11 ms·

Ask HN: Self Driving Car Engineer Nanodegree

61 points by hpagey 10y ago

I received an email yesterday morning that I was accepted into the self driving car engineer nano degree program. Has anyone else gotten into this program? Whats your motivation of going through this program. My objective it to learn more about the different problems that need to solved when designing and engineer a system like self driving car. I am not necessarily looking to get a job in that space.

GFischer 10y ago
I haven't taken it, sounds interesting. I did read a comment from someone who took it here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12518725 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12518725 They're very light. Since they don't carry any weight you'd at least hope to learn something. You'll get as much if not more from the free machine learning Georgia tech course with Tom Mitchell's book than the nanodegree. As a follow up, I took Thruns robotic driving course and it suffers from being a purely software course. There are optional hardware projects but no imparted hardware instruction. So I'd be especially leery of an automated driving nanodegree degree online.
- ekline 10y ago
  That commenter hasn't taken the Self-Driving Car Nanodegree program, October is the 1st time this particular Nanodegree is being offered.
  - GFischer 10y ago
    Good to know. Sorry about the mistake.
Quadropod 10y ago
Seems like a good way to break into the field. I was accepted too and looked through the released syllabus after digging around a bit -- they do a good job integrating computer vision, sensor fusion, and path planning. They have some cool perks like being able to run your code on a car and running driving simulations. I don't think it will get you to a job by any means -- at most an internship. It does seem like a good foundation to have for jumping into more advanced topics though.
ingenieroariel 10y ago
I got into the program too, read the curriculum and saw some of the material that will be shared. I went ahead and reserved my seat. The part that I like the most is the parallel effort to build an open source self driving car. My motivation is to build one in my small town in Colombia - with donkeys sharing the road it's going to be very interesting.
- wburgo9 10y ago
  Where did you find the curriculum? I got in too, but can't find a released curriculum anywhere.
  - denkasyanov 10y ago
    You can find info about first term here: https://medium.com/self-driving-cars/term-1-in-depth-on-udacitys-self-driving-car-curriculum-ffcf46af0c08#.7m5m54q4x https://medium.com/self-driving-cars/term-1-in-depth-on-udac...
dhruvp 10y ago
Hi all, My name is Dhruv (dhruv@udacity.com) and I lead the Self-Driving Car Nanodegree program here at Udacity. I'm happy to answer questions directly on this note (email me!). I think this program will be very different from our existing Nanodegrees as we have real industry partners who are extremely invested in making sure the program is high quality from the get go. This is because they want to be able to increase their hiring pipelines as soon as possible. We've been determining what projects/content to create by asking our hiring partners (and Sebastian Thrun) what they would want to see in a portfolio of someone they hire. We then work back from there and iterate to create the content. So far, folks at Mercedes-Benz, Otto, NVIDIA, and a few other auto companies have gone over our syllabus, given us feedback, and helped us iterate. I'm trying my hardest to make this program something I would myself take to get into the field or learn more about it(I'm an Engineer by trade who moved into this role!).
- mmanulis 10y ago
  Will you make the learning material available for those not taking the course?
  - dhruvp 10y ago
    In the foreseeable future we will not. However, our hope is to do that eventually (probably at least half a year away) as we do with all our content.
    - cscurmudgeon 10y ago
      So, (honest question, as I have been accepted) other than the certification, what do those who take part gain?
- seanxh 10y ago
  Hi Dhruv, I got an email said the course start at the end of Nov, but when register I remember the post said it start around Oct, can you please clarify that? Thanks
m_leclerc 10y ago
I think the SDCND is a great opportunity to get hands on experience with cutting edge technologies. You will be evaluated and receive personalized feedback on about 15 practical assignments covering these topics: Computer vision (Detect lane lines in a variety of conditions, including changing road surfaces, curved roads, and variable lighting), Neural networks (classify traffic signs, drive a car in a simulator), Track vehicles in camera images using image classifiers such as SVMs, decision trees, HOG, and DNNs. More projects will cover these topics: Sensor Fusion, Localization, Control, Path Planning, Systems and an Elective. If you know of comparable ressource to gain experience with all this material please share, I'm not aware of any. Official source: http://medium.com/self-driving-cars/term-1-in-depth-on-udacitys-self-driving-car-curriculum-ffcf46af0c08 http://medium.com/self-driving-cars/term-1-in-depth-on-udaci...
jackcosgrove 10y ago
I was accepted. I am most interested in spending a long time (9 months) learning about autonomous systems. I also like that a single autonomous system, a self-driving car, is the focus. I think this will be more valuable for my learning style than a more academic machine learning course which might tackle many applications, which are probably already mature solutions. I like that self-driving cars are a newer application and the course might actually push the state of the art. As a more esoteric bonus I'm evaluating this kind of learning as a potential replacement for higher education for any children I might have, given ever-increasing costs for brick-and-mortar universities.
agumonkey 10y ago
Ha, it seems I mistakenly assumed there was a free version (other platform often offer free without signed certificates so you can follow along). Maybe nano degrees are all paying ? If so then my bad, I hope some will get my seat (seems so). Wish all the fun to students.
vonmoltke 10y ago
What is a "self driving car engineer"? Reading the publicly-available material for this nanodegree it sounds like it is just a systems engineering certificate program focusing on autonomous vehicle systems.
babo 10y ago
With self driving cars you need to address very different topics to make it happen. From the nanodegree program I'm expecting a comprehensive curriculum which touches the required theoretical background but pragmatic. Looking forward to start it at November. In the long run my goal is to switch to this area, either as an employee or building a startup.
logfromblammo 10y ago
By my calculations [0], one nanodegree is equivalent to approximately 0.0007 seconds of classroom instruction. If you're going to create a self-driving car, please, please, please get at least a millidegree (~2 hours). [0] ~120 credit-hours per B.S. degree * ~16 classroom hours per credit-hour * 360 seconds per hour * 10^-9 for nano- prefix
- Namrog84 10y ago
  I'm assuming your being hyperbolic or sarcastic. I don't think it's intended to mean literally a Nanos worth of a degree. More attune to just buzzword for a certificate or completed coursework. The word "Certificate" comes with a lot of preconceived thoughts. I think they are trying to break away from with a new name
  - logfromblammo 10y ago
    If it is not intended to mean that, perhaps Udacity should have used elements in their trademark that do not have such well-established definitions. Perhaps no one realized that the inherent meaning of "nanodegree" might be derogatory to the product? A certificate course by any other name is still a certificate course.
pqhwan 10y ago
May be slightly off topic, but what's the time commitment like for this program? Are people with full time jobs expected to be able to take full benefit of it?
- denkasyanov 10y ago
  Great question! It is designed to take about 10 hours per week so almost anyone can do it.
- babo 10y ago
  10 hours per week
phodo 10y ago
I was accepted but can't find the syllabus. Anyone have a link?
- denkasyanov 10y ago
  It's here: https://medium.com/self-driving-cars/term-1-in-depth-on-udacitys-self-driving-car-curriculum-ffcf46af0c08#.7m5m54q4x https://medium.com/self-driving-cars/term-1-in-depth-on-udac...
yid 10y ago
May I ask why this is a "nanodegree"? Is having this qualification likely to improve someone's chances of getting a self-driving engineering position in industry?
- dragonwriter 10y ago
  EdX Nanodegrees are linked to, and provide specified credits toward, Master's (or maybe other, but I think usually master's) degree programs from the institution partnering with EdX to offer the nanodegree. (It is, I think, intended that they should generally be useful, from a career sense, independently, but the link to a degree program is the defining characteristic.)
zump 10y ago
Can anyone who works for a top SDC company (comma.ai, Zoox, Cruise, Uber/Otto, Tesla) comment whether they would consider an application from someone with a technical qualification plus this "nanodegree"? Throwaways acceptable, looking for a pragmatic insight from an industry insider. There is a lot of PR speak clouding my judgement.
- dhruvp 10y ago
  Hey, Again this is a totally valid question. I can confirm that Otto will indeed consider someone from this program as we are working with their VP of Engineering, Drew Gray, to actually create this program.
rerock 10y ago
Will the online lectures have subtitles?
coralreef 10y ago
How intense is the math required?
AngelicaHu 10y ago
I received the email as well that I have a spot reserved for this program starting in January 16 of 2017 (which cohort is it? The first one or not? ). Were you accepted directly? I was told that I need to complete an assessment to secure my spot. $2,400USD is a lot of money for an undergraduate student like me I am afraid, but I did not notice that I could apply for a scholarship at the very beginning. Not really sure about whether I join this cohort or I should apply again now with a scholarship application? >.< Anyone could give me some advice?
lnalx 10y ago
Is there free resources to learn self driving car engineering ?
sumanth_reddy 10y ago
I got selected to the program November 28th cohort It was mentioned in the website, that because of the resources that you provide for this course, you are charging $2400. Can I know what kind of resources you are talking about.
rwamit 10y ago
Hi
rwamit 10y ago
Hi Dhruv, I am from India , enrolled for Nov 28 batch.if after paying this hefty amount , if the candidate's geographical location becomes a constraint ,then what's the use? No doubt , i will learn many things , but my ultimate goal is to land a job in Bay Area , Germany etc.I would like that my skills and performance be the criteria in selecting or rejecting me and not the country to which my passport belongs to. The companies should sponsor the visa for the students ideally if he/she is skilled enough and have proven his/her mettle in this NanoDegree program at the end of 9 months.

61 points by hpagey 10y ago

GFischer 10y ago

I haven't taken it, sounds interesting. I did read a comment from someone who took it here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12518725 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12518725 They're very light. Since they don't carry any weight you'd at least hope to learn something. You'll get as much if not more from the free machine learning Georgia tech course with Tom Mitchell's book than the nanodegree. As a follow up, I took Thruns robotic driving course and it suffers from being a purely software course. There are optional hardware projects but no imparted hardware instruction. So I'd be especially leery of an automated driving nanodegree degree online.

ekline 10y ago
That commenter hasn't taken the Self-Driving Car Nanodegree program, October is the 1st time this particular Nanodegree is being offered.
- GFischer 10y ago
  Good to know. Sorry about the mistake.

Quadropod 10y ago

Seems like a good way to break into the field. I was accepted too and looked through the released syllabus after digging around a bit -- they do a good job integrating computer vision, sensor fusion, and path planning. They have some cool perks like being able to run your code on a car and running driving simulations. I don't think it will get you to a job by any means -- at most an internship. It does seem like a good foundation to have for jumping into more advanced topics though.

ingenieroariel 10y ago

I got into the program too, read the curriculum and saw some of the material that will be shared. I went ahead and reserved my seat. The part that I like the most is the parallel effort to build an open source self driving car. My motivation is to build one in my small town in Colombia - with donkeys sharing the road it's going to be very interesting.

wburgo9 10y ago
Where did you find the curriculum? I got in too, but can't find a released curriculum anywhere.
- denkasyanov 10y ago
  You can find info about first term here: https://medium.com/self-driving-cars/term-1-in-depth-on-udacitys-self-driving-car-curriculum-ffcf46af0c08#.7m5m54q4x https://medium.com/self-driving-cars/term-1-in-depth-on-udac...

dhruvp 10y ago

Hi all, My name is Dhruv (dhruv@udacity.com) and I lead the Self-Driving Car Nanodegree program here at Udacity. I'm happy to answer questions directly on this note (email me!). I think this program will be very different from our existing Nanodegrees as we have real industry partners who are extremely invested in making sure the program is high quality from the get go. This is because they want to be able to increase their hiring pipelines as soon as possible. We've been determining what projects/content to create by asking our hiring partners (and Sebastian Thrun) what they would want to see in a portfolio of someone they hire. We then work back from there and iterate to create the content. So far, folks at Mercedes-Benz, Otto, NVIDIA, and a few other auto companies have gone over our syllabus, given us feedback, and helped us iterate. I'm trying my hardest to make this program something I would myself take to get into the field or learn more about it(I'm an Engineer by trade who moved into this role!).

mmanulis 10y ago
Will you make the learning material available for those not taking the course?
- dhruvp 10y ago
  In the foreseeable future we will not. However, our hope is to do that eventually (probably at least half a year away) as we do with all our content.
  - cscurmudgeon 10y ago
    So, (honest question, as I have been accepted) other than the certification, what do those who take part gain?
seanxh 10y ago
Hi Dhruv, I got an email said the course start at the end of Nov, but when register I remember the post said it start around Oct, can you please clarify that? Thanks

m_leclerc 10y ago

I think the SDCND is a great opportunity to get hands on experience with cutting edge technologies. You will be evaluated and receive personalized feedback on about 15 practical assignments covering these topics: Computer vision (Detect lane lines in a variety of conditions, including changing road surfaces, curved roads, and variable lighting), Neural networks (classify traffic signs, drive a car in a simulator), Track vehicles in camera images using image classifiers such as SVMs, decision trees, HOG, and DNNs. More projects will cover these topics: Sensor Fusion, Localization, Control, Path Planning, Systems and an Elective. If you know of comparable ressource to gain experience with all this material please share, I'm not aware of any. Official source: http://medium.com/self-driving-cars/term-1-in-depth-on-udacitys-self-driving-car-curriculum-ffcf46af0c08 http://medium.com/self-driving-cars/term-1-in-depth-on-udaci...

jackcosgrove 10y ago

I was accepted. I am most interested in spending a long time (9 months) learning about autonomous systems. I also like that a single autonomous system, a self-driving car, is the focus. I think this will be more valuable for my learning style than a more academic machine learning course which might tackle many applications, which are probably already mature solutions. I like that self-driving cars are a newer application and the course might actually push the state of the art. As a more esoteric bonus I'm evaluating this kind of learning as a potential replacement for higher education for any children I might have, given ever-increasing costs for brick-and-mortar universities.

agumonkey 10y ago

Ha, it seems I mistakenly assumed there was a free version (other platform often offer free without signed certificates so you can follow along). Maybe nano degrees are all paying ? If so then my bad, I hope some will get my seat (seems so). Wish all the fun to students.

vonmoltke 10y ago

What is a "self driving car engineer"? Reading the publicly-available material for this nanodegree it sounds like it is just a systems engineering certificate program focusing on autonomous vehicle systems.

babo 10y ago

With self driving cars you need to address very different topics to make it happen. From the nanodegree program I'm expecting a comprehensive curriculum which touches the required theoretical background but pragmatic. Looking forward to start it at November. In the long run my goal is to switch to this area, either as an employee or building a startup.

logfromblammo 10y ago

By my calculations [0], one nanodegree is equivalent to approximately 0.0007 seconds of classroom instruction. If you're going to create a self-driving car, please, please, please get at least a millidegree (~2 hours). [0] ~120 credit-hours per B.S. degree * ~16 classroom hours per credit-hour * 360 seconds per hour * 10^-9 for nano- prefix

Namrog84 10y ago
I'm assuming your being hyperbolic or sarcastic. I don't think it's intended to mean literally a Nanos worth of a degree. More attune to just buzzword for a certificate or completed coursework. The word "Certificate" comes with a lot of preconceived thoughts. I think they are trying to break away from with a new name
- logfromblammo 10y ago
  If it is not intended to mean that, perhaps Udacity should have used elements in their trademark that do not have such well-established definitions. Perhaps no one realized that the inherent meaning of "nanodegree" might be derogatory to the product? A certificate course by any other name is still a certificate course.

pqhwan 10y ago

May be slightly off topic, but what's the time commitment like for this program? Are people with full time jobs expected to be able to take full benefit of it?

denkasyanov 10y ago
Great question! It is designed to take about 10 hours per week so almost anyone can do it.
babo 10y ago
10 hours per week

phodo 10y ago

I was accepted but can't find the syllabus. Anyone have a link?

denkasyanov 10y ago
It's here: https://medium.com/self-driving-cars/term-1-in-depth-on-udacitys-self-driving-car-curriculum-ffcf46af0c08#.7m5m54q4x https://medium.com/self-driving-cars/term-1-in-depth-on-udac...

yid 10y ago

May I ask why this is a "nanodegree"? Is having this qualification likely to improve someone's chances of getting a self-driving engineering position in industry?

dragonwriter 10y ago
EdX Nanodegrees are linked to, and provide specified credits toward, Master's (or maybe other, but I think usually master's) degree programs from the institution partnering with EdX to offer the nanodegree. (It is, I think, intended that they should generally be useful, from a career sense, independently, but the link to a degree program is the defining characteristic.)

zump 10y ago

Can anyone who works for a top SDC company (comma.ai, Zoox, Cruise, Uber/Otto, Tesla) comment whether they would consider an application from someone with a technical qualification plus this "nanodegree"? Throwaways acceptable, looking for a pragmatic insight from an industry insider. There is a lot of PR speak clouding my judgement.

dhruvp 10y ago
Hey, Again this is a totally valid question. I can confirm that Otto will indeed consider someone from this program as we are working with their VP of Engineering, Drew Gray, to actually create this program.

rerock 10y ago

Will the online lectures have subtitles?

coralreef 10y ago

How intense is the math required?

AngelicaHu 10y ago

I received the email as well that I have a spot reserved for this program starting in January 16 of 2017 (which cohort is it? The first one or not? ). Were you accepted directly? I was told that I need to complete an assessment to secure my spot. $2,400USD is a lot of money for an undergraduate student like me I am afraid, but I did not notice that I could apply for a scholarship at the very beginning. Not really sure about whether I join this cohort or I should apply again now with a scholarship application? >.< Anyone could give me some advice?

lnalx 10y ago

Is there free resources to learn self driving car engineering ?

sumanth_reddy 10y ago

I got selected to the program November 28th cohort It was mentioned in the website, that because of the resources that you provide for this course, you are charging $2400. Can I know what kind of resources you are talking about.

rwamit 10y ago

Hi Dhruv, I am from India , enrolled for Nov 28 batch.if after paying this hefty amount , if the candidate's geographical location becomes a constraint ,then what's the use? No doubt , i will learn many things , but my ultimate goal is to land a job in Bay Area , Germany etc.I would like that my skills and performance be the criteria in selecting or rejecting me and not the country to which my passport belongs to. The companies should sponsor the visa for the students ideally if he/she is skilled enough and have proven his/her mettle in this NanoDegree program at the end of 9 months.