Autonomous Vehicles

With companies like Torc Robotics in Blacksburg and Perrone Robotics in Crozet, the autonomous vehicle job market in Virginia needs experienced and capable professionals who learn how to tackle complex problems before graduation.

The JMU X-Labs autonomous vehicles course offers undergraduate students the opportunity to work in multidisciplinary teams to build a self-driving vehicle. The course is designed to bring the autonomous concept out of simulation and into the real world with hands-on experience at the intersection of design, engineering, systems, software, controls, and project management. Students design and implement a variety of systems and sensors to have multiple, fully functional, self-driving applications in place at the conclusion of the course while accomplishing the following:

• Identifying and solving technical challenges involving sensors and decision matrices
• Integrating sensors, computational hardware, and automotive systems
• Visualizing calculus and control structures
• Implementing and optimizing machine learning and computer vision algorithms
• Designing and engineering the interface between electronic and automotive mechanical systems
• Working together as a multidisciplinary team under tight time constraints, inadequate budgets, and unrealistic expectations to accomplish more than expected