Spring 2027

Introduction to Robotics

Hands-on Introduction to Robotics covering concepts and tools for robotic systems, including actuators, sensors, manipulators, and control systems.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Peter Adamczyk4.1/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Peter Adamczyk

The course demanded substantial effort outside of class time, as classwork alone did not provide a deep feel for the code or mechanics. One student suggested that mastering Linux and ROS before enrolling would have made the material easier to manage.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Predict and control the behavior of common mechatronic actuators

  • Predict and interpret the response of common sensors in relation to their environment

  • Apply standard algorithms to predict and control the behavior of robotic manipulators

  • Interpret the operation of a robot control system and add new functionality to it

  • Specify a simple task for a robot, and implement sensors, actuators and a control system to accomplish it

  • Analyze the ethical challenges presented by specific robotic applications

Source: UW Guide 1 UW Guide 2

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

Senior standing or member of Engineering Guest Students

    • Senior standing
    • member of Engineering Guest Students
    take one
ECE/ME 439 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • Any of
    • Senior standing
    • member of Engineering Guest Students

Professors

Spring 2027

Peter Adamczyk

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.71/5 from 14 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 4.3/5 raw quality · 3.8/5 difficulty · 4 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Past student reviews · Peter Adamczyk

Peter Adamczyk taught ME 439 with a fun but disorganized structure that required significant outside effort to learn the topic. Students reported that mastering Linux and ROS beforehand was helpful for navigating the course's mechanical and coding components.

In his initial term teaching the course, Peter Adamczyk was described as accessible and receptive to feedback, providing a broad spectrum of knowledge and activities despite some initial hiccups.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.39 GPA, 69.4% A/AB (n=72 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.44 GPA, 75.0% A/AB (n=72 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.71 GPA, 90.0% A/AB (n=80 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

PETER ADAMCZYK is recorded teaching in Fall 2016, Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Fall 2024, Spring 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 450
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 450

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
Download part 1

Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Peter Adamczyk

Students described the course as interesting and fun, covering a broad spectrum of knowledge and activities. While the content was engaging, several reviewers noted that the class structure required significant independent effort to fully grasp the material.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.39 GPA, 69.4% A/AB (n=72 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.44 GPA, 75.0% A/AB (n=72 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.71 GPA, 90.0% A/AB (n=80 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Peter Adamczyk

The course demanded substantial effort outside of class time, as classwork alone did not provide a deep feel for the code or mechanics. One student suggested that mastering Linux and ROS before enrolling would have made the material easier to manage.

Past student reviews · Peter Adamczyk

Peter Adamczyk was perceived as accessible, receptive to feedback, and caring, though students expressed conflicting views on organization. One found the course disorganized and needing improvement, while another appreciated the professor's dedication to providing a useful experience despite initial hiccups.

Topics

  • Mechatronic actuators
  • Robot sensors
  • Robotic manipulators
  • Robot control systems
  • Ethics in robotics

Skills

  • Predict and control mechatronic actuators
  • Interpret sensor responses
  • Control robotic manipulators using standard algorithms
  • Analyze ethical challenges in robotics

Grades

Latest available · Spring 2025— not enough history to project Spring 2027.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Spring 2025

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2025 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1286 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
ECE/ME 439 · Spring 2027

Introduction to Robotics

Recorded 2026-10-14
ECE/ME 439 · Spring 2027

Introduction to Robotics

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:320:012031",
    "course_id": "ECE/ME 439",
    "course_uid": "course_3e76f42476ef5e31cd0ae175",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "012031",
    "source_subject_id": "320",
    "title": "Introduction to Robotics",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Spring"
  },
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:612:012031",
    "course_id": "ECE/ME 439",
    "course_uid": "course_3e76f42476ef5e31cd0ae175",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "012031",
    "source_subject_id": "612",
    "title": "Introduction to Robotics",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "0ad3b712249e5995aec9e29355bbfa21c4a0900479b1e83765d750244817c283",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}