Educating Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Technicians

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The most dramatic shift in recent transportation technology has been the development of autonomous vehicles and intelligent cars. The Bosch group estimates that more than half of all cars first registered in 2017 came with at least one advanced driver assistance system (ADAS). Examples include rear collision warnings, parking assist, emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, and lane keeping assist. The deployment of ADAS in vehicles is expected to continue to grow over the next 10 years. This project aims to produce workforce-ready ADAS technicians for the automotive industry by adding instruction on ADAS systems and diagnosis to the College’s automotive technology associate degree program and developing an ADAS technician certificate. This project, backed by industry and academia, will be designed to educate graduates who are skilled in ADAS methodologies and, thus, fill a gap in the modern automotive workforce. As a result, it will contribute to the national need for a highly capable advanced technological workforce.This project intends to improve student learning in science and engineering technician education by: 1) developing up-to-date ADAS-intelligent vehicle course content; 2) implementing an ADAS technical certificate program tied to a relevant industry credential that was developed in partnership with national automotive credentialing organizations; 3) acquiring autonomous vehicle simulation and ADAS lab training equipment; and 4) obtaining hands-on ADAS vehicle diagnostic trainers and autonomous vehicle mini-labs. These curricular improvements and new equipment will enable students to learn fundamentals of ADAS systems and diagnosis including sensor technology such as Light Imaging, Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), wireless systems, radar units, ultrasonic transmitters, and steering angle sensors, as well as to use the same equipment that they will use in industry settings, including ADAS camera alignment fixtures with scan tools. Project impact and success will be evaluated through performance-based techniques, using a mixed methods quasi-experimental design to analyze qualitative and quantitative data about project components. This information will be used for ongoing project improvement. Materials and learning objects developed by the project will be disseminated via the Center for Automotive Technology, the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization, the Florida College System, Advanced Technological Education Central, and other channels. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.