OVERVIEW

Robots are programmed machines based on multi-task, distributed and concurrent programming. The ARP course expands the so called system programming  level. The student will learn how to use the operating system's services to design such concurrent sitributed applications. In addition, robotic programs must be reliable and portable through differenet kernels, different versions and different architectures/electronics. In general, programming in Robotics encompasses different topics: 1) writing and debugging a soft/hard real time programme, 2) the operating system structure, and its relevant features, 3) concurrent / distributed programming, 4) designing complex, distributed, modular software applications. ARP covers  mostly the mid topics of the list above. ARP, RTOS and SOFAR cooperate in addressing all topics. State-of-the-art languages are used, in particular C, C++ and Rust, together with  ISO/IEC 9945 POSIX framework

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The goal of the course is to give the students the fundamentals of POSIX programming, concurrent programming, and inter-process communication (i.e., interrupts, signals, pipes, threads, semaphores, shared memory, sockets, publish/subscribe methods). The objective involves both theoretical knowledge and practical work (coding for multiprocess / distributed systems). State-of-the-art programming languages are used in coding, in particular C and rust.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Following Bloom's taxonomy, the student will achieve the following results (levels 2 to 4):
• Describe the behaviour of the different communication / synchronization primitives between tasks and processes (events, shared memory, messages) both in a single and in networked machines.
• Apply state-of-practice concurrent / distribute programming schemes to solve reference problems in robotics, using the mostly used languages (C/C++ and Rust)
• Compare different communication / synchronization primitives in solving common robotic problems, and
• Motivate the selection of the most suitable for a specific process.
• Design and test concurrent / distributed programmes to solve standard, complex, relevant cases in robotics.
•  

PREREQUISITES

1. Programming in C Language (advanced concepts)
2. Basic structure of an Operating System's kernel
3. Basic networking concepts

TEACHING METHODS

This is a sample scheme based on the flipped classroom model.. The actual scheme will  be adapted to schedule, calendar and course organisation

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course is composed by 12 modules, one per week.

1. Course intro
2. Op sys architecture 1
3. Op sys architecture 2
4. SysCalls1: processes
5. SysCalls2: threads
6. SysCalls3: mutual exclusion, synchronization
7. SysCalls4: pipes
8. SysCalls5: non determinism
9. SysCalls6: events
10. SysCalls7: sockets
11. Publish/Subscribe: D-BUS
12. Real cases analysis

Each module includes an assignment whose solution is discussed in a successive module. The reference framework is the POSIX standard. Languages are C/C++ and Rust.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

The whole study material (reference textbooks, slides, examples) is available in the AulaWeb portal.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

RENATO UGO RAFFAELE ZACCARIA (President)

ANTONIO SGORBISSA

FULVIO MASTROGIOVANNI (President Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

https://corsi.unige.it/10635/p/studenti-orario

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The final exam is only one othe component of the assessment process. The exam mark will contribute approximatively with 22% - 33% of the full assessment.

The exam consists in an on line test on the AulaWeb portal, with questions related to the learning outcomes. The test is done in presence in the classroom. 

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The course implements a continuous assessment process. All the assignments proposed to students every week may contribute to it.  Intermediate and final, more complex, assignments will be also proposed. Assignments are evaluated if delivered in a regular basis, respecting specific deadlines. 

The final mark will take into account both the exam and the continuous evaluation of assessments, giving specific values to the different components.

All the assignment deadlines will be closed before the last exam session of the semester s(approximatively end of February for semester 1 and mid September for semester 2).

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Special assessments will be defined for those students who decide to pass the exam in the second semester.