Carnegie Mellon University: Robotics Courses Reference¶
A reference of CMU's Robotics Institute undergraduate programs and courses relevant to the AI Hardware Engineer Roadmap — compiled from official course pages and catalogs.
Sources: - Bachelor of Science in Robotics - Robotics Program Catalog
Table of Contents¶
- Bachelor of Science in Robotics (BSR)
- Robotics Minor & Additional Major
- Key Robotics Courses (Catalog)
- Self-Study Mapping to Roadmap
1. Bachelor of Science in Robotics (BSR)¶
Housed in SCS. Announced Fall 2023. Emphasizes problem-solving, systems thinking, and interdisciplinary teams.
Core Concepts¶
- RoboMath — Mathematical foundations for robotics
- Computer Vision and Sensing
- Mechanisms and Manipulation
- General Robotic Systems
- Planning and Control
- Robotic Building Practices
- Capstone Project
Degree Requirements Summary¶
| Area | Courses | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Robotics (core + electives) | 11 | 125 |
| Computer Science (core + SCS elective) | 6 | 51 |
| Mathematics | 6 | 67 |
| Ethics | 1 | 12 |
| Science / Engineering | 4 | 36 |
| Humanities / Arts | 7 | 63 |
| Computing @ CMU | 1 | 3 |
| First Year Seminar | 1 | 3 |
| Total | 26 | 360 |
Computer Science Core¶
| Course | Name |
|---|---|
| 07-128 | First Year Immigration Course |
| 15-122 | Principles of Imperative Computation |
| 15-213 | Introduction to Computer Systems |
| 15-251 | Great Ideas in Theoretical Computer Science |
Robotics Core¶
| Course | Name |
|---|---|
| 16-280 or 16-311 | Intelligent Robot Systems (or Intro to Robotics; 16-281 General Robotics starting Spring 2026) |
| 16-220 | Robot Building Practices |
| 16-299 | Introduction to Feedback Control Systems |
| 16-384 | Robot Kinematics and Dynamics |
| 16-385 | Computer Vision |
| 16-450 | Robotics Systems Engineering (senior fall) |
| 16-474 | Robotics Capstone (senior spring) |
Ethics (one of)¶
- 16-161 Artificial Intelligence and Humanity
- 16-735 Ethics and Robotics
Mathematics¶
| Course | Name |
|---|---|
| 15-151 | Mathematical Foundations for Computer Science |
| 16-211 | Foundational Mathematics of Robotics |
| 21-120 | Differential and Integral Calculus |
| 21-122 | Integration and Approximation |
| 21-241 | Matrices and Linear Transformations |
| + Probability (15-259, 21-235, 36-218, or 36-225) |
Robotics Electives¶
3 general robotics electives (16-3xx, 16-4xx). Up to 12 units of 16-597 (Undergraduate Reading and Research) or 99-270 (Summer Undergraduate Research) may count.
Sample Course Sequence (4 years)¶
| Year | Fall | Spring |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 07-128, 15-122, 15-151, 21-122, 76-101, 99-101 | 15-213, 16-180, 21-241, Science/Eng, H&A |
| 2 | Probability, 16-220, 16-211, H&A | 16-299, 15-251, 16-385, H&A |
| 3 | 16-384, H&A, 16-280, H&A, Free | Robotics Elective x2, H&A, Free |
| 4 | 16-450, Ethics, Science/Eng, Robotics Elective | 16-474, SCS Elective, Science/Eng, Free |
Notable Courses¶
- 16-281 General Robotics — Rube Goldberg machines, mini Urban Search and Rescue (replaces 16-311 from Spring 2026)
- 16-384 Robot Kinematics and Dynamics — Hebi robotic arm control
- 16-385 Computer Vision — Image processing, detection, recognition, geometry-based vision
2. Robotics Minor & Additional Major¶
Robotics Minor¶
- Overview: 16-280 or 16-311 (16-281 from Spring 2026)
- Controls: One of 06-464, 16-299, 18-370, 24-451, 24-773
- Mechanisms: 16-384 or (15-362 + 33-141)
- Robot Building: One of 16-220, 16-362, 16-423, 18-349, 18-500, 18-578, 24-671
- Electives: 2 general robotics electives
- Double-count: Max 2 courses from major
- QPA: 2.5 in minor curriculum
Additional Major in Robotics¶
- Application: Jan 7-Feb 3
- Prereq: C language, basic programming, algorithms (15-122)
- Double-count: Max 6 courses from primary major (5 for CS majors)
- QPA: 3.0 in additional major
3. Key Robotics Courses (Catalog)¶
| Code | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 16-180 | Concepts of Robotics | Intro; perception, cognition, action |
| 16-211 | Foundational Mathematics of Robotics | Coordinate transforms, Jacobians, optimization, neural nets |
| 16-220 | Robot Building Practices | CAD, 3D printing, electronics, PCB, motor controllers |
| 16-280 | Intelligent Robot Systems | Search, planning, perception, control, ROS, embedded |
| 16-299 | Introduction to Feedback Control Systems | Classical control, state-space, LQR, nonlinear |
| 16-311 | Introduction to Robotics | LEGO robots, vision, motion planning, kinematics (-> 16-281) |
| 16-350 | Planning Techniques for Robotics | Path/motion planning, ground/aerial/humanoids |
| 16-362 | Mobile Robot Algorithms Laboratory | Multirotor autonomy, Python/C++ simulator |
| 16-384 | Robot Kinematics and Dynamics | Forward/inverse kinematics, Jacobians |
| 16-385 | Computer Vision | Image processing, detection, recognition |
| 16-450 | Robotics Systems Engineering | Systems engineering, design, prototyping |
| 16-474 | Robotics Capstone | Build, integrate, test robot from 16-450 |
| 16-663 | F1Tenth Autonomous Racing | 1/10 scale autonomous race car |
| 16-664 | Self-Driving Cars: Perception & Control | Deep learning, sensor fusion, localization |
| 16-735 | Ethics and Robotics | AI/ML in society, power, ethics |
| 16-831 | Introduction to Robot Learning | RL, imitation learning, visual learning |
| 16-884 | Deep Learning for Robotics | Robot learning, deep RL, control |
4. Self-Study Mapping to Roadmap¶
For learners following the AI Hardware Engineer Roadmap, here is how CMU's robotics curriculum aligns:
| Roadmap Phase | CMU Course(s) | Overlap |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 3: Sensor Fusion | 16-299 (Control), 16-385 (Vision) | Kalman filtering, multi-sensor perception before Phase 4 Jetson integration |
| Phase 4 Track B (Jetson): ROS2 | 16-280 (ROS), 16-220 (Robot Building) | ROS 2, embedded robot software |
| Phase 5: Robotics | 16-220, 16-280, 16-384, 16-450, 16-474 | Mechanics, control, planning |
| Phase 5: Autonomous Driving | 16-663 (F1Tenth), 16-664 (Self-Driving Cars) | Perception, planning, control for autonomy |
Suggested Self-Study Order (CMU-Inspired, Robotics focus)¶
- 15-122 equivalent — Imperative programming (C/Python)
- 21-120, 21-122, 21-241 — Calculus, linear algebra
- 16-220 — Robot building (CAD, electronics, prototyping)
- 16-299 — Feedback control
- 16-384 — Kinematics and dynamics
- 16-385 — Computer vision
- 16-280 — Intelligent robot systems (ROS, planning, perception)
Links¶
| Resource | URL |
|---|---|
| B.S. Robotics | https://www.ri.cmu.edu/education/academic-programs/bachelor-of-science-in-robotics/ |
| Robotics Catalog | http://coursecatalog.web.cmu.edu/schools-colleges/schoolofcomputerscience/robotics/ |
| SCS Undergraduate | https://www.cs.cmu.edu/academics/undergraduate/ |
| CMU Admission | https://admission.cmu.edu/ |
Last updated: February 2025. Course offerings and requirements may change; verify with CMU official sources.