CS 599: Intelligent Embedded Systems (soon to become CS 546)

Spring 2002: W 3:30 - 6:20 p.m. in THH 114 (note new room)

Note: This webpage is outdated. This class is now taught as CS 546: Intelligent Embedded Systems.

Embedded computing is the next frontier in Computer Science. Embedding computation in everyday environments (from very fine-grain embeddings to more conventional, coarse-grain systems) will revolutionize the way we live. The scale of world-wide, embedded computation will dwarf the current Internet. As with the early Internet, technology (small cheap computers and communication) is driving infrastructure development and applications are sure to follow (some are already here).

We are particularly interested in Embedded Computing as it relates to intefacing to the Physical World around us. Unlike traditional computer systems which often work with data abstractions convenient for e.g. query processing, search, file organization, transactions, etc. we focus on computation which is tightly coupled to the physical world, where physics (in particular time and noise) cannot be ignored. Indeed success crucially depends on understanding the interaction between computation and embodiment. To design applications for this brave new world, the computer professional needs to cultivate a new mindset; one that depends on an understanding of computer systems, distributed AI and theoretical issues (particularly distributed algorithms). This class will focus on the nature of computation and communication needed to design large-scale, distributed, embedded systems. We will study emerging technology and standards, by reading papers on topics ranging from networking, language and OS support to algorithms for coordination. A significant portion of the class will focus on distributed, local algorithms for sensor/actuator networks. The only prerequisite for the class is graduate standing in CS or EE. A substantial class project is required.

Instructor: Prof. Gaurav S. Sukhatme (gaurav@usc.edu)

Office: SAL 218
Office hour: Thu 11:00 - noon

Robotic Embedded Systems Laboratory
Robotics Research Laboratory
Department of Computer Science
University of Southern California

TA: Haiyan (Nancy) Hu (hhu@usc.edu)
Office: SAL 217
Office hour: Tue 10:00 - 11:00

Class mailing list

(if you are enrolled and aren't on the list, send Gaurav email)

Tools (Software, Hardware, Lab)
Readings and Schedule
Student Projects
Grading Policy
How to read, critique and present a paper
Check out the press coverage for last year's class in Wired Online and USC News and (local copies of wired article and USC News article)

This page was created by Gaurav Sukhatme and is maintained by him. Last updated 2/1/02