Engineering 100-400

Introduction: Autonomous Vehicles

Contents

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    Trends

    Waymo self-driving car
    Waymo robotaxi
     Starship delivery robots
    Delivery robots
     NASA autonomous drones (High-Density Vertiplex)
    NASA autonomous drones
     Boston Dynamics humanoid robot Atlas
    Humanoid robots

    Modern electronic system

    Interactive illustration of a modern autonomous car electronic system Shows sensors, compute, networking/storage/power, actuators, and a data pipeline from sensors to control. Sensors Signal processing Perception Planning Control Compute Net Storage Power Camera LiDAR Radar Radar GPS/IMU

    Hover or click legend items to highlight components. The top pipeline shows the data flow: Sensors → Signal processing → Perception → Planning → Control.

    Self‑driving cars

    • Power & Control
      • Actuation: steering, throttle, braking.
      • Control: PID / MPC for trajectory tracking.
    • Vision & Perception
      • Lane/pedestrian/vehicle detection and tracking.
      • Localization and mapping (SLAM/HD maps).
    • Data
      • Onboard logging, datasets, simulation.
    • Brains of the car
      • Path planning.
      • Evaluating risks.
      • Prioritizing objectives.

    Goals

    • Understand the challenges and technologies of autonomous vehicles.
    • Communicate complex engineering concepts clearly.
    • Collaborate effectively on a complex engineered system.
    • Hands‑on experience with a relevant AV platform.
    • Engineering ethics: social and environmental implications.
    • Safety protocols and practices.

    Goals when in the lab

    • Safety protocols and practices to avoid injuries and damage.
    • Hands‑on learning with sensors, compute, and control.
    • Team communication and coordination.

    Technical course components

    Mixed‑format lectures

    • Pre-reading before technical lectures (required)
    • (some) Conventional content delivery, lecturing
    • In class discussions, break into groups
      • Benefit: get to know you better
      • Benefit: satisfy participation goals
      • Benefit: reduced homework as we can interact with you more closely

    Labs

    • Primarily for technology, guided early, more open‑ended later, team‑oriented
    • Lab assignments cement the knowledge
    • Concepts further cemented in separate discussion sessions

    Project

    Core: teach a car to autonomously navigate a maze

    • Contains a structured component: fixed maze
    • Design component: add some functionality (within limits)
      • Your choice: add sensors/actuators, software features, or performance improvements.
      • Goals can target maze performance or other functionality.
      • Requires approval by instructors.

    Safety

    • Always keep hands clear of moving wheels and gears.
    • Wear safety glasses when cutting, soldering, or testing hardware.
    • Handle batteries carefully; avoid shorts; charge with approved chargers.
    • Test on the track when safe.

    Accidents and "accidents"

    • Physical hazards: moving parts, high currents, sharp edges.
    • Operational hazards: unintended motion, runaway control.
    • Ethical hazards: misuse, privacy, and societal impacts.

    This newborn technology's path will be determined by those who advance it.

    Next technical lecture

    • Abstractions
    • Preparation for first lab.
    • Safety training in this week's lab session.

    Additional introductory reading