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Latex Templates

Elmar Rueckert teaching_student_resources, wiki_phds, wiki_undergradsgrads

CPS Latex Templates

Find below Latex templates for student reports, B.Sc. theses, M.Sc. theses and doctoral theses.

You may use these templates also for other lectures, courses, seminars or doctoral theses at other chairs at the Montanuniversität Leoben. However, do not remove the acknowledgement or copyright statement.

If you never used Latex, watch our video on an introduction to Latex.

Student Report or Assignment

We provide a professional scientific student report template using double columns.

Get the latest CPS report template from our cloud.

Student Presentation

We provide a scientific student presentation template for project and thesis reports. Get the latest CPS presentation (latex beamer) template from our cloud.

B.Sc. Thesis

We provide a thesis template using minitocs in a standard report format.

Get the latest B.Sc. template from our cloud.

The latex template also provides basic instructions on the content and the structure of a thesis.

However, every thesis is unique and may be adapted acordingly.

M.Sc. Thesis

We provide a thesis template using minitocs in a standard report format.

Get the latest M.Sc. thesis template from our cloud.

Ph.D. Thesis

We provide a Ph.D. thesis template using minitocs in a standard report format.

Get the latest Ph.D. thesis template from our cloud.

In Introduction to Latex

If you have never used Latex, you find a brief intorduction in these slides on Latex.

You may also watch a recording of the exercise by Univ.-Prof. Dr. Elmar Rueckert on Latex.

How to install Python and PyCharm

Nikolaus Feith wiki_schueler, wiki_undergradsgrads

This tutorial explains how to install the basic Python environment for the Lecture Maschine Learning. This course requires a Python version >= 3.8 and PyCharm as IDE. In case you are using another operating system you can find some links at the end of this wiki post.

Download and Installation of Python

To program with Python you need a current Python version, which can be downloaded from the following website: Python. Basically every version after 3.8 can be used, quite new versions can still have bugs now and then, furthermore some packages are not yet transferred to the newest version, therefore 3.9 is recommended.

After the download, the program must now be installed. It is important that Python is added to the PATH, otherwise this step must be done manually. This is accomplished by selecting the “Add Python 3.9 to PATH” checkbox. Now Python is installed and the IDE “PyCharm” can be downloaded. 

Installation of PyCharm

To install PyCharm visit the jetbrains website and follow the instructions. We recommend the Professional version, to get the license for it you need to create an account on Jetbrains and log in to the program after the installation. 

Links

CoppeliaSim Tutorial

Nikolaus Feith wiki_schueler, wiki_undergradsgrads

This tutorial describes the usage of the program CoppeliaSim. In particular, the use of the software in the context of the course “Cyber-Physical-Systems” is discussed.

Download and setup of the program

CoppeliaSim can be downloaded from this website. Furthermore, the Python package “msgpack” must be downloaded via pip. Depending on your operating system, different steps are required after the installation.

Windows 10

For Windows 10, no further installation steps are necessary. However, to use the B0-based remote API, some .dll files must be available in the working directory. These can be found in the installation folder of CoppeliaSim. To shorten the search for the files, you can find all the required files in the GitHub project linked below.

Ubuntu 20.04

Before CoppeliaSim can be started, dependencies for the BlueZero API have to be installed. To accomplish that follow the instructions bellow.

Bildschirmfoto von 2021-11-16 16-53-35

In contrast to Windows, CoppeliaSim must be started from the terminal on Ubuntu. To do this, right-click on the unpacked folder and select the option “Open in Terminal”. Then enter the following command “./coppeliaSim.sh”. After confirming with the Enter key, CoppeliaSim starts. To use the B0-based remote API, the file “libb0.so” must be available in the working directory. For some simulations, additional files must be added in the same directory, these can also be found in the GitHub project linked below.

CoppeliaSim and B0-based remote API - Python Client

As described above, depending on the operating system, .dll and .so files need to be added to the workspace. Besides the operating system specific files, the Python scripts “b0.py” and “b0RemoteApi.py” must be present in the working directory. These files can be found in the installation folder or in the GitHub project. For the task of the course, the following two applications are most important: actuation, sensing. Sample code for actuation and sensing can also be found in the GitHub project. In the following section, their application is briefly discussed. 

Actuation

Using the API, Two movement modes are implemented in the provided scene “scene_with_pandas.ttt”. These are used with the method “simxCallScriptFunction” in Python because they are programmed as a function in the simulation file. The following modes are available:

  • – pts: In this mode, the angular positions of the joints and the corresponding time are passed to the simulation as a list (all intermediate points are interpolated). This mode is important for control tasks and if the inverse and forward kinematics have been developed by the user.
  • mov: In the “mov”-mode, the positions and speeds of intermediate points are transferred to the simulation. The inverse kinematics of Reflexxes Motion Library type II or IV is used in this mode.

Sensing

At the beginning, the object handles of the observed objects must be determined, this is done with the help of the method “simxGetObjectHandle”. To execute this method you need a so-called topic, more about this down below. Since “simxGetObjectHandle” only needs to be executed once, and only at the beginning or before the simulation, the topic “simxServiceCall” is used.

Afterwards, the joint angles or joint positions can be streamed with the help of the method “simxGetJointPosition” and the position of the end effector with “simxGetObjectPosition”. To achieve this, a callback function is needed for each angle or for the coordinates (one for each xyz triplet). These callback functions are called cyclically and can be used, for example, to store the angles in an array. Finally, it must be noted that the sensor data should always be saved with their time, otherwise no meaningful calculations or diagrams can be made.

As with the actuation, sample codes are available in the GitHub project.

Links

What are the thesis guidelines

Nikolaus Feith teaching_student_resources, wiki_undergradsgrads

Word processor

We believe that the best way to write a technical paper is by using LaTeX. Therefore, we provide a LaTeX template for you which you can download at the end of this page. Furthermore, we recommend the lecture notes form Prof. O’Leary’s lecture “Engineering and Scientific Documentation” for a basic introduction in writing technical papers and LaTeX. At this point we would like to thank Prof. O’Leary for allowing us to link to his lecture notes.

Text structure

There are no general guidelines for text structure. Since each thesis is unique, the structure will be discussed in detail with the supervisor. The same applies to the scope of the paper. A basic setup is nevertheless available in the LaTeX-template.

Language

Basically, you can write your thesis in German or English. However, you have to coordinate this with your supervisor, since we also have international staff at our chair who support your work and can do this better in English.

Realization of the thesis

For Bachelor’s theses, the total duration of the work should be approximately 3 months and concludes with the presentation of the thesis to the chair staff. Master’s theses should take about 6 months. Within the scope of the thesis, you have to make an interim presentation at the chair, as well as a final presentation within the scope of the master’s examination. More details can be found in the article “Completion of the master’s program”.

 

Template and Script

LaTeX-template
“Engineering and Scientific Documentation” by Prof. Paul O’Leary

How to write a thesis at the chair of cyber-physical systems

Nikolaus Feith teaching_student_resources, wiki_undergradsgrads

What is a bachelor or a master thesis?

At the end of your bachelor or master studies you have to write a thesis. In case of the bachelor’s study programme your workload should be around 180 to 200 netto work hours (7.5 ECTS credits) and your master’s thesis workload should be around 600 to 650 netto work hours (25 ECTS credits). In these theses, you as a student should independently research the topic and prove your scientific problem-solving strategies. To solve this difficult task, we will help you with our expertise.

What are the requirements to write a thesis?

The bachelor’s programme at MUL requires that you have already completed the courses of the first four semesters to start your thesis. The prerequisite for writing your master’s thesis is to be enrolled in a master’s programme.

How do I get a thesis at the chair of cyber-physical systems?

First, you can check our homepage to see if you find a topic that interests you. If this is not the case, you can contact our chair and propose your own topic. In any case, you should ask for a personal appointment at the secretary’s office so that possible questions or topics can be discussed.

Important Information

If you want to write your thesis at the chair of cyber-physical systems, do not start writing the thesis until it is approved by the chair. Otherwise, it is possible that your topic can change during writing.
At University of Leoben we have a guideline for good scientific practice, therefore the university wants you to stick to this practice.
Finally, the chair of cyber-physical systems has an internal guideline for the implementation of a thesis. More about this in our wiki article on thesis guidelines.

 

Getting started with LEGO MINDSTORMS Education EV3

Elmar Rueckert wiki_schueler, wiki_undergradsgrads

What can you do with the LEGO robot sets?

The LEGO Mindstorms Education EV3 sets can be used in different scenarios. They offer a quick and easy introduction into robot control, motion planning and visual navigation from depth images with Python. One can assemble the robots in various ways with different sensors and motors depending on the desired task. 

For more information go to Robot LEGO Robotics EV3 Dev!

Prerequisites

First of all a development set is necessary. At the chair of Cyber-Physical Systems we have five sets available for students. The implementation of the python code and connection to the EV3 can be done with Visual Studio Code and the extension LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 MicroPython. The EV3 bricks are equipped with a micro-SD card on which the Micropython Image is installed. A more detailed installation guide is provided on GitHub.

Example - Motor control

In the following is an example python code to control a motor with the EV3. At the beginning the motor has to be initialized with the corresponding port (line 8). There are two different ways to control a motor. First, one can set a desired acceleration and target position to run the motor (line 11). Or one can set the desired acceleration and let the motor run until it is stopped by a command (line 17-23). 

Demo

If you want to get the python code or if you are interested in other example codes go to our GitHub repository. 

Adding a New Post Guidelines

Elmar Rueckert wiki_administrative, wiki_phds, wiki_technician, wiki_undergradsgrads

Clone an Existing Post

The best strategy is to clone an existing post. Filter all post by your target category. Select a post and clone it. 

Avoid Editing Simultaneously with Others a Post

Whenever you see the lock symbol, be careful. Contact the user first before you start editing the post. 

Click on Edit and Select the Categories & Featured Image

In the right panel, you see the categories list (left image below) and the featured image tab. 

Click on the publish button once you are done. 

User Proper Filenames for Images

Please always give your images a proper filename. That will make it easier for all to reuse images. 

 

Publish Your Post

Press the Publish button on the top right to save your post. Afterwards edit the content by pressing on the Elementor button in the center. 

Edit the Post in Elementor

We use the Elementor plugin to format our content. 

Use Titles, Inner Sections, Text Fields, Images, Videos and Shortcodes to present your content.

Adding Selected Publications to the Post

You can add publications to your post by pasting the following code into a shortcode element, enclosed by the parentheses [your code]

tplist include=”2,55,86″ entries_per_page=”5000″ image=”right” image_size=”150″ image_link=”self” template=”tp_template_2016″ link_style=”direct” as_filter=”true”

Make sure that you add the enclosing parentheses []!

The publication ids can be found in the publication list.