Lecture 10: Discrete Probability and State Estimation

We've been talking about how to analyze and design systems, but we haven't talked about how to make systems robust under uncertainty. In fact, we haven't even talked about how to model uncertainty. In this unit, we'll address the problem that systems we design may have to operate under uncertainty, and that we may want those systems to be able to search the world for possible solutions to problems. We'll introduce the basics of probability and search in this session, and apply those concepts to our design challenges. The overview handout provides a more detailed introduction, including the big ideas of the session, key vocabulary, what you should understand (theory) and be able to do (practice) after completing this session, and additional resources.