We may earn an affiliate commission when you visit our partners.

Autonomous Vehicles

Save
May 1, 2024 3 minute read

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the automotive industry, leading to a future where vehicles will drive autonomously without human intervention. Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) are equipped with sensors, cameras, and other technologies that allow them to navigate roads, monitor their surroundings, and make decisions accordingly.

What is an autonomous vehicle?

Autonomous vehicles, also known as self-driving cars, are vehicles capable of sensing their environment and navigating without human input. They use a combination of sensors, cameras, radar, and artificial intelligence to operate.

Levels of Autonomy

There are various levels of autonomy in self-driving cars, each with its own capabilities:

  • **Level 0:** No automation. The driver controls all aspects of driving.
  • **Level 1:** Assisted driving. The car can assist with tasks like lane keeping or adaptive cruise control, but the driver remains in control.
  • **Level 2:** Partial automation. The car can control acceleration, braking, and steering under certain conditions, but the driver must monitor the surroundings and intervene when necessary.
  • **Level 3:** Conditional automation. The car can handle most driving tasks in favorable conditions, but the driver must be ready to take over if needed.
  • **Level 4:** High automation. The car can drive itself in most situations, but the driver may need to intervene in complex or unexpected circumstances.
  • **Level 5:** Full automation. The car can drive itself in all situations without any human input.

Benefits of Autonomous Vehicles

Autonomous vehicles offer numerous benefits, including:

  • **Increased safety:** By eliminating human error, AVs can significantly reduce traffic accidents and fatalities.
  • **Reduced congestion:** AVs can communicate with each other and coordinate their movements, leading to smoother traffic flow and reduced congestion.
  • **Improved accessibility:** AVs can provide transportation to individuals who are unable to drive themselves, such as the elderly or disabled.
  • **Economic benefits:** AVs can reduce fuel consumption and maintenance costs, and create new job opportunities in the automotive industry.

How to Learn About Autonomous Vehicles

There are many ways to learn about autonomous vehicles, including online courses and studying relevant topics such as computer science, robotics, and artificial intelligence.

Careers in Autonomous Vehicles

The development and deployment of autonomous vehicles is creating new career opportunities in fields such as:

  • **Automotive Engineering:** Designing and developing AV systems and components.
  • **Software Engineering:** Creating the software that controls AVs.
  • **Data Science:** Analyzing data collected from AVs to improve their performance.
  • **Transportation Planning:** Planning and managing the implementation of AVs into transportation systems.

Online Courses

Online courses can be a valuable resource for learning about autonomous vehicles. These courses can provide a comprehensive overview of the topic, as well as hands-on experience with AV technologies. Some of the skills and knowledge you can gain from these courses include:

  • Understanding the different levels of autonomy and the technologies used in AVs.
  • Learning about the challenges and opportunities of AV development and deployment.
  • Gaining hands-on experience with AV simulation and testing tools.
  • Developing a solid foundation in computer science, robotics, and AI, which are essential for working with AVs.

Conclusion

Autonomous vehicles are poised to revolutionize the automotive industry and bring about significant benefits to society. Online courses can be an effective way to learn about this exciting and rapidly evolving field.

Path to Autonomous Vehicles

Take the first step.
We've curated 16 courses to help you on your path to Autonomous Vehicles. Use these to develop your skills, build background knowledge, and put what you learn to practice.
Sorted from most relevant to least relevant:

Share

Help others find this page about Autonomous Vehicles: by sharing it with your friends and followers:

Reading list

We've selected 34 books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Autonomous Vehicles.
Provides a comprehensive overview of the technical, legal, and social aspects of autonomous driving. It is written by a team of experts from the automotive industry, academia, and the legal profession.
Foundational text for understanding the probabilistic methods essential to modern robotics, including autonomous vehicles. It covers key concepts in state estimation, localization, and mapping using a unified mathematical framework. While published some time ago, its principles remain highly relevant and it is often used as a textbook in robotics programs.
Provides a comprehensive overview of the technological, economic, and legal challenges of autonomous vehicles in French. It is written by a team of experts from the automotive industry, academia, and the legal profession.
Provides a detailed overview of the engineering and research challenges involved in autonomous vehicle development. It covers topics such as sensor technology, perception, planning, and control.
Provides a comprehensive overview of autonomous vehicle technology, including its history, current state-of-the-art, and future prospects. It is written in a clear and concise style, making it accessible to policymakers and other non-technical readers.
A comprehensive treatment of the algorithms used for planning in various domains, including robotics and autonomous systems. provides a deep dive into motion planning, discrete planning, and planning under uncertainty. It valuable reference for those seeking a rigorous understanding of how autonomous vehicles make decisions and navigate their environment.
This comprehensive textbook on deep learning, a critical technology for autonomous vehicle perception and decision-making. It covers a wide range of topics, from foundational concepts to advanced research. is essential for graduate students and professionals working on the AI aspects of autonomous driving. It serves as both a textbook and a reference.
A comprehensive textbook covering the fundamental concepts and methods in computer vision, a critical component for autonomous vehicles to perceive their surroundings. It provides a broad overview of the field with sufficient detail for practical application. is suitable for upper-division undergraduate and graduate-level courses.
Focuses on deep fusion methods for perception tasks in autonomous driving, emphasizing theoretical explanations and practical scenarios. It reviews multi-sensor data fusion methods and proposes innovative algorithms. This book is suitable for graduate students and engineers specializing in sensor fusion for autonomous systems.
This widely recognized and essential textbook for understanding reinforcement learning, a key area in the development of intelligent agents and decision-making systems in autonomous vehicles. The second edition includes updated content and is suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate students. It provides a clear account of the field's key ideas and algorithms.
Covers the technical aspects of building autonomous vehicle systems, including hardware and software components. It delves into topics like CAN bus, sensors, computer vision, localization, and motion planning. It practical guide for technical professionals and advanced students.
This recent book focuses specifically on sensor fusion, a critical aspect of autonomous navigation. It covers the integration of various sensors and provides practical examples. It is highly relevant for graduate students and engineers working on the perception and navigation systems of autonomous vehicles.
Offers a principled introduction to machine learning, covering the theoretical foundations and algorithmic paradigms. Given the heavy reliance on machine learning in autonomous driving, this book valuable resource for understanding the underlying principles of many AV technologies. It is designed for advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate students.
Computer vision is essential for autonomous vehicles to perceive their environment. classic and comprehensive resource covering fundamental algorithms and applications in computer vision. It valuable reference for graduate students and researchers working on the perception systems of autonomous vehicles.
Provides a comprehensive introduction to the technology of mobile robotics, covering locomotion, sensing, localization, and motion planning. It serves as an excellent starting point for understanding the core components and concepts applicable to autonomous vehicles. The second edition is updated and widely used as a textbook.
Provides a detailed exploration of the theoretical and algorithmic foundations of robot motion. It covers topics such as kinematics, dynamics, and motion planning, which are directly applicable to the control and navigation of autonomous vehicles. It strong reference for those with a solid mathematical background.
Aims to provide a technical introduction to the core concepts behind self-driving vehicles. It covers topics from sensors and perception to functional safety and cybersecurity, offering practical insights. It is suitable for those looking for a solid technical foundation in the field.
Delves into the technical aspects of both ADAS and autonomous driving systems. It covers various technologies and algorithms used in perception, planning, and control for autonomous vehicles. It more specialized text suitable for those with a foundational understanding seeking to deepen their technical knowledge.
Provides a step-by-step guide to building autonomous vehicles and robots, offering a practical introduction to the technology. It covers essential topics like CAN bus, sensors, computer vision, localization, perception, and motion planning. It's particularly useful for undergraduate and graduate students interested in the practical implementation of autonomous systems. The book includes case studies and supplementary materials like source code.
While not solely focused on autonomous vehicles, this book provides fundamental algorithms in robotics, vision, and control, which are essential building blocks for autonomous systems. The use of MATLAB examples makes it practical for students and researchers. It's a valuable reference for understanding the underlying principles. is suitable for advanced undergraduates and graduate students.
Provides a high-level overview of the autonomous vehicle industry, including the opportunities, business strategies, and potential disruptions. It's a good resource for understanding the market landscape and the broader impact of AVs. The updated edition reflects recent developments in the field.
As autonomous vehicles become more sophisticated, the ethical implications of their decision-making are increasingly important. delves into the philosophical and engineering challenges of building artificial moral agents. It is highly relevant for understanding the societal and ethical considerations surrounding autonomous vehicles.
Explores the role of AI in autonomous vehicles, discussing challenges and potential solutions. It covers how AI, machine learning, sensors, and data management are critical for driverless technology. This book is relevant for students and researchers interested in the AI aspects of autonomous driving.
Table of Contents
Our mission

OpenCourser helps millions of learners each year. People visit us to learn workspace skills, ace their exams, and nurture their curiosity.

Our extensive catalog contains over 50,000 courses and twice as many books. Browse by search, by topic, or even by career interests. We'll match you to the right resources quickly.

Find this site helpful? Tell a friend about us.

Affiliate disclosure

We're supported by our community of learners. When you purchase or subscribe to courses and programs or purchase books, we may earn a commission from our partners.

Your purchases help us maintain our catalog and keep our servers humming without ads.

Thank you for supporting OpenCourser.

© 2016 - 2025 OpenCourser