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Subject offerings of new and developing areas of knowledge in computer science intended to augment the existing curriculum. See Class Schedule or departmental course information for topics and prerequisites. Course Information: 1 to 4 undergraduate hours. 1 to 4 graduate hours. May be repeated in the same or separate terms if topics vary.

Optical-based sensors are widely used for various measurement goals nowadays, such as robotic tactile sensing. Those sensors use an optical system, which typically includes a light emitter, a specific optic path where light transmission, reflection, and refraction are involved, and a light receiver to measure the change of the optic signal after the optic path. The performance of an optical-based sensor highly depends on the effectiveness of the optical system design, which is traditionally achieved by manual design and a heuristic trial-and-error process. The process is time-consuming and can hardly converge to an optimal design. We now investigate a new methodology to approach the challenge: using physics-based rendering to simulate the optic system and performing an automatic optimization process to access the optimal design. This class aims to explore the entire process of sensor modeling, simulation, and design optimization. The class will be divided into two parts: lectures and h