EECE 5698 / CS 7180 · Robot System Server

Overview

Build something not taught anywhere else

What you will build

A fully functional Robot System Server — codenamed RobOrg — with fleet management, task allocation (MRTA), and map services. By semester's end, your server simultaneously coordinates tinyRobot simulations, TurtleBot 4 Gazebo simulations, and physical TurtleBot 4 robots — all on one dashboard.

How the class works

Six two-week sprints with integration ceremonies, team demos, and progressive hardware stages. Four teams build in parallel (Fleet, Task, Map, Infrastructure) with bi-weekly Git integration. Short topic briefs replace traditional lectures — you learn by building.

Stage 1 (Sprint 1–2) Stage 2 (Sprint 3–4) Stage 3 (Sprint 5) Stage 4 (Sprint 6) ───────────────────── ────────────────────── ────────────────────── ──────────────────── tinyRobot fleet tinyRobot fleet tinyRobot fleet tinyRobot fleet (rmf_demos built-in) + TB4 Gazebo sim + TB4 Gazebo sim + TB4 Gazebo sim (Nav2 + free_fleet) + Physical TB4(s) + Physical TB4 fleet

What You Will Work With

From architecture to deployment

Fleet Management MRTA Algorithms Heterogeneous Fleets Open-RMF RMF-Web Dashboard Fleet Adapters Traffic Scheduling FastAPI + WebSocket JWT Auth & RBAC Docker & CI/CD Nav2 & SLAM SNMP Monitoring React MicroApps Semantic Versioning Benchmarking

Semester Roadmap

Six sprints — from simulation to real hardware

Sprint 1–2 · Weeks 2–5

tinyRobot Foundation

Build Open-RMF from source, run the office demo, write first custom modules — fleet manager, task queue, Building 225 map. All tested on tinyRobot sim.

Stage 1 Checkpoint 1

Sprint 3–4 · Weeks 6–9

+ TB4 Sim & Dashboard

Add TurtleBot 4 Gazebo as a second fleet. Build MRTA algorithms, dashboard MicroApps, map editor. Cross-fleet task dispatch working.

Stage 2 MicroApps

Sprint 5–6 · Weeks 10–13

Real Hardware & Polish

Connect physical TurtleBot 4. MRTA benchmarking, SNMP monitoring, fault testing. Integration, documentation, and final demo prep.

Stage 3–4 Checkpoint 2

Team Structure

Four modules — one integrated system

ROI

Infrastructure

Auth, logging, events, CI/CD, Docker, database

ROF

Fleet Mgmt

Status, heartbeats, alerts, fleet adapter integration

ROT

Task Mgmt

Job queue, MRTA algorithms, task dispatch, scheduling

ROM

Map Server

Revit CAD import, Nav2 grids, coordinate transforms

Final System Deliverables

The class delivers a production-ready Robot System Server:

Heterogeneous fleet management: tinyRobot + TB4 sim + physical TB4
MRTA algorithm suite with benchmarked comparison (Greedy, Hungarian, RMF Auction)
Building 225 map with Revit CAD plugin and Nav2 integration
RMF-Web dashboard with custom MicroApps (Fleet Health, Task Queue, Map Editor)
Full system deployed on NU IT infrastructure

Technology Stack

Industry-grade tools from robot to dashboard

🤖

TurtleBot 4

Create 3 + RPi 4 + RPLIDAR + OAK-D

🌐

Open-RMF

Traffic scheduling, fleet orchestration

📊

RMF-Web

React dashboard + FastAPI + Socket.IO

🐍

Python

FastAPI, fleet adapter, MRTA algorithms

🐳

Docker

Containerized deployment

🗄️

PostgreSQL

Tasks, events, fleet logs

Layer	Technology
Robot OS	ROS 2 Jazzy
Fleet Framework	Open-RMF + free_fleet + zenoh
Navigation	Nav2 (AMCL, planners, costmaps)
Web Frontend	React (rmf-dashboard-framework + MicroApps)
API Server	FastAPI + Socket.IO
CI/CD	GitHub Actions
Languages	Python (primary), TypeScript/React, some C#

Why This Course

Six reasons to sign up

Unique in academia

No other university course or textbook teaches robot fleet server architecture.

Build, don't just study

Sprint-based development — you ship working code every two weeks.

Open-source foundation

Built on Open-RMF, the same framework used in hospitals and airports worldwide.

Real hardware

Progress from simulation to physical TurtleBot 4 robots in campus buildings.

Publication potential

MRTA comparisons, fleet analytics, and heterogeneous fleet management are publishable.

Lasting impact

Your server stays deployed for future NU robotics courses and research.

Resources

Wiki, poster, and references

Course Wiki — sprint goals, topic briefs, setup guides, reference materials
GitHub Repository — course materials and code
Course Poster (PDF)
Programming Multiple Robots with ROS 2 — essential reference
Open-RMF Documentation
Open-RMF Demos — simulation worlds
Open-RMF Community Chat

Course Info

Details and prerequisites

Course: EECE 5698 / CS 7180 — Special Topics: Robot System Server
Term: Spring 2027
Credits: 4 (2 hr lecture + 2 hr design/lab per week)
Cross-listed: EECE & CS — elective in EECE, CS, or Robotics programs
Campus: Northeastern University · Seattle & ALL other campuses
Class size: > 20 students (hopefully!)
Instructors: Prof. Xian Li (EECE) & Prof. Steve Shafer (CS)
Prerequisites: EECE 4630, EECE 5550, EECE 5554, CS 4700, CS 5610, CS 5335, or graduate admission

Weekly Labs & Code Reviews	25%
Design & Integration Checkpoints	25%
Final System Project (demo + report)	40%
Participation & Peer Evaluation	10%