Grading & Rubric¶
The AutoRob course will assign 6 projects (5 programming, 1 oral), 2 Code Mutation Challenges, 2 quizzes, a midterm exam, and a final exam across all sections of the course.
Individual final grades are assigned based on the sum of points earned from coursework deliverables. The timing and due dates for course projects, homework, and exams will be announced on an ongoing basis. The official due date of a project is listed with its project description. Due dates listed in the course schedule are tentative. All project work must be checked by the final grading deadline to receive credit.
This grading does not round scores. The instructor may adjust thresholds in your favor, relative to your section of enrollment in the course.
Grading Breakdown¶
All sections of the AutoRob course have a grading structure based on performance for these coursework deliverables:
| Component | Points | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Projects | 30 | 6 projects, 5 points each |
| Project checkpoints | 5 | 5 projects, 1 point each |
| Quizzes | 6 | 2 quizzes, 3 points each |
| Code Mutation Challenge | 20 | 2 challenges, 10 points each |
| Midterm exam | 15 | |
| Final exam | 20 | |
| Attendance or Rust | 4 | Mandatory attendance is excused if programming project back-ends are fully implemented in Rust |
| Total | 100 |
- Project 1: Pathfinding — A-Star Algorithm
- Project 2: Pendularm — Physical Simulation of a 3-link Planar Robot Arm
- Project 3: Forward Kinematics — URDF and Hierarchies of 3D Rigid Transforms
- Project 4: Inverse Kinematics — Gradient Descent on the Manipulator Jacobian
- Project 5: Motion Planning — RRT-Connect Algorithm
- Project 6: Best Use of Robotics?
Based on the sum of points from completed coursework, an overall grade for the course is earned based on the following point thresholds:
| Grade | Points Earned |
|---|---|
| A | 90 |
| B | 82 |
| C | 67 |
| D | 50 |
| E | 0 |
The instructor may adjust thresholds in favor of the student, relative to your section of enrollment. Grades can go up, but not down, based on grading adjustments. Thresholds for plus and minus grade modifiers will be determined during final grading. There is no guaranteed threshold for an A+ — it is only awarded for exceptional work at the discretion of the instructors.
Late and Regraded Work Policies¶
Late Coursework Policy¶
Do not submit coursework late. The course staff reserves the right to not grade late submission of a course deliverable. The course instructor reserves the right to decline late submissions and/or adjust partial credit on regraded coursework. If granted by the course instructor, late coursework submissions can be graded for partial credit according to the Credit Discounting Policy.
Coursework Regrading Policy¶
The regrading policy allows for submission and regrading of coursework up through the final grading of projects, which will be Friday, December 11, 2026 for the Fall 2026 semester (consistent with the course schedule). Coursework submitted for regrading can receive partial credit according to the Credit Discounting Policy. No coursework regrading will be done after grades are finalized.
Project Features and Maintenance Policy¶
Grading is specified for each course project and varies based on the number of grading tests passed and other specified deliverables. Every completed project test must remain working throughout the completion of the course. If a project feature is broken in a subsequent project submission (either for regrading or a later project), the completion timing of this deliverable is reset and subject to the Credit Discounting Policy.
Credit Discounting Policy¶
Regraded coursework deliverables and, if granted by the course instructor, late submissions can be graded for partial credit, with the following discounted credit schedule:
| % Points Earned | Timing of completed coursework deliverable |
|---|---|
| 100% | On time, by the specified due date |
| 80% | Before the next programming project due date |
| 60% | Before two programming project due dates |
| 50% | Before the semester final deliverable deadline (December 11, 2026) |
As a reminder, the course instructor reserves the right to decline late submissions and/or adjust partial credit on regraded assignments.
Repositories¶
You are expected to provide a private git repository for your work in this course with the course instructor added as a read/write collaborator. There are many different tutorials for learning how to use git repositories — the AutoRob course site also has its own basic quick start tutorial.
See the Collaboration Policy for the Michigan Honor License attestation required in your repository, and the Generative AI Policy governing use of AI tools in this course.