Course Information
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PLEASE NOTE POSTLAB CHANGES FOR FALL 2026
Description
A learn-by-design introduction to modeling and control of discrete- and continuous-time systems, from intuition-building analytical techniques to more computational and data-centric strategies. Topics include: linear difference/differential equations (natural frequencies, transfer functions); controller metrics (stability, tracking, disturbance rejection); analytical techniques (PID, root-loci, lead-lag, phase margin); computational strategies (state-space, eigen-placement, LQR); and data-centric approaches (state estimation, regression, and identification). Concepts are introduced with lectures and online problems, reinforced in weekly labs, and mastered by solving more open-ended postlab design problems. In the labs and postlabs, students model, design, test, and explain systems and controllers involving sensors, actuators, and a microcontroller (e.g., optimizing thrust-driven positioners or stabilizing magnetic levitators). Students taking graduate version complete additional problems and labs.
Prerequisites:
We presume that 6.3100/2 students have taken some physics (atleast 8.01(GIR)) and a linear algebra class (18.C06 or 18.06). While not expected, students have reported benefitting 2.003, 16.002, 6.200, 6.300 and 18.03.
Labs
The learn-by-design philosophy of 6.310 centers on weekly 3-hour labs. Two alternative lab sections are available:
- Fridays 10am-1pm in 38-545
- Fridays 2pm-5pm in 38-545
Much of the learning about design comes from working on the labs. Please work with a partner, and feel free to switch partners at any time. Students who work in pairs (but NOT triples) typically get more out of the lab experience (and have more fun) than those who stoically work alone. Note, you and your partner can work together on, and share hardware, for the postlabs but you will have to interview (just for postlabs) individually.
The weekly labs are organized as five projects that each comprise two (in one case three) 3-hour lab sessions followed by a more open-ended postlab design problem. In the first of these sessions, the focus is on constructing a system to be controlled, making measurements to characterize that system, and developing a preliminary design of a controller. The second session focuses on reinforcing the concepts presented in lecture and practiced in the prelab. Typically, you will derive models, use those models to design controllers, test those controllers, and then analyze test results.
The design labs and the postlabs can be challenging, and are key learning experiences. We expect you to need help (from peers and/or the staff), but we also expect you to succeed, and to be able to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding during checkoff interviews.
PostLabs
NEW FOR FALL 2026: Each of the five lab projects ends with a more open-ended design problem that you will solve (with a partner, with help from the staff, or with help from AI). You will then sign up for a staff member checkoff interview. You and any partner can work together, even use the SAME hardware for the postlab checkoff interview, but the postlab interviews are one-on-one.
Interviews
Lab checkoff interviews (which can include a partner) and postlab interviews (which must done individually) are NOT intended to be exams! They are intended to help you stretch your understanding and uncover gaps in your understanding. So any checkoff interview, in lab or postlab, can be repeated and repeated with NO PENALTY. There is NO fail, this is only not yet succeeded.
Lectures
Two weekly lectures introduce the theory that is developed in the labs. SINCE SPRING 2026: Credit for answering lecture questions to encourage participation. One question per lecture, due at end of lecture, and half credit for incorrect answers.
PreLab Online Exercises
Online exercises provide an opportunity for you to develop an understanding of the theory that will be applied in the lab. These prelab exercises are delivered through this web site and you will receive immediate feedback about your progress. The questions are intended to help you test/verify your understanding, so incorrect answers can be resubmitted WITHOUT PENALTY. The prelab's goal is to help you develop the skills needed for the design lab, so please finish the prelab before starting the design lab.
YOU MUST COMPLETE 70% OF THE PRELAB BEFORE YOU CAN START THE LAST PART OF EACH PROJECT!
Note: Most of our on-line questions can be answered by several of the AI systems. We trust that you are the best judge of how to learn using AI, and only ask that you respect our effort by being sure you are prepared for lab.
Exams
There are NO quizzes and NO final exam in this subject. Just more than 30 interviews.
Lab Hours
Staff will hold in-lab office hours at times posted on our home page, but may be adjusted based on class preferences. In addition, the fifth-floor lab itself is open until 11:45pm every day except Saturday.
Please take advantage of these times to finish labs and/or clarify your understanding of the course material. And PLEASE do not wait until the last minute to get help, as office hours can get very BUSY as due dates approach.
Grades on Labs and Prelabs
Your grades on the online questions and in-lab checkoffs are based on percentage completed, WITHOUT REGARD TO RETRIES!
Final Grade in Undergraduate Version (6.3100)
6.3100/2 is NOT competitively graded, grades are based on work completed. Since many tasks (prelabs, lab interviews, and postlab interviews) can be repeated without penalty, most students complete enough work to earn an A. For Fall 2026, we are trying to encourage regular lecture participation by including one graded question to be handed in at the end of each lecture (full credit for correct answers, half credit for incorrect). To keep this encouragement low-stress, you'll only need 50% of the total lecture‑question points, so sufficient participation could be: handing in always-correct answers at half the lectures; handing in always-incorrect answers at all the lectures; or handing in answers at two-thirds of the lectures that are correct only half the time.
To get an A you must
-- Earn 90% of the prelab points,
-- complete all of the checkoffs for all five of the labs, and the four postlabs (the postlab for lab5 is required only for 6.3102),
-- earn fifty percent of the lecture question points.
.
To get an B you must
-- Earn 80% of the prelab points,
-- complete all of the checkoffs in all of the labs,
-- complete postlab 3 and any other two postlabs.
-- Earn fifty percent of the lecture question points.
To get an C you must
-- Earn 70% of the prelab points for 4 labs.
-- complete all of the checkoffs in at least 4 labs.
-- complete postlab 3 and one other postlab.
To get an D you must
-- Earn 70% of the prelab points for 3 labs.
-- complete all of the checkoffs in at least 3 labs.
-- complete the postlab checkoff for lab 3 or 4.
Final Grade in Graduate Version (6.3102)
NOTE: For Spring 2026, 6.3102 students will be expected to complete an extra design lab.
To get an A you must
-- satisfy all of the criteria for an A in 6.3100 and
-- Complete the fifth postlab.
To get an B you must
-- satisfy all of the criteria for a B in 6.3100 and
-- complete the fifth postlab.
The criteria for a C and D are the same as 6.3100.
Extension Policy
Our goal is to help you to get the most out of your educational experience in this subject and beyond. As with most subjects at MIT, this subject is fast-paced and challenging, though we try to minimize stress with our penalty-free retry policies (never a fail, just a delayed success). Nevertheless, since we insist that you eventually demonstrate thorough understanding in each of more than thirty staff interviews, it can be difficult to catch up if you fall too far behind.
If you find yourself having difficulties or find yourself falling behind, please do not struggle alone. Discuss the situation with the staff, with your academic advisor, and/or S^3.
We will do all that we can to provide accomodations if unplanned issues (such as illness or personal problems) arise. Please consult an instructor if you have concerns.
Collaboration and AI Policy
The on-line prelab questions are intended to prepare you for the lab, the lab interviews give us an opportunity to "debug" your understanding, and postlab problems and interviews are intended to deepen your understanding. In our experience, students who work through prelabs, labs, and postlabs with a partner (or a sequence of partners) are more efficient and learn more. They spend far less time tripping over minor mistakes, and it is hard to overstate the pedagogical value of explaining one's thinking to a partner.
To encourage partnering, our collaboration policy during lab interviews is that we will do our best to ensure that both students understand the material. The postlab checkoff interviews are one-on-one, but you are encouraged to work with a partner on the postlabs, and even share your hardware for that checkoff.
Use AI as you see fit. Our in-person interviews with hardware demonstrations (in both lab and for postlabs) are intended to insure that you understand the material, not second-guess how you learned it.
