ECE 398

Fall 2026 All Classes

All Classes

Special Topics in ECE

Credit: 0 TO 4 hours.

Subject offerings of new and developing areas of knowledge in electrical and computer engineering intended to augment the existing curriculum. See Class Schedule or departmental course information for topics and prerequisites.

Approved for both letter and S/U grading. May be repeated in the same or separate terms if topics vary.

My Favorites

My Schedule

Section Status updates every 10 minutes.

ECE 398 class schedule data for fall 2026
CRN	Type	Section	Time	Day	Location	Instructor	Section Details
47498	Laboratory	A1	ARRANGED	R	Location Pending	Driggs-Campbell, K	Availability: Open (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Section Title: Fundamentals for Robotics Restriction(s): Not intended for Graduate - Urbana-Champaign.
47494	Laboratory	A2	ARRANGED	F	Location Pending	Driggs-Campbell, K	Availability: Open (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Section Title: Fundamentals for Robotics Restriction(s): Not intended for Graduate - Urbana-Champaign.
52283	Lecture	FR	12:30PM -1:50PM	TR	3020 Electrical & Computer Eng Bldg	Driggs-Campbell, K	Availability: Open (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: Fundamentals for Robotics Section Info: Ever wondered how an autonomous vehicle calculates the perfect curve, how a drone navigates a forest, or how a humanoid stays upright on uneven ground? It’s not magic—it’s math! In ECE398 Fundamentals for Robotics, we’ll break down the mathematical and formal foundations of today’s robot systems that will allow you to understand state of the art systems and begin building your own. In designing this course, we polled robotics researchers, faculty, and other programs to gather topics that are useful across the field of robotics. We don’t just do theory. For every concept, you’ll implement a real-world algorithm in simulation (and we'll give you tips for putting it on a real-robot, if you are interested!). Our goal is that you won't just be using robotics libraries, but to give you the tools to understand how they work so you can build the next one! This course will be useful laying the groundwork for 400- and 500-level robotics courses on manipulators (ECE470), mobile robotics (ABE426/CS498), locomotion (ECE489) / humanoids (ECE598), and autonomy (ECE484). Restriction(s): Not intended for Graduate - Urbana-Champaign.
79925	Laboratory-Discussion	JK	2:00PM -3:50PM	W	3020 Electrical & Computer Eng Bldg	Kim, J	Availability: Closed Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: Robotics Project Section Info: This course aims to familiarize students with key concepts and research areas within the field of robotics, with a focus on limb-based robots. Students will either define their project objectives individually or collaborate in teams of two, working towards achieving these objectives over the course of the semester. During the initial two weeks, lectures will guide students in identifying potential projects and establishing their goals. Weeks 3 to 6 will cover fundamental concepts such as robotic systems, tools, and methodologies pertinent to robotics projects. Weeks 7 and 8 will involve project progress presentations and report submissions. From week 9 onwards, students will delve into project-specific methods by studying and presenting relevant research papers for five weeks. In the 14th and 15th weeks, students will finalize their projects by submitting a comprehensive project report and delivering final presentations. Throughout the duration of this course, all students will have access to robot hardware and equipment for their projects, with support provided by course staff. Successful projects may have the opportunity to continue as independent projects in the following semester, potentially leading to publication in academic conferences or journals. Repeatable once. Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course. However, it is recommended to have taken one of the following courses: ECE 220, ME 270, ECE 470 (Introduction to Robotics, ME 445, AE 482), or ECE 489 (Robot Dynamics and Control, ME 446, GE 422). Restriction(s): Not intended for Graduate - Urbana-Champaign.
48732	Laboratory	RI1	2:00PM -2:50PM	W	3014 Electrical & Computer Eng Bldg	Ilie, R	Availability: Open (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Credit: 1 hours Section Title: Fields and Waves VR Lab Section Info: This course is designed to be taken concurrently with ECE 329 “Fields and waves I”, to strengthen the students' understanding of the concepts in electromagnetism and their applications, through a combination of customized Virtual Reality (VR) experiences and computer simulations using Mathematica. Topics include static and quasi-static electric fields, polarization, static and quasi-static magnetic fields, dynamic fields and Maxwell’s equations, wave solutions of Maxwell's equations in free space and homogeneous media, time- and frequency-domain analysis of waves in transmission line circuits, and Smith Chart analysis. Prerequisites: Concurrent enrollment in ECE 329. Restriction(s): Not intended for Graduate - Urbana-Champaign.
31737	Laboratory	RI2	3:00PM -3:50PM	W	3014 Electrical & Computer Eng Bldg	Ilie, R	Availability: Open (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Credit: 1 hours Section Title: Fields and Waves VR Lab Section Info: This course is designed to be taken concurrently with ECE 329 “Fields and waves I”, to strengthen the students' understanding of the concepts in electromagnetism and their applications, through a combination of customized Virtual Reality (VR) experiences and computer simulations using Mathematica. Topics include static and quasi-static electric fields, polarization, static and quasi-static magnetic fields, dynamic fields and Maxwell’s equations, wave solutions of Maxwell's equations in free space and homogeneous media, time- and frequency-domain analysis of waves in transmission line circuits, and Smith Chart analysis. Prerequisites: Concurrent enrollment in ECE 329. Restriction(s): Not intended for Graduate - Urbana-Champaign.
31738	Laboratory	RI3	4:00PM -4:50PM	W	3014 Electrical & Computer Eng Bldg	Ilie, R	Availability: Open (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Credit: 1 hours Section Title: Fields and Waves VR Lab Section Info: This course is designed to be taken concurrently with ECE 329 “Fields and waves I”, to strengthen the students' understanding of the concepts in electromagnetism and their applications, through a combination of customized Virtual Reality (VR) experiences and computer simulations using Mathematica. Topics include static and quasi-static electric fields, polarization, static and quasi-static magnetic fields, dynamic fields and Maxwell’s equations, wave solutions of Maxwell's equations in free space and homogeneous media, time- and frequency-domain analysis of waves in transmission line circuits, and Smith Chart analysis. Prerequisites: Concurrent enrollment in ECE 329. Restriction(s): Not intended for Graduate - Urbana-Champaign.