8/30/07 - First class meeting will be held in DS 121 (Sept. 4, 2007)

9/19/07 - Class with meet in the linux lab tomorrow (Sept. 20, 2007)

10/8/07 - Class with meet in our usual classroom tomorrow (Oct. 9, 2007)

Instructor: Dr. Dawn Lawrie
Office: DS 125b
Work Phone: (410)617-2140
Office Hours: 11-12 Tu, 2-3 Th, Open door policy, and by appointment
e-mail: lawrie<at>cs<dot>loyola<dot>edu

Course Home Page: http://www.cs.loyola.edu/~lawrie/CS484/F07/index.html

Class Meeting: Lecture TTh 12:15-1:30 in KH 009

Prerequisites: CS 301

Required Text: Coppin, Ben, Artificial Intelligence Illuminated, Jones and Bartlett: Sudbury, MA, 2004.
Asimov, Isaac. Caves of Steel, Bantam Books: New York, NY, 1991.

Course Description:
An introduction to basic concepts and techniques of artificial intelligence. Topics include search, knowledge representation, and machine learning. Some current application areas such as natural language, vision, and robotics are surveyed.

Specific Educational Objectives of the Course:
At the completion of the course, the student will be able to:

• Write brains for robots using Pyrobot and the programming language Python
• Use sensors and vision to accomplish robotic tasks
• Determine the pros and cons of a representation for a particular problem
• Solve problems using such AI algorithms as minimax, neural networks, and reinformcement learning
• Demonstrate an understanding of the connection between the science and society through fiction, popular science, and current events in the mainstream media
• Demonstrate a basic understanding of current topics in AI including multi-agent systems, natural language processing, and autonomous vehicles
• Make an oral, technical presentation on a AI-related topic

Conduct of the Course:

1. Your success in this course is my number one priority. Should you need extra help, please come visit me in my office.
2. Lectures will be used to discuss material in the text book and to apply it to problems.
3. Assignments will be given via problem sets approximately each week. Problem sets will be graded. All assignments are due at the start of the regular class period. Late homework will NOT be accepted. Assignments that are not print-outs should be submitted on standard size loose-leaf paper. Please be legible and neat. Illegible and/or sloppy assignments will NOT be graded.
4. Current events on AI or robotics reported by the mainstream media will be presented by one student each week to understand the impact the field is having on society.
5. Papers on a fiction and popular science book will used to under the history and future of the field
6. Labs and projects will be used to study certain topics in greater detail and will usually be completed in pairs unless otherwise noted
7. A research paper and oral presentation will facilitate learning a single topic in depth and communicating that knowledge to your peers.
8. This course requires a substantial amount of reading. I expect you to read the referenced material from the text prior to the class in which the material will be covered. Be sure to make time in your schedule for reading: expect that much material will need to be read more than once for full understanding.
9. A midterm exam and a final exam will also be used to evaluate your progress.
10. Attendance is necessary for success in this course. You are responsible for material presented and assignments made during absences. Normally, make-up exams are not administered. If you will miss a class period, please email me with the reason that you will not be in class.
11. The class website will be used to make announcements and post course materials. Be sure to check it regularly.

"The Honor Code states that all students of the Loyola Community have been equally entrusted by their peers to conduct themselves honestly on all academic assignments.

The students of this College understand that having collective and individual responsibility for the ethical welfare of their peers exemplifies a commitment to the community. Students who submit materials that are the products of their own minds demonstrate respect for themselves and the community in which they study.

All outside resources or information should be clearly acknowledged. If there is any doubt or question regarding the use and documentation of outside sources for academic assignments, your instructor should be consulted. Any violations of the Honor Code will be handled by the Honor Council."

The Honor Code as is pertains to this class:
In general, any copying of an assignment, whether electronically or by hand is considered plagiarism. Students submitting non-trivial projects with identical structure will be considered to have acted dishonestly. Such students may be referred to the Honor Council for disciplinary action. At the very least, two or more students presenting assignments identical in all important aspects will share the points from a single grade.

• Homework: May be worked on in small groups of 4 or fewer students. All students in a group must include group members names on their homework. Although problems may be discussed, copying is forbidden.
• Labs and Projects: May be worked on in pairs unless otherwise noted. All work submitted for the lab or project should be the work of only those students.
• Papers and oral presentation: This must be the work of the student submitting the work. Outside sources must be cited properly. Plagiarism is forbidden.
• Exams: Work on exams should be solely the work of the student whose name appears at the top of the exam.
• All tests and assignments must include the following statement with the signature(s) of the student(s) who worked on the assignment:
  "I understand and will uphold the ideals of academic honesty as stated in the Honor Code."

Student Athletes:
If you are a student athlete, please provide me with your travel and game schedule indicating when you will need to miss class to participate in athletic events. While travel for athletics is an excused absence, you will need to make up any missed work.

Learning Disabilities:
To request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact the Disability Support Services Office at (410)617-2062. If you have a letter from their office indicating that you have a disability which requires academic accommodations, please present the letter to me so we can discuss the accommodations that you might need in this class.

Grading:

• Homework and Current Events: 15%
• Papers and Oral Presentation: 25%
• Labs and Projects: 30%
• Exam: 10% (October 19)
• Final Exam: 20% (Thursday, December 13 @ 9:00 a.m.)

Final Grade Distribution:
Final letter grades will be no worse than the following table.

A	A-	B+	B	B-	C+	C	C-	D+	D
93%	90%	87%	83%	80%	77%	73%	70%	67%	60%

Exam: Wednesday, October 18th

FINAL EXAM: Thursday, December 13th at 9am Room KH009.