Driverless cars are undoubtedly one of the hottest technologies of our age, but they remain largely confined to research projects being operated by the major tech and auto companies around the world. For the technology to scale, it’s likely to require many more people to have the appropriate skills.
The University of Toronto are aiming to do their bit with the creation of a new specialization on the MOOC platform Coursera. The four-part course is the first online course focusing specifically on autonomous technology and is designed for people with engineering experience already but with little training in autonomous technology.
It’s a sector where there will be an estimated 100,000 new jobs in the United States alone in the next decade. Getting skills in the field is difficult however as most of the major players jealously guard their technology. This is where the University of Toronto hope to step in, as they’re a world leading source for autonomous technology, and they aim to provide a series of advanced, hands-on simulation and programming assignments for just $79 per month.
“Self-driving cars will reshape our cities and our lives, in the process creating tens of thousands of new jobs for those who have the right skills,” Coursera say. “We’re excited to partner with the University of Toronto, a top-ranked leader in autonomous vehicle research, to train the next generation of engineers who will bring safe, autonomous vehicles to public roads.”
The next generation of engineers
The course will be delivered by Professor Steven Waslander and Professor Jonathan Kelly from the University of Toronto, and students will learn both from the latest theory and from practical insights from startups such as Oxbotica and Zoox.
“Self-driving cars have the potential to increase road safety, lead to more efficient use of roadways and vehicles, and even reduce pollution,” the University of Toronto say. “I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a more challenging engineering problem than designing robust self-driving cars. But that challenge is very exciting. It forces us to think about new ways of doing things. And the more people we have doing it, the greater our chances of success.”
They suggest that students will graduate from the course with an understanding of the specific architecture and components of the software that underpins driverless cars, the various methods involved in object detection and the commands that control the vehicle. At the end of the course, students should be able to drive a virtual car around a simulated circuit.
The course launched on the 30th of January, with more being launched throughout the year.
