EECS C106A

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Week 1 Announcements

Happy first full week of classes, y’all! It’s going to be a good one :) Here are a few things to keep an eye out for: 

LAB

  • You’ve been assigned a lab section! Please check your assignments @20
  • Slides from both workshops last week (Linux and Python) have been posted to the course website. 
  • Lab 1 has been released on the course website. It is an introduction to ROS, or Robot Operating System!
  • Please activate your EECS instructional account before coming to class so you can hit the ground running!
  • Labs start with a mini-lecture that goes over the announcements for the week, as well as some context for the lab. We recommend everybody show up to lab, including students on the waitlist. This way you can hear all the announcements! Waitlisted students may also be able to find a seat if somebody does not show up to class. 
  • If unable to get checked off in class, please come to office hours. This applies to waitlisted students as well: to get checked off, please come to office hours!
  • We will be multi-staffing Josephine’s lab office hours on Tuesday, 11-1pm. If you are a waitlisted student who needs to be checked off, this is an excellent resource. 
  • Additionally, we noticed people with M1 Macs are having difficulty with VMs. You are welcome to come by office hours to do the lab then. 
  • Failure to complete Lab 1 by the deadline (before your next lab section) will result in being dropped from the course.

LECTURE

  • We will pick up on Tuesday with the rest of history and starting on rotations. From there, on Thursday, we’ll move into rigid body transformations. Readings for each lecture can be found on the course website. 
  • Recordings are a bit of a mess right now! There are two places to find recordings:
    • bCourses: In general, we kind of hate bCourses. However, Course Capture in our room will only upload to bCourses. Hence a bCourses page has been published for the course, and you can view the course captures in the Media Gallery. This recording will only have screenshare and audio. 
    • Website: If you were in class last Thursday, you saw Jay with a camera in the back. We are recording the lectures this way to be able to capture any boardwork. These videos will be uploaded to the course website, and they will (hopefully!) have audio, anything projected, AND boardwork. 
  • That being said, we have run into some snafus with the technology, so Lecture 0 will be uploaded some time on Monday, and it is missing a few minutes. Since there is no boardwork in Lecture 0, the recording on bCourses is more than sufficient. 

DISCUSSION/LOST

  • Discussion 0 will be uploaded on Monday to the course website. 
  • We’ll be sending out a poll soon to gauge what topics students would like covered in LOST section this week.
  • LOST will be held in Cory 105 this week. 

HOMEWORK

  • Homework party this week, on both Monday and Thursday, will be held in Cory 105. 
  • Homework 0 is due Tues 8/31 11:59pm
  • Homework 1 will be released 9/1. 

OFFICE HOURS

  • Office hours have been updated on the Weekly Schedule page of the course website. Any office hours taking place on Zoom will use the same link as discussion: https://berkeley.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwkcumqqD8uEtTB6tnFrGI-kJdDYi0fdmw2 

GENERAL

  • If you have DSP accommodations, please email me immediately, even if your letter has been uploaded so we can further discuss accommodations. 
  • HW party this week will be in Cory 105 (both Monday and Thursday parties). 

ACTION ITEMS

  • Homework 0 is due 8/31
  • Lab 1 is due before the start of your lab section on the week of 9/6. Failure to complete Lab 1 will result in being dropped from the class.  

I know that’s a lot, but remember to take a deep breath. You got this! See you all in class this week!

FURTHER UPDATES

DISCUSSION

  • Starting this week, the Thursday 4-5pm discussion will be remote (offered on the same Zoom link). The Friday 1-2pm section will be in-person in Cory 521. This is to ensure the teaching staff has a solid Internet connection to teach at this time. 

LAB FOR WAITLISTED STUDENTS

  • If you are waitlisted and cannot run the VM, we highly encourage you to come to Josephine’s OH tomorrow, 8/31 11am-1pm. You can use the lab computers, and the OH will be triple staffed to help complete checkoffs. 
  • It looks as though lab sections are clearing up after the first 2 hours of lab. If you are waitlisted, you are welcome to check in towards the end of the section and snag a computer if one becomes available. 

LABOR DAY (9/6)

-Monday lab sections will not run, on account of the university holiday, on 9/6. As such, students enrolled in a Monday lab may attend any lab section that week and that week only. You may also take advantage of the virtual machine and lab office hours. 

  • Homework party will not be held on Monday 9/6. Instead, we will have homework party on Tuesday 9/7 (room TBD, likely announced in weekly announcements). Homework 1 will be due Wednesday 9/8 11:59pm instead on Tuesday. 
  • Homework 2 will still be released on Wednesday 9/8 and the homework cycle will continue as normal. 

Welcome to EECS/BioE C106A/206A!

Hi there, folks! We’re happy to have you in C106A/206A this semester, and we are absolutely thrilled to be able to teach you robotics with real robots! Though we’re sure this semester will have its own share of unique challenges, we’re just as sure that this semester will be engaging and enriching! We’ll be posting weekly announcements to keep you up to date on what’s cracking. Please note that these weekly announcements will be considered required reading; you are fully expected to know what is covered. This week’s will be particularly long, since we’re all getting started. 

GENERAL COURSE INFORMATION

The course website has the weekly schedule (lectures, labs, discussions, LOST section, office hours, HW party), semester schedule, and resources. On the Semester Schedule, you’ll find each week’s homeworks and labs released. Please read the Policies page for more details on the course. Visit the course website here: https://pages.github.berkeley.edu/EECS-106/fa21-site/ 

 The course Gradescope will be used for submitting all assignments. You can join with the code: D5XK5J

 The course Piazza will be used for answering questions, communicating most information, and releasing homework solutions. Join it here: piazza.com/berkeley/fall2021/eecsmebioec106a206a

 Lecture will be delivered T/R 2-3:30pm in Dwinelle 145. Though they will be recorded, only the audio and what is showed on the slides will be captured. Any boardwork will not be captured on the recording, though pictures will be uploaded later.

Two discussion sections (R 4-5pm, F 12-1pm) will be held in Cory 521. The F 1-2pm discussion will be hosted online (Zoom link forthcoming) and recorded. Unfortunately, these are the only discussion sections we can offer due to budget/hiring constraints. You can attend any discussion, regardless of what your Calcentral enrollment is. If a particular section is too crowded, priority will be given to students who are registered on Calcentral for that section.

Labs will be completed in-person.

If you have any logistical concerns, please email Stella at seo.jysk@

THIS WEEK

This class kicks off with our first lecture on 08/26 at 2pm. We look forward to seeing you there!   HW 0 (a review of linear algebra) will be released 08/25 5pm and is due 08/31 11:59pm. 

 Lab 0 (Setting Up a VM) will be released with HW 0. This lab is optional for students who want to be able to complete the lab remotely. If you are waitlisted, you will be required to complete the lab on a VM and checked off at office hours.

 Lab placements will be released by Friday 08/27 9am. Please fill out this form to facilitate lab placements. It is due Thursday 08/26 11:59pm. https://forms.gle/wDSAuwgMmJdyKcsr5

 We will also enable the Piazza “Find teammates” function so you can find a lab partner in your section!   Content OH starts after our first lecture. Lab OH starts on 08/30.

 Having difficulty with HW 0? HW Party begins on 08/30.

 A peek into the future: Monday 09/06 is Labor Day, and there will be no labs. If you are in a Monday section, you are welcome to join any lab section that week that works for you. You are also welcome to do the lab on a VM and get checked off during Lab OH. Please understand that help and checkoff queues that week will be a little slower to accommodate Monday students. 

ACTION ITEMS & ASSIGNMENTS

  • Join Piazza and Gradescope, maybe bookmark the course website

  • HW 0 (due 08/31)

  • Lab 0 (for waitlisted students)

  • Submit this form for lab placements: https://forms.gle/wDSAuwgMmJdyKcsr5  

Again, welcome to C106A/206A! Here’s to a great semester!