Search result: Catalogue data in Autumn Semester 2018

Robotics, Systems and Control Master Information
Core Courses
NumberTitleTypeECTSHoursLecturers
227-0920-00LSeminar in Systems and ControlZ0 credits1SF. Dörfler, R. D'Andrea, E. Frazzoli, M. H. Khammash, J. Lygeros, R. Smith
AbstractCurrent topics in Systems and Control presented mostly by external speakers from academia and industry
Objectivesee above
252-0535-00LAdvanced Machine Learning Information W8 credits3V + 2U + 2AJ. M. Buhmann
AbstractMachine learning algorithms provide analytical methods to search data sets for characteristic patterns. Typical tasks include the classification of data, function fitting and clustering, with applications in image and speech analysis, bioinformatics and exploratory data analysis. This course is accompanied by practical machine learning projects.
ObjectiveStudents will be familiarized with advanced concepts and algorithms for supervised and unsupervised learning; reinforce the statistics knowledge which is indispensible to solve modeling problems under uncertainty. Key concepts are the generalization ability of algorithms and systematic approaches to modeling and regularization. Machine learning projects will provide an opportunity to test the machine learning algorithms on real world data.
ContentThe theory of fundamental machine learning concepts is presented in the lecture, and illustrated with relevant applications. Students can deepen their understanding by solving both pen-and-paper and programming exercises, where they implement and apply famous algorithms to real-world data.

Topics covered in the lecture include:

Fundamentals:
What is data?
Bayesian Learning
Computational learning theory

Supervised learning:
Ensembles: Bagging and Boosting
Max Margin methods
Neural networks

Unsupservised learning:
Dimensionality reduction techniques
Clustering
Mixture Models
Non-parametric density estimation
Learning Dynamical Systems
Lecture notesNo lecture notes, but slides will be made available on the course webpage.
LiteratureC. Bishop. Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning. Springer 2007.

R. Duda, P. Hart, and D. Stork. Pattern Classification. John Wiley &
Sons, second edition, 2001.

T. Hastie, R. Tibshirani, and J. Friedman. The Elements of Statistical
Learning: Data Mining, Inference and Prediction. Springer, 2001.

L. Wasserman. All of Statistics: A Concise Course in Statistical
Inference. Springer, 2004.
Prerequisites / NoticeThe course requires solid basic knowledge in analysis, statistics and numerical methods for CSE as well as practical programming experience for solving assignments.
Students should have followed at least "Introduction to Machine Learning" or an equivalent course offered by another institution.
252-3110-00LHuman Computer Interaction Information Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 150.
W4 credits2V + 1UO. Hilliges
AbstractThe course provides an introduction to the field of human-computer interaction, emphasising the central role of the user in system design. Through detailed case studies, students will be introduced to different methods used to analyse the user experience and shown how these can inform the design of new interfaces, systems and technologies.
ObjectiveThe goal of the course is that students should understand the principles of user-centred design and be able to apply these in practice.
ContentThe course will introduce students to various methods of analysing the user experience, showing how these can be used at different stages of system development from requirements analysis through to usability testing. Students will get experience of designing and carrying out user studies as well as analysing results. The course will also cover the basic principles of interaction design. Practical exercises related to touch and gesture-based interaction will be used to reinforce the concepts introduced in the lecture. To get students to further think beyond traditional system design, we will discuss issues related to ambient information and awareness.
252-5051-00LAdvanced Topics in Machine Learning Information Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 40.

The deadline for deregistering expires at the end of the second week of the semester. Students who are still registered after that date, but do not attend the seminar, will officially fail the seminar.
W2 credits2SJ. M. Buhmann, A. Krause, G. Rätsch
AbstractIn this seminar, recent papers of the pattern recognition and machine learning literature are presented and discussed. Possible topics cover statistical models in computer vision, graphical models and machine learning.
ObjectiveThe seminar "Advanced Topics in Machine Learning" familiarizes students with recent developments in pattern recognition and machine learning. Original articles have to be presented and critically reviewed. The students will learn how to structure a scientific presentation in English which covers the key ideas of a scientific paper. An important goal of the seminar presentation is to summarize the essential ideas of the paper in sufficient depth while omitting details which are not essential for the understanding of the work. The presentation style will play an important role and should reach the level of professional scientific presentations.
ContentThe seminar will cover a number of recent papers which have emerged as important contributions to the pattern recognition and machine learning literature. The topics will vary from year to year but they are centered on methodological issues in machine learning like new learning algorithms, ensemble methods or new statistical models for machine learning applications. Frequently, papers are selected from computer vision or bioinformatics - two fields, which relies more and more on machine learning methodology and statistical models.
LiteratureThe papers will be presented in the first session of the seminar.
252-5701-00LAdvanced Topics in Computer Graphics and Vision Information Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 24.

The deadline for deregistering expires at the end of the second week of the semester. Students who are still registered after that date, but do not attend the seminar, will officially fail the seminar.
W2 credits2SM. Gross, M. Pollefeys, O. Sorkine Hornung
AbstractThis seminar covers advanced topics in computer graphics, such as modeling, rendering, animation, real-time graphics, physical simulation, and computational photography. Each time the course is offered, a collection of research papers is selected and each student presents one paper to the class and leads a discussion about the paper and related topics.
ObjectiveThe goal is to get an in-depth understanding of actual problems and research topics in the field of computer graphics as well as improve presentations and critical analysis skills.
ContentThis seminar covers advanced topics in computer graphics,
including both seminal research papers as well as the latest
research results. Each time the course is offered, a collection of
research papers are selected covering topics such as modeling,
rendering, animation, real-time graphics, physical simulation, and
computational photography. Each student presents one paper to the
class and leads a discussion about the paper and related topics.
All students read the papers and participate in the discussion.
Lecture notesno script
LiteratureIndividual research papers are selected each term. See Link for the current list.
Prerequisites / NoticePrerequisites:
The courses "Computer Graphics I and II" (GDV I & II) are recommended, but not mandatory.
263-5210-00LProbabilistic Artificial Intelligence Information W4 credits2V + 1UA. Krause
AbstractThis course introduces core modeling techniques and algorithms from statistics, optimization, planning, and control and study applications in areas such as sensor networks, robotics, and the Internet.
ObjectiveHow can we build systems that perform well in uncertain environments and unforeseen situations? How can we develop systems that exhibit "intelligent" behavior, without prescribing explicit rules? How can we build systems that learn from experience in order to improve their performance? We will study core modeling techniques and algorithms from statistics, optimization, planning, and control and study applications in areas such as sensor networks, robotics, and the Internet. The course is designed for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students.
ContentTopics covered:
- Search (BFS, DFS, A*), constraint satisfaction and optimization
- Tutorial in logic (propositional, first-order)
- Probability
- Bayesian Networks (models, exact and approximative inference, learning) - Temporal models (Hidden Markov Models, Dynamic Bayesian Networks)
- Probabilistic palnning (MDPs, POMPDPs)
- Reinforcement learning
- Combining logic and probability
Prerequisites / NoticeSolid basic knowledge in statistics, algorithms and programming
263-5902-00LComputer Vision Information W6 credits3V + 1U + 1AM. Pollefeys, V. Ferrari, L. Van Gool
AbstractThe goal of this course is to provide students with a good understanding of computer vision and image analysis techniques. The main concepts and techniques will be studied in depth and practical algorithms and approaches will be discussed and explored through the exercises.
ObjectiveThe objectives of this course are:
1. To introduce the fundamental problems of computer vision.
2. To introduce the main concepts and techniques used to solve those.
3. To enable participants to implement solutions for reasonably complex problems.
4. To enable participants to make sense of the computer vision literature.
ContentCamera models and calibration, invariant features, Multiple-view geometry, Model fitting, Stereo Matching, Segmentation, 2D Shape matching, Shape from Silhouettes, Optical flow, Structure from motion, Tracking, Object recognition, Object category recognition
Prerequisites / NoticeIt is recommended that students have taken the Visual Computing lecture or a similar course introducing basic image processing concepts before taking this course.
376-1279-00LVirtual and Augmented Reality in Medicine Restricted registration - show details W3 credits2VR. Riener, O. Göksel, M. Harders
AbstractVirtual and Augmented Reality can support applications in medicine, e.g. for training, planning or therapy. This lecture derives the technical principles of multimodal (audiovisual, haptic, etc.) input devices, displays, and rendering techniques. Examples are presented in the fields of surgical training, intra-operative support, and rehabilitation. The lecture is accompanied by lab demonstrations.
ObjectiveProvide theoretical and practical knowledge of new principles and applications of multi-modal simulation and interface technologies in medical education, therapy, and rehabilitation.
ContentVirtual and Augmented Reality have the potential to provide descriptive and practical information for medical applications, while relieving the patient and/or the physician. Multi-modal interactions between the user and the virtual environment facilitate the generation of high-fidelity sensory impressions, by using visual, haptic, and auditory modalities. On the basis of the existing physiological constraints, this lecture derives the technical requirements and principles of multi-modal input devices, displays, and rendering techniques. Several examples are presented that are currently being developed or already applied, for instance in surgical training, intra-operative augmentation, and rehabilitation. The lecture will be accompanied by visits to facilities equipped with current VR and AR equipment.
LiteratureRecommended readings will be announced in the lecture. Selected books covering some of the presented topics are:

• Virtual Reality in Medicine. Riener, Robert; Harders, Matthias; 2012 Springer.
• Augmented Reality: Principles and Practice (Usability). Schmalstieg, Dieter; Hollerer, Tobias; 2016 Pearson.
• Real-Time Volume Graphics. Rezk-Salama, Christof; Engel, Klaus; Hadwiger, Markus; Kniss, Joe; Weiskopf, Daniel; 2006 Taylor & Francis.
• Haptic Rendering: Foundations, Algorithms, and Applications. Lin, Ming; Otaduy, Miguel; 2008 CRC Press.
• Developing Virtual Reality Applications: Foundations of Effective Design. Craig , Alan; Sherman, William; Will, Jeffrey; 2009 Morgan Kaufmann.
Prerequisites / NoticeNotice The course language is English. Any further details will be announced in the first lecture.

The general target group is students of higher semesters as well as PhD students of D-HEST, D-MAVT, D-ITET, D-INFK, D-PHYS. Students of other departments, faculties, and courses are also welcome.
376-1504-00LPhysical Human Robot Interaction (pHRI) Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 21.
W4 credits2V + 2UR. Gassert, O. Lambercy
AbstractThis course focuses on the emerging, interdisciplinary field of physical human-robot interaction, bringing together themes from robotics, real-time control, human factors, haptics, virtual environments, interaction design and other fields to enable the development of human-oriented robotic systems.
ObjectiveThe objective of this course is to give an introduction to the fundamentals of physical human robot interaction, through lectures on the underlying theoretical/mechatronics aspects and application fields, in combination with a hands-on lab tutorial. The course will guide students through the design and evaluation process of such systems.

By the end of this course, you should understand the critical elements in human-robot interactions - both in terms of engineering and human factors - and use these to evaluate and de- sign safe and efficient assistive and rehabilitative robotic systems. Specifically, you should be able to:

1) identify critical human factors in physical human-robot interaction and use these to derive design requirements;
2) compare and select mechatronic components that optimally fulfill the defined design requirements;
3) derive a model of the device dynamics to guide and optimize the selection and integration of selected components
into a functional system;
4) design control hardware and software and implement and
test human-interactive control strategies on the physical
setup;
5) characterize and optimize such systems using both engineering and psychophysical evaluation metrics;
6) investigate and optimize one aspect of the physical setup and convey and defend the gained insights in a technical presentation.
ContentThis course provides an introduction to fundamental aspects of physical human-robot interaction. After an overview of human haptic, visual and auditory sensing, neurophysiology and psychophysics, principles of human-robot interaction systems (kinematics, mechanical transmissions, robot sensors and actuators used in these systems) will be introduced. Throughout the course, students will gain knowledge of interaction control strategies including impedance/admittance and force control, haptic rendering basics and issues in device design for humans such as transparency and stability analysis, safety hardware and procedures. The course is organized into lectures that aim to bring students up to speed with the basics of these systems, readings on classical and current topics in physical human-robot interaction, laboratory sessions and lab visits.
Students will attend periodic laboratory sessions where they will implement the theoretical aspects learned during the lectures. Here the salient features of haptic device design will be identified and theoretical aspects will be implemented in a haptic system based on the haptic paddle (Link), by creating simple dynamic haptic virtual environments and understanding the performance limitations and causes of instabilities (direct/virtual coupling, friction, damping, time delays, sampling rate, sensor quantization, etc.) during rendering of different mechanical properties.
Lecture notesWill be distributed through the document repository before the lectures.
Link
LiteratureAbbott, J. and Okamura, A. (2005). Effects of position quantization and sampling rate on virtual-wall passivity. Robotics, IEEE Transactions on, 21(5):952 - 964.
Adams, R. and Hannaford, B. (1999). Stable haptic interaction with virtual environments. Robotics and Automation, IEEE Transactions on, 15(3):465 -474.
Buerger, S. and Hogan, N. (2007). Complementary stability and loop shaping for improved human ndash;robot interaction. Robotics, IEEE Transactions on, 23(2):232 -244.
Burdea, G. and Brooks, F. (1996). Force and touch feedback for virtual reality. John Wiley & Sons New York NY.
Colgate, J. and Brown, J. (1994). Factors affecting the z-width of a haptic display. In Robotics and Automation, 1994. Proceedings., 1994 IEEE International Conference on, pages 3205 -3210 vol.4.
Diolaiti, N., Niemeyer, G., Barbagli, F., and Salisbury, J. (2006). Stability of haptic rendering: Discretization, quantization, time delay, and coulomb effects. Robotics, IEEE Transactions on, 22(2):256 -268.
Gillespie, R. and Cutkosky, M. (1996). Stable user-specific haptic rendering of the virtual wall. In Proceedings of the ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exhibition, volume 58, pages 397-406.
Hannaford, B. and Ryu, J.-H. (2002). Time-domain passivity control of haptic interfaces. Robotics and Automation, IEEE Transactions on, 18(1):1 -10.
Hashtrudi-Zaad, K. and Salcudean, S. (2001). Analysis of control architectures for teleoperation systems with impedance/admittance master and slave manipulators. The International Journal of Robotics Research, 20(6):419.
Hayward, V. and Astley, O. (1996). Performance measures for haptic interfaces. In ROBOTICS RESEARCH-INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM-, volume 7, pages 195-206. Citeseer.
Hayward, V. and Maclean, K. (2007). Do it yourself haptics: part i. Robotics Automation Magazine, IEEE, 14(4):88 -104.
Leskovsky, P., Harders, M., and Szeekely, G. (2006). Assessing the fidelity of haptically rendered deformable objects. In Haptic Interfaces for Virtual Environment and Teleoperator Systems, 2006 14th Symposium on, pages 19 - 25.
MacLean, K. and Hayward, V. (2008). Do it yourself haptics: Part ii [tutorial]. Robotics Automation Magazine, IEEE, 15(1):104 -119.
Mahvash, M. and Hayward, V. (2003). Passivity-based high-fidelity haptic rendering of contact. In Robotics and Automation, 2003. Proceedings. ICRA '03. IEEE International Conference on, volume 3, pages 3722 - 3728 vol.3.
Mehling, J., Colgate, J., and Peshkin, M. (2005). Increasing the impedance range of a haptic display by adding electrical damping. In Eurohaptics Conference, 2005 and Symposium on Haptic Interfaces for Virtual Environment and Teleoperator Systems, 2005. World Haptics 2005. First Joint, pages 257 - 262.
Okamura, A., Richard, C., and Cutkosky, M. (2002). Feeling is believing: Using a force-feedback joystick to teach dynamic systems. JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION-WASHINGTON-, 91(3):345-350.
O'Malley, M. and Goldfarb, M. (2004). The effect of virtual surface stiffness on the haptic perception of detail. Mechatronics, IEEE/ASME Transactions on, 9(2):448 -454.
Richard, C. and Cutkosky, M. (2000). The effects of real and computer generated friction on human performance in a targeting task. In Proceedings of the ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Division, volume 69, page 2.
Salisbury, K., Conti, F., and Barbagli, F. (2004). Haptic rendering: Introductory concepts. Computer Graphics and Applications, IEEE, 24(2):24-32.
Weir, D., Colgate, J., and Peshkin, M. (2008). Measuring and increasing z-width with active electrical damping. In Haptic interfaces for virtual environment and teleoperator systems, 2008. haptics 2008. symposium on, pages 169 -175.
Yasrebi, N. and Constantinescu, D. (2008). Extending the z-width of a haptic device using acceleration feedback. Haptics: Perception, Devices and Scenarios, pages 157-162.
Prerequisites / NoticeNotice:
The registration is limited to 26 students
There are 4 credit points for this lecture.
The lecture will be held in English.
The students are expected to have basic control knowledge from previous classes.
Link
636-0007-00LComputational Systems Biology Information W6 credits3V + 2UJ. Stelling
AbstractStudy of fundamental concepts, models and computational methods for the analysis of complex biological networks. Topics: Systems approaches in biology, biology and reaction network fundamentals, modeling and simulation approaches (topological, probabilistic, stoichiometric, qualitative, linear / nonlinear ODEs, stochastic), and systems analysis (complexity reduction, stability, identification).
ObjectiveThe aim of this course is to provide an introductory overview of mathematical and computational methods for the modeling, simulation and analysis of biological networks.
ContentBiology has witnessed an unprecedented increase in experimental data and, correspondingly, an increased need for computational methods to analyze this data. The explosion of sequenced genomes, and subsequently, of bioinformatics methods for the storage, analysis and comparison of genetic sequences provides a prominent example. Recently, however, an additional area of research, captured by the label "Systems Biology", focuses on how networks, which are more than the mere sum of their parts' properties, establish biological functions. This is essentially a task of reverse engineering. The aim of this course is to provide an introductory overview of corresponding computational methods for the modeling, simulation and analysis of biological networks. We will start with an introduction into the basic units, functions and design principles that are relevant for biology at the level of individual cells. Making extensive use of example systems, the course will then focus on methods and algorithms that allow for the investigation of biological networks with increasing detail. These include (i) graph theoretical approaches for revealing large-scale network organization, (ii) probabilistic (Bayesian) network representations, (iii) structural network analysis based on reaction stoichiometries, (iv) qualitative methods for dynamic modeling and simulation (Boolean and piece-wise linear approaches), (v) mechanistic modeling using ordinary differential equations (ODEs) and finally (vi) stochastic simulation methods.
Lecture notesLink
LiteratureU. Alon, An introduction to systems biology. Chapman & Hall / CRC, 2006.

Z. Szallasi et al. (eds.), System modeling in cellular biology. MIT Press, 2010.

B. Ingalls, Mathematical modeling in systems biology: an introduction. MIT Press, 2013
Multidisciplinary Courses
» Any courses offered by the Departments of MAVT, ITET or INFK. Your tutor must agree to this choice.
GESS Science in Perspective
» Recommended GESS Science in Perspective (Type B) for D-MAVT.
» see GESS Science in Perspective: Language Courses ETH/UZH
» see GESS Science in Perspective: Type A: Enhancement of Reflection Capability
Semester Project
NumberTitleTypeECTSHoursLecturers
151-1014-00LSemester Project Robotics, Systems and Control Restricted registration - show details
Only for Robotics, Systems and Control MSc.

The subject of the Semester Project and the choice of the supervisor (ETH-professor) are to be approved in advance by the tutor.
O8 credits17AProfessors
AbstractThe semester project is designed to train the students in the solution of specific engineering problems. This makes use of the technical and social skills acquired during the master's program. Tutors propose the subject of the project, elaborate the project plan, and define the roadmap together with their students, as well as monitor the overall execution.
ObjectiveThe semester project is designed to train the students in the solution of specific engineering problems. This makes use of the technical and social skills acquired during the master's program.
Industrial Internship
NumberTitleTypeECTSHoursLecturers
151-1090-00LIndustrial Internship Restricted registration - show details
Access to the company list and request for recognition under Link.
O8 creditsexternal organisers
AbstractThe main objective of the minimum twelve-week internship is to expose Master’s students to the industrial work environment. The aim of the Industrial Internship is to apply engineering knowledge to practical situations.
ObjectiveThe aim of the Industrial Internship is to apply engineering knowledge to practical situations.
Master's Thesis
NumberTitleTypeECTSHoursLecturers
151-1016-00LMaster's Thesis Robotics, Systems and Control Restricted registration - show details
Students who fulfill the following criteria are allowed to begin with their Master's Thesis:
a. successful completion of the bachelor program;
b. fulfilling of any additional requirements necessary to gain admission to the master programme;
c. successful completion of the semester project;
d. achievement of 28 ECTS in the category "Core Courses".

The Master's Thesis must be approved in advance by the tutor and is supervised by a professor of ETH Zurich or an adjunct faculty of RSC.
To choose a titular professor as a supervisor, please contact the D-MAVT Student Administration.
O30 credits64DProfessors
AbstractMaster's programs are concluded by the master's thesis. The thesis is aimed at enhancing the student's capability to work independently toward the solution of a theoretical or applied problem. The subject of the master's thesis, as well as the project plan and roadmap, are proposed by the tutor and further elaborated with the student.
ObjectiveThe thesis is aimed at enhancing the student's capability to work independently toward the solution of a theoretical or applied problem.
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