This week explores human-centred technologies, focusing on wearable robotics and virtual reality with haptics. Learners examine the motivations behind wearable robots, including ageing populations and assistive needs, as well as their classification, design principles, and applications in rehabilitation, assistance, and augmentation, supported by real-world case studies. The role of cognitive and physical human–robot interfaces and ergonomic design is emphasized to ensure safe and effective integration with the human body. The second part introduces virtual reality and haptic technologies, covering interaction principles, perception, and applications for immersive and remote robotic systems.

This week explores humanoid robots as advanced platforms for human-centered interaction, starting from their historical development and design evolution. Learners examine key aspects of humanoid design, including locomotion mechanisms, actuation systems, manipulation capabilities, and human-like appearance and motion. The second part focuses on human–robot interaction (HRI), covering interaction paradigms, autonomy levels, safety considerations, and communication modalities. The week also introduces methodologies for designing, evaluating, and analyzing HRI systems, emphasizing experimental approaches and ethical considerations.

This week introduces Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) as a fundamental technology for autonomous robots. Learners explore its probabilistic formulation and the graph-based approach, focusing on how robot poses and observations are represented and optimized. The course covers key techniques such as iterative error minimization, least-squares optimization on manifolds, and the structure of the underlying systems. Practical aspects, including robustness to outliers and real-world applications, are also addressed.