Programme Schedule 2024/25

The MTD (Robotics & Automation) is a one-year full-time coursework-based Master programme. It comprises eight courses (96 credits): two core design courses, five specialised courses, including one design project.

Term 1 (Sep - Dec)

Course Title Credit Points Course Type
Innovation by Design 12 Design Core
Mechanics & Mechanisms 12 Specialisation Core
Modelling & Control 12 Specialisation Core

Term 2 (Jan - Apr)

Course Title Credit Points Course Type
Design Science 12 Design Core
Soft Robotics 12 Specialisation Core
Robotics Intelligence 12 Specialisation Core

Term 3 (May - Aug)

Course Title Credit Points Course Type
Field Autonomy 12 Specialisation Core
Design Project 12 Experiential Learning

Course Descriptions

Innovation by Design (Term 1)

The focus of this course is the integration of marketing, design, engineering and manufacturing functions in creating and developing a new product, system or service. The course will go through the different phases of designing a new product, system or service using the four Ds of the four-phase Design Innovation Cycle of "Discover-Define-Develop-Deliver". The course will focus on some of the critical success factors for new product development, with an early emphasis on design thinking. Students will be given a design challenge to complete.

Mechanics & Mechanisms (Term 1)

This course focuses on the fundamental engineering principles of kinematics and kinetics for design of mechanisms. These include kinematics, dynamics of three-dimensional rigid motions, and how they can be applied for synthesising and analysing serial and parallel planar, spherical, and spatial linkage mechanisms using computer-aided design tools.

Modelling & Control (Term 1)

Modelling & Control delves into the intricate realm of dynamic systems and their behaviour over time. From understanding the fundamental principles of feedback loops to exploring the complexities of interconnected components, students embark on a journey to grasp the dynamics that govern various engineering systems. The course not only equips students with analytical tools like differential equations, state-space and Laplace transforms, but also encourages the application of these tools to solve real-world engineering problems. As students navigate through this hands-on course, they gain valuable insights into modelling, simulation, and control strategies, fostering a holistic understanding of dynamic systems. This course is not just about equations; it's about deciphering the dance of variables and interactions that define the dynamic nature of engineering systems, making it an essential and intellectually stimulating experience for aspiring engineers.

Design Science (Term 2)

This course introduces students to design science where many design principles and methods will be reviewed, applied and analysed. Students will learn to make connections between design science and other fields, such as engineering, and how principles in design science can be used to advance these fields. The class will cover a broad set of design methods such as customer needs analysis, methods in creativity, functional modelling, design for X and design for testing and verification.

Soft Robotics (Term 2)

Encompassing theoretical foundations and hands-on experimentation, this course focuses on specialised design, modelling, and fabrication techniques tailored to soft robots. Students will be introduced to various case studies on sensing, actuation, grasping, and locomotion, as well as standard approaches for performance characterisation. The cornerstone of the course is a project where students, working individually or in groups, will be provided with design and fabrication resources and tasked to develop a novel technology related to Soft Robotics.

Robotics Intelligence (Term 2)

Robots are becoming an integral part of our lives, and it is important to enable these intelligent machines with the necessary capabilities. The objective of this course is to provide the fundamentals to develop mobile robots. Topics covered include mobile robot locomotion, kinematics, localisation and mapping and perception. On top of the regular lectures, students will build working mobile robotic systems in a group-based project using ROS2.

Field Autonomy (Term 3)

Service robots equipped with field autonomy are increasingly entering everyday lives taking on jobs that are dull, dirty and dangerous. As more and more of these robots are emerging in new application domains, it is imperative that their deployable field autonomy schemes are capable of seamless human-robot interactions. This course covers core theoretical and practical approaches to realising field autonomy in human-populated environments. Topics include design, verbal and non-verbal communication, spatial interaction, teaming, and applications. Students will work in teams to design, build and compete in a field autonomy challenge anchored to a niche real-world application, while learning about the foundational theory, methods, principles, and practices in human-robot interaction.

Project (Term 3)

Mentored by an SUTD faculty member, students in groups or individually will work on a term-long robotics design project.

Contact Us

For enquiries, please email: MTD@sutd.edu.sg

For applicants residing in China, please email: MTD_CN@sutd.edu.sg