animation, digital system design, and mobile robotics. (Low bandwidth version here. High bandwidth version here.)
In a disgustingly brazen piece of self-promotion, we prepared a promo piece to be shown on the new video scoreboard at the University of Washington's Husky Stadium.
An overview of the UW Department of Computer Science & Engineering, featuring student projects and interviews with regional technology and education leaders. UW CSE is embarking on an ambitious fund-raising effort to construct a new facility, as the University of Washington's top capital priority. (50kbps version here.)
The Alliance for Education presented the University of Washington with its 1997 "A+ Partnership Award" for Outstanding Contributions to the Seattle Public Schools. Special recognition went to Ed Lazowska of the UW Department of Computer Science & Engineering and Steve Corbato, Scott Mah, and Bill Mar of the UW Office of Computing & Communications, for their work in designing and implementing a metropolitan-area network for the Seattle School District. This video was prepared by KOMO TV and shown at the awards ceremony.
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