Introduction to Autonomy
(Spring 2026)
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Announcements
Calendar
Week 1
Wed, 4 Feb:
Lecture 1
Class Introduction and Logistics
Class Introduction and Logistics
Notes:
Wed, 4 Feb: Lecture starts at 3:45 pm (one-time only)
Fri, 6 Feb: No recitation.
Wed, 4 Feb: Lecture starts at 3:45 pm (one-time only)
Fri, 6 Feb: No recitation.
Week 2
Mon, 9 Feb:
Lecture 2
Introduction to Autonomy
slides
Pset 1 released after class
Wed, 11 Feb: Lecture 3
Planning and Graph Search. Optimal Planning.
finger exercises
Fri, 13 Feb: Recitation 1
Introduction to Autonomy
slides
Pset 1 released after class
Wed, 11 Feb: Lecture 3
Planning and Graph Search. Optimal Planning.
finger exercises
Fri, 13 Feb: Recitation 1
Off-week
Office hours in 4-163 during Monday and Wednesday lecture hours. No recitation on Friday.
Notes:
- No office hours on Monday due to Insitute holiday
- We will hold office hours according to Monday schedule on Tuesday
Week 3
Mon, 23 Feb:
Lecture 4
Sampling-based Planning.
Pset 1 due at 11:59 PM
Wed, 25 Feb: QUIZ 1 on Lectures 1–3
Fri, 27 Feb: Recitation 2
Sampling-based Planning.
Pset 1 due at 11:59 PM
Wed, 25 Feb: QUIZ 1 on Lectures 1–3
Fri, 27 Feb: Recitation 2
Off-week
Office hours in 4-163 during Monday and Wednesday lecture hours. No recitation on Friday.
Week 4
Mon, 9 Mar:
Lecture 5
Intro to Probability and State Estimation. Hidden Markov Models, Filtering.
Pset 2 due at 11:59 PM
Wed, 11 Mar: Lecture 6
Hidden Markov Models Extensions and Applications
Fri, 13 Mar: Recitation 3
Intro to Probability and State Estimation. Hidden Markov Models, Filtering.
Pset 2 due at 11:59 PM
Wed, 11 Mar: Lecture 6
Hidden Markov Models Extensions and Applications
Fri, 13 Mar: Recitation 3
Off-week
Office hours in 4-163 during Monday and Wednesday lecture hours. No recitation on Friday.
Week 5
Mon, 30 Mar:
QUIZ 2 on Lectures 4–6
Wed, 1 Apr: Lecture 7
Formulating Optimization Problems
Pset 3 due at 11:59 PM
Fri, 3 Apr: Recitation 4
Wed, 1 Apr: Lecture 7
Formulating Optimization Problems
Pset 3 due at 11:59 PM
Fri, 3 Apr: Recitation 4
Off-week
Office hours in 4-163 during Monday and Wednesday lecture hours. No recitation on Friday.
Week 6
Mon, 13 Apr:
Lecture 8
Solving Optimization Problems
Wed, 15 Apr: Lecture 9
Reinforcement Learning Intro: Markov Decision Processes and Value Iteration
Fri, 17 Apr: Recitation 5
Solving Optimization Problems
Wed, 15 Apr: Lecture 9
Reinforcement Learning Intro: Markov Decision Processes and Value Iteration
Fri, 17 Apr: Recitation 5
Off-week
Office hours in 4-163 during Monday and Wednesday lecture hours. No recitation on Friday.
Week 7
Mon, 27 Apr:
Lecture 10
Applications of Reinforcement Learning
Pset 4 due at 11:59 PM
Wed, 29 Apr: QUIZ 3 on Lectures 7–9
Fri, 1 May: Recitation 6
Applications of Reinforcement Learning
Pset 4 due at 11:59 PM
Wed, 29 Apr: QUIZ 3 on Lectures 7–9
Fri, 1 May: Recitation 6
Off-week
Office hours in 4-163 during Monday and Wednesday lecture hours. No recitation on Friday.
Week 8
Mon, 11 May:
Lecture 11
Wrap-up and Topics Beyond
Tue, 12 May:
Pset 5 due at 11:59 PM
Wrap-up and Topics Beyond
Tue, 12 May:
Pset 5 due at 11:59 PM
Notes:
Fri, 15 May: No recitation.
Fri, 15 May: No recitation.