thesis-frontpgs.tex

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        \begin{center}
        \vspace*{1.0cm}

        \Huge
        {\bf Biologically Inspired Adaptive Control of Quadcopter Flight }

        \vspace*{1.0cm}

        \normalsize
        by \\

        \vspace*{1.0cm}

        \Large
        Brent Komer \\

        \vspace*{3.0cm}

        \normalsize
        A thesis \\
        presented to the University of Waterloo \\ 
        in fulfillment of the \\
        thesis requirement for the degree of \\
        Master of Mathematics \\
        in \\
        Computer Science \\

        \vspace*{2.0cm}

        Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2015 \\

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        \copyright\ Brent Komer 2015 \\
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% D E C L A R A T I O N   P A G E
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  % The following is the sample Delaration Page as provided by the GSO
  % December 13th, 2006.  It is designed for an electronic thesis.
  \noindent
I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners.

  \bigskip
  
  \noindent
I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public.

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% A B S T R A C T
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\begin{center}\textbf{Abstract}\end{center}

This thesis explores the application of a biologically inspired adaptive controller to quadcopter flight control.
This begins with an introduction to modelling the dynamics of a quadcopter, followed by an overview of control theory and neural simulation in Nengo.
The Virtual Robotics Experimentation Platform (V-REP) is used to simulate the quadcopter in a physical environment.
Iterative design improvements leading to the final controller are discussed.
The controller model is run on a series of benchmark tasks and its performance is compared to conventional controllers. 
The results show that the neural adaptive controller performs on par with conventional controllers on simple tasks but exceeds far beyond these controllers on tasks involving unexpected external forces in the environment.
%TODO finish the abstract, make it sound more awesome and clear

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% A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S
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\begin{center}\textbf{Acknowledgements}\end{center}


First off, I would like to thank my supervisor, Chris Eliasmith, for his guidance and support throughout my research.
My thanks extends to the rest of the members of the Centre for Theoretical Neuroscience, for all of their help and for making this lab a great environment to work in.
I would also like to thank Jeff Orchard and Edith Law for taking the time to read through this thesis.
Finally, I'd like to thank my friends and family.
In particular Sally Siu for all of her support and encouragement.
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% D E D I C A T I O N
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\begin{center}\textbf{Dedication}\end{center}

To my family, for their unending support and love.
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% T A B L E   O F   C O N T E N T S
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% L I S T   O F   T A B L E S
% ---------------------------
\addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{List of Tables}
\listoftables
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\phantomsection		% allows hyperref to link to the correct page
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% L I S T   O F   F I G U R E S
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\addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{List of Figures}
\listoffigures
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\phantomsection		% allows hyperref to link to the correct page
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%TODO possibly use a glossary for the Nengo terms
% L I S T   O F   S Y M B O L S
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% To include a Nomenclature section
 %\addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{\textbf{Nomenclature}}
 %\renewcommand{\nomname}{Nomenclature}
 %\printglossary
 \addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{\textbf{Glossary}}
 \renewcommand{\nomname}{Glossary}
 \makenomenclature
 \nomenclature{\textbf{Ensemble}}{A group of neurons representing a single vector.}
 \nomenclature{\textbf{Node}}{A component of a Nengo network that executes Python code rather than representing a value.}
 \nomenclature{\textbf{Network}}{A group of Ensembles, Nodes, Connections, and other Networks within a Nengo model.}
 \nomenclature{\textbf{Connection}}{A link between the output of one Ensemble or Node to the input of another Ensemble or Node.}
 \nomenclature{\textbf{Nengo}}{A Python software package that implements algorithms from the Neural Engineering Framework.}
 \nomenclature{\textbf{Neural Engineering Framework}}{A set of methods for performing computations with simulated ensembles of neurons.}
 %\nomenclature{Population}{} %TODO just use Ensemble everywhere to be clear
 \nomenclature{\textbf{Encoders}}{Functions applied to a vector to produce neural activities.}
 \nomenclature{\textbf{Decoders}}{Weightings applied to neural activities to produce a vector.}
 \nomenclature{\textbf{Synapse}}{A filter applied to a connection between two representational components in Nengo.}
 \nomenclature{\textbf{Tuning Curve}}{Response characteristics of a neuron.}
 \printnomenclature
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 \phantomsection % allows hyperref to link to the correct page
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% G L O S S A R Y
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%\addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{\textbf{Glossary}}
%\printglossary
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