Self-Driving Car Specialization Course
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Self-Driving Car Specialization Course
Included with
Recommended experience
Recommended experience
What you'll learn
Build and test simulations using ROS, Gazebo, and Jetbot for autonomous driving experiments.
Apply computer vision and machine learning techniques to enable road scene understanding and object detection.
Master motion prediction, collision avoidance, and control systems for safe and efficient autonomous navigation.
Design and implement core systems of self-driving cars, including hardware, software, and system architecture.
Skills you'll gain
Tools you'll learn
Details to know
See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills
There are 6 modules in this course
Updated in May 2025.
This course now features Coursera Coach! A smarter way to learn with interactive, real-time conversations that help you test your knowledge, challenge assumptions, and deepen your understanding as you progress through the course. Embark on a transformative journey into the cutting-edge world of self-driving cars with this comprehensive specialization. Learn the core concepts, technologies, and systems that make autonomous vehicles a reality. From foundational principles to advanced decision-making, this course equips you with the expertise needed to design, implement, and test self-driving car technologies. The course begins with an introduction to autonomous vehicles, exploring their history, levels of automation, and the essential hardware and software components. Progress to system design and control systems, where you’ll master key topics like PID controllers, feedforward and feedback control, Kalman filters, and time-to-collision calculations. Delve into computer vision techniques, including object detection, semantic segmentation, and depth perception, critical for safe and accurate navigation. Engage in hands-on simulations with ROS and Gazebo, developing models, mapping environments, and implementing motion prediction. Finally, experiment with Jetbot implementation, integrating cutting-edge technologies like the Jetson Nano for real-world testing and optimization. This course is perfect for aspiring engineers, researchers, and professionals in autonomous driving. A background in programming, robotics, or vehicle dynamics is helpful but not mandatory. Suitable for intermediate learners eager to dive into the autonomous vehicle revolution.
In this module, we will embark on an introductory journey into the world of Self-Driving Cars. Starting with their definition and historical evolution, we’ll explore the key technologies and safety standards that underpin their functionality. Additionally, we will cover typologies, decision-making processes, and the hardware and software that bring these revolutionary vehicles to life.
What's included
9 videos1 reading
9 videos•Total 22 minutes
- Self Driving Car(SDC) Introduction•1 minute
- What Defines a Self Driving Car?•2 minutes
- Evolution of Autonomous Car Technologies•5 minutes
- Levels of Automation•4 minutes
- Commonly Used Hardware and Software•2 minutes
- Safety Standards for Autonomous Driving•1 minute
- Safety Measures•5 minutes
- Typology of Self Driving Cars•2 minutes
- Vehicle Events & Decision Making•2 minutes
1 reading•Total 10 minutes
- Full Course Resources•10 minutes
In this module, we will delve into the essential design elements of Self-Driving Car systems. We’ll explore the hardware components that provide sensory input, the software systems that process data and manage driving tasks, and the architectural design that ensures seamless interaction between these elements. This comprehensive overview will lay the foundation for understanding how Self-Driving Cars operate as a cohesive unit.
What's included
3 videos1 assignment
3 videos•Total 20 minutes
- SDC Hardware Overview•10 minutes
- SDC Software•6 minutes
- System Architecture•5 minutes
1 assignment•Total 15 minutes
- Module 2 - Self Driving Car System Design - Assessment•15 minutes
In this module, we will explore the intricate control systems that drive Self-Driving Cars. We’ll start with longitudinal control, Adaptive Cruise Control, and state estimation techniques before delving into advanced topics such as Kalman Filters, motion prediction, and collision detection. Additionally, we’ll introduce ROS simulation tools to develop and optimize these systems. By mastering these concepts, you'll gain a comprehensive understanding of the control mechanisms essential for autonomous vehicles.
What's included
44 videos1 assignment
44 videos•Total 141 minutes
- Introduction to Longitudinal Control•10 minutes
- Introduction to Longitudinal Control System and Basics of LTI Control•5 minutes
- Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) Controllers•4 minutes
- Longitudinal Control with PID•5 minutes
- Introduction to Feedforward and Feedback Control•5 minutes
- Importance of Feedforward and Feedback Control•4 minutes
- Feedforward Control and Self-Driving Car•7 minutes
- Introduction to Kalman Filters•3 minutes
- Radar Measurement•2 minutes
- Features of Kalman Filters•2 minutes
- How does it Work•2 minutes
- Car Navigation System•3 minutes
- Introduction to Adaptive Cruise Control•3 minutes
- Advantages and Limitations of ACC•2 minutes
- Vision Based ACC•2 minutes
- Vision Based Vehicle Detection•2 minutes
- Vision Based ACC Pattern Match•5 minutes
- Role of Vision Based ACC•1 minute
- Paper Review on Vision-Based Adaptive Cruise Control•5 minutes
- What is SLAM•2 minutes
- Why Simultaneous•2 minutes
- Role of Mapping•2 minutes
- What is State Estimation•1 minute
- Exploring Localization•6 minutes
- Explanation of Work Flow•3 minutes
- Methods of Implementation•2 minutes
- Introduction to Modelling Motion with Motion Aware Prediction•2 minutes
- Motion Prediction - Requirement•2 minutes
- Motion Prediction – Complexities & Solution Part 1•2 minutes
- Motion Prediction – Complexities & Solution Part 2•3 minutes
- Constant Velocity Prediction Model•3 minutes
- Introduction to Incorporating time-to-collision (TTC) in Decision Making•3 minutes
- Time to Collision – Requirements•2 minutes
- Time to Collision – Importance•2 minutes
- Approaches to Calculate TTC•2 minutes
- Weakness & Strengths of TTC Approaches•4 minutes
- Efficient Collision Detection Method•4 minutes
- Introduction to Simulation in ROS•2 minutes
- Challenges in Robotics•4 minutes
- ROS – Without ROS•4 minutes
- ROS – Concepts & Components – Client Libraries•5 minutes
- Installation of ROS•3 minutes
- How ROS Work in SDC•5 minutes
- Linear and Non Linear Kalman Filtering•3 minutes
1 assignment•Total 15 minutes
- Module 3 - Control Systems - Assessment•15 minutes
In this module, we will explore the world of computer vision, a critical component of Self-Driving Car technology. We’ll cover foundational concepts like object detection, tracking, and semantic segmentation, before diving into advanced techniques such as 3D object detection, HydraNets, and stereo vision. Finally, we’ll examine the integration of real-time vision depth perception using platforms like Jetson Nano, showcasing their impact on autonomous vehicle navigation and safety.
What's included
10 videos1 assignment
10 videos•Total 69 minutes
- Introduction to Computer Vision for Road Scene Understanding•16 minutes
- Introduction to the Object Detection and 2D Object Detection•3 minutes
- 3D Object Detection•8 minutes
- Object Detection using Deep Learning•3 minutes
- Object Tracking•8 minutes
- Semantic Segmentation for Detecting Drivable Area•7 minutes
- Segmentation - U-NET•3 minutes
- HydraNets•6 minutes
- Stereo Vision and Point Clouds•8 minutes
- Real-Time Vision Depth Perception on Jetson Nano•7 minutes
1 assignment•Total 15 minutes
- Module 4 - Computer Vision - Assessment•15 minutes
In this module, we will master ROS simulations, a cornerstone of Self-Driving Car development. Starting with the setup of ROS2 and Gazebo, we’ll explore how to create model cars, roads, and detailed environments for realistic simulations. Additionally, we’ll delve into advanced topics such as motion prediction, state estimation, obstacle avoidance, and localization, providing a comprehensive toolkit for testing and refining autonomous vehicle systems.
What's included
21 videos1 assignment
21 videos•Total 103 minutes
- Gazebo Setup•3 minutes
- ROS2 Setup and installation•4 minutes
- Open Source Repositories available•3 minutes
- Gazebo ROS2 integration•4 minutes
- Ros2 and Gazebo setup•4 minutes
- Model car creation•2 minutes
- Model Cars available•1 minute
- Roads Initialization•5 minutes
- Road Mapping•3 minutes
- Creating an Environment around Roads•5 minutes
- Lane Segmentation•10 minutes
- Classification•4 minutes
- Generations of definitive areas•2 minutes
- State Estimation•10 minutes
- Modeling Motion with Motion Aware Prediction•6 minutes
- Incorporating time-to-collision (TTC) in decision making, Obstacle avoidance•4 minutes
- LIDAR Sensing•7 minutes
- Linear and Non Linear Kalman Filtering•3 minutes
- Algorithms•5 minutes
- Vision-based Adaptive Cruise Control State Estimation•12 minutes
- Localisation Implementation•6 minutes
1 assignment•Total 15 minutes
- Module 5: ROS Simulation - Assessment•15 minutes
In this module, we will explore the practical application of Self-Driving Car concepts using the Jetbot platform. Starting with the setup and assembly of the Jetson Nano and Jetbot hardware, we’ll dive into functionalities like collision avoidance, road and object following, and real-time vision depth perception. The module culminates in testing the fully integrated Jetbot system in real-world environments, providing hands-on experience in robotics experimentation and validation.
What's included
8 videos3 assignments
8 videos•Total 45 minutes
- Jetson Nano Setup•3 minutes
- Jetbot hardware assembly•6 minutes
- Basic Motion Teleoperations•5 minutes
- Collision Avoidance. Localization on Jetbot.•3 minutes
- Road Following•9 minutes
- Object Following•8 minutes
- Real-Time Vision Depth Perception on Jetson Nano Integrating real time feed with built models Testing integration with test cases.•7 minutes
- Testing our JetBot System in an IRL environment•4 minutes
3 assignments•Total 90 minutes
- Full Course Practice Assessment•15 minutes
- Module 6 - Jetbot Implementation - Integration & Experimentation - Assessment•15 minutes
- Full Course Assessment•60 minutes
Instructor
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