Preparing Students for Technical Careers in Autonomous Technologies for Commercial Trucks and Off-Highway Vehicles

为了提高安全性和降低成本，自动驾驶技术在商用卡车车队和非公路车辆中迅速发展。自动驾驶技术需要多种设备，包括雷达、激光雷达、视频摄像系统、通信系统和差分全球定位系统。卡车服务技术人员需要接受培训，以排除故障，诊断，维修和校准这些设备和车辆控制系统。然而，技术人员培训计划并没有跟上新技术的步伐，也没有跟上对拥有这些技能的技术人员日益增长的需求。为了满足这些需求，该项目将为柴油和卡车技术人员培训项目的讲师提供培训讲习班。这些研讨会将帮助教师加强他们的培训计划，包括维护车辆自动驾驶技术所需的知识、技能和能力。该项目由明尼苏达州交通卓越中心牵头，该中心是一个拥有交通项目的公立高等院校联盟。该项目将为联盟成员提供共享使用自动驾驶技术车辆的机会。这些车辆将用于新的培训项目和外联活动。该项目旨在帮助学生为这个不断发展的领域的技术职业做好准备，这需要新的技能和对汽车自动驾驶技术的理解。明尼苏达州交通卓越中心是交通自动化技术的资源中心，为中学和大专教育工作者提供课程资源和主题专家。该项目的目标是提高卡车服务技术人员对自动驾驶技术的认识，从而满足对有能力维护和维修这些技术的合格、知识渊博的技术人员日益增长的需求。为此，该项目将：(1)培养中学生、过渡工人和退伍军人对自主技术的职业机会和进步的认识；(2)通过教育工作者的专业发展和课程开发来加强现有的技术人员计划；(3)通过共享资源支持技术人员培训社区，其中包括一组配备最新自动驾驶技术的车辆。利用教师和学生调查、焦点小组和访谈，该项目将评估职业意识活动对学生的影响、专业发展讲习班对教师的影响以及新培训设备对学生和教师的影响。项目成果将通过国家会议和与运输有关的专业协会传播。在这个项目中开发的教育资源将通过中心的网站向公众开放。该项目由先进技术教育计划资助，该计划侧重于为推动国家经济的先进技术领域培养技术人员。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

To increase safety and reduce costs, autonomous technologies are rapidly growing in commercial trucking fleets and off-highway vehicles. Autonomous technologies require a variety of devices, including radar, lidar, video camera systems, communication systems, and differential global positioning systems. Truck service technicians need to be trained to troubleshoot, diagnose, repair, and calibrate these devices and vehicle control systems. However, technician training programs have not kept pace with the new technologies or the increasing demand for technicians with these skills. To address these needs, this project will offer training workshops for instructors in diesel and truck technician training programs. These workshops will help instructors enhance their training programs to include the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for maintaining autonomous technologies in vehicles. The project is led by the Minnesota State Transportation Center of Excellence, a consortium of public post-secondary colleges with transportation programs. The project will provide consortium members with shared access to vehicles with autonomous technologies. These vehicles will be used for the new training programs, as well as outreach. This project intends to prepare students for technical careers in a growing field that requires new skills and understanding of autonomous technologies for vehicles.The Minnesota State Transportation Center of Excellence serves as a resource hub for autonomous technologies in transportation, providing curriculum resources and subject matter experts for secondary and post-secondary educators. The goal of this project is to advance the knowledge of autonomous technologies in truck service technician programs and, thus, address the growing need for qualified, knowledgeable technicians with the ability to maintain and repair these technologies. To do so, the project will: (1) develop awareness of career opportunities and advances in autonomous technologies for secondary students, transitional workers, and veterans; (2) enhance existing technician programs through professional development for educators and curriculum development; and (3) support the technician training community with shared resources that will include a set of vehicles equipped with the latest autonomous technologies. Using faculty and student surveys, focus groups, and interviews, the project will assess the impact of career awareness activities on students, the impact of the professional development workshops on faculty, and the impact of the new training equipment on students and faculty. The project outcomes will be disseminated through national conferences and professional transportation-related associations. Educational resources developed during this project will be made available to the public through the center’s website. 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.