Even before the first automobile was invented and while horse-drawn-carriages were still being used, people either drove or paid someone else to drive them around. This way of controlling transportation has satisfied humankind for hundreds of years, but a newly emerging technology has the potential to change everything. Autonomous, or self-driving, vehicles are currently being researched and developed by companies across the world in hopes to revolutionize the way people travel. Though this development will affect everyone in some way, it will heavily impact me since I plan to work in the computer engineering field. I will need to know the specifics of the technology, the most involved companies, the public’s reaction, and the local opportunities. With this information, I will be able to successfully map out my future education and career path in order to benefit the most from this emerging technology.
So, what exactly is an autonomous vehicle? This term can be misleading because many people believe it denotes a car that completely drives and makes choices itself, but this is not entirely true. While the more advanced autonomous vehicles can do this, many of the cars that exist today are considered partially autonomous due to some of their safety and luxury features. This can be easily seen through the five levels of autonomous vehicles defined by the technology news provider New Atlas: Level Zero, which requires user control at all times; Level One, which has features like parking assist and adaptive cruise control that take control of either the wheel or pedals to aid the user; Level Two, which has features that can control both the wheel and pedals simultaneously while the user still has ultimate control; Level Three, which can take over both the steering and acceleration without user input, but he or she must be ready to resume control if requested by the car; Level Four; which is very similar to Level Three, except if the user fails to take control when told, the car can park itself and wait for further help; Level Five, which does not even require a steering wheel installed in the car because it can function fully on its own (Blain). By these standards, any car that has higher-end safety features like automatic braking or traction control can be considered at least a level one autonomous vehicle, but the future lies in the higher level, more independent cars.
With information such as this, I am better able to understand the different classifications and aspects of autonomous vehicles in order to focus my education on them. For example, I may want to focus on computer engineering in regards to systems that mimic human driving behavior since the higher level autonomous vehicles completely eliminate the need for a user. I could help create computer systems that enable cars to communicate with one another the same way human drivers do, such as waving another one on at stop signs or flashing headlights to warn passing vehicles of upcoming hazards. Since eliminating drivers will increase demand for devices to replace their actions, I will become a valuable asset to developers since I will be educated and experienced with them. However, this brings up the question: who are the biggest contributors to autonomous car development who need these assets?
There are many contending companies when it comes to autonomous vehicles. Most of the technology industry is supporting the idea because they believe it is one of the next big trends in the consumer market. Corporations like Google, Intel, Tesla, and Uber, which are frequently at the forefront of emerging tech, are heavily involved. As an example, Intel has recently made a large investment by purchasing an established autonomous systems company for about $15 billion. In addition, they are planning to spend $250 million on development in the coming years. With these steps, the company hopes to start putting out finished vehicles by the end of 2017 and to have another 100 on the roads soon after (Hawkins). Google is also making strong leaps forward in developing its sensing and data collection systems. The company has been working on their autonomous vehicle project named Waymo for almost ten years, and as of April 2017, it has been allowing its Phoenix-based consumers to test ride their products with confidence in their performance (Stewart). In addition, Uber, a ride-sharing service that deals in the transportation of people and food, has implemented autonomous cars as part of its services in Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Tempe. It has fleets of fully independent vehicles that are capable of either finding customers and taking them where they wish to go or bringing them food that they ordered (Hawkins.
While high-tech businesses are the leading innovators of autonomous vehicle systems, standard car manufacturers are actually beating out the more tech-savvy firms in production. Companies such as Ford, GM, and BMW hold the top spots for actually building and distributing the vehicles according to Wired, a magazine that studies the effects of emerging technology on society. Even though the more technology-oriented firms are able to make advancements for vehicle parts such as sensors, cameras, data recording devices, etc., the car manufacturers are able to produce more assembled cars due to their pre-existing facilities. But it is not just because of their existing infrastructure that car manufacturers are worthy competitors; they also have the money and desire to advance in this emerging industry. Just recently, Ford spent over $1 billion purchasing a ride-sharing service called Chariot and invested in a company that develops laser scanning for self-driving cars, while GM has made a deal with a similar ride-sharing company named Lyft (“Detroit”). This shows that car manufacturers are not only capable of making and selling autonomous vehicles but also have the desire and funding to do so.
Because these large automotive and technology businesses are becoming more focused on developing self-driving cars, the salary that they are willing to pay computer engineers to work on them is much more than the industry average. One company that strongly exemplifies this behavior is Google. In 2017, Google was paying its head computer engineers working on its autonomous car project $283,000 a year (Ohnsman). However, the average annual wage for this occupation in California, home of Silicon Valley and many technology businesses, was only $136,000 a year in 2016 (“17-2061 Computer”). A difference of $147,000 a year is rather large and proves that autonomous vehicles are causing computer engineers to become more desirable, thus resulting in supporting companies paying them much larger salaries than the national average.
Knowing which companies have strong footholds in the autonomous car industry and are willing to pay engineers more to work on them is key in my future career choices. It will allow me to make good decisions when applying for jobs once I graduate from college and have chosen to work with this type of technology. For example, if I decide I want to go the route of working for a technology-based business, I know that my best chances are with firms such as Intel or Google since they have both been actively working on autonomous vehicle projects, the latter of the two has demonstrated a rapidly increasing salary for its computer engineers. I would stay away from companies such a Dell or Hewlett Packard since they primarily deal with personal computers and did not appear at all during my research of autonomous cars. Similarly, if I decide that I want to work for an automotive firm, I know to look for openings at Ford or GM who have been leading the production of self-driving cars and not ones at Toyota or Chevy who have taken the backseat with this developing technology. However, producers and manufacturers are just one side of the autonomous vehicle industry.
Even with companies increasing their support of autonomous cars, how can one know whether this development is going to be accepted by the public with the same enthusiasm? Tesla, a car manufacturer that specializes in electric powered cars and has recently devoted much of its focus to autonomous vehicle development, announced its first large-scale, semi-autonomous vehicle release in early 2017. When they did, close to 500,000 people were interested enough to make a $1,000 preorder. The car that they announced was the Model 3, a fully electric, Level Three autonomous vehicle that the company hopes to start producing by the end of 2017 (“Tesla’s Model 3”). The number of preorders may not seem very impressive to some, but it was a huge sign to Tesla and the other autonomous vehicle producers of their hopeful future. It showed that even without working models of the car or a guarantee that it would even be successful, half a million people were willing to support the idea of semi-autonomous vehicles enough to invest $1,000 into the idea.
In addition to this large, public display of support, I wanted to find out what someone who has past experience in the technology field thinks about the future of autonomous vehicles. As a result, I questioned my IST professor Michael Bixler who has worked in the IT field for twenty years and is currently a Network/Transport Specialist IV with FirstEnergy Corporation. To begin, I asked him how long it will be until self-driving cars will be a regular occurrence on public roadways. Even though the first models are currently emerging, he does not think that they will be fully perfected and widely used for at least another thirty years. However, he does believe that they will be very popular one day, meaning that the years leading up to their mass-implementation will require many people to develop them. Next, I asked him if this emerging technology will have any positive impact on the computer engineering industry. He said that in his eyes, computer engineers will be one of the most sought-after careers in the United States due to all appliances becoming connected and technology-integrated in the coming years, specifically self-driving cars which are going to need much development before they are implemented large-scale. Finally, I asked him what he believes the biggest obstacles of the self-driving car are. In response, he said that their ability to make decisions in life-or-death situations will be the technology’s largest challenge since it will be very difficult to program a machine to choose whether to hit a pedestrian crossing a street or swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid them. However, he says that this will eventually be solved by complex algorithms that take all lives into consideration and make decisions based on the seriousness of every possible outcome. All in all, Professor Bixler understands the difficulties with autonomous vehicles, but he believes that they will eventually be released and readily used by the public which will result in a greater need for computer engineers (Bixler).
Proof of consumer and societal support for autonomous vehicles is huge in terms of my future career path. Why would someone want to enter a field of work that has no backing by the public and is likely to fade into non-existence within a few years? In my case, I would not want to attend school for years to study a technology that ends up being a failure and results in me being jobless. A large number of preorders for Tesla’s Model 3, however, demonstrates that there is a strong community willing to accept and support the newly developing autonomous car industry. Also, the insight from Professor Bixler that autonomous vehicles will one day be massively used by the public and create computer engineering jobs gives me solid information that this technology is readily emerging and has much potential. From this, I am able to make educational and career path plans that include autonomous vehicles since I know it has bright future and strong consumer support. But even with this clear support, what is being done locally to support the autonomous vehicle industry?
With the exception of Uber being in Pittsburgh, most of these large corporations are based in places far from Pennsylvania such as Silicon Valley, Detroit, and Phoenix. However, there are still small businesses and research facilities at a more local level contributing to autonomous vehicle development. Argo AI is a strong example of our community’s efforts to support the emerging technology. Based in Pittsburgh, this company was started by students from Carnegie Mellon University and workers from the National Robotics Engineering Center. This is not just a small company that will be overlooked by the autonomous vehicle industry, but one that is being supported by major corporations in it. Ford is planning to invest close to $1 billion dollars into Argo AI over the next few years so that it can create a better self-driving system for its planned 2021 autonomous vehicle release (Spice).
Along with companies like Argo AI, there are also research opportunities and informational meetings taking place locally to support autonomous vehicles, such as the Pennsylvania Automated Vehicle Summit that was held for the first time in State College. This convention occurred on September 11th and 12th of 2017 and had industry professionals present to answer attendants’ questions. In addition, participants got to test ride in some of Uber’s and Carnegie Mellon’s self-driving cars at the LTI test track, one of the ten sites that the federal government approved for autonomous vehicle testing. Lastly, Penn State students, along with the professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering Sean Brennan, demonstrated their research on fuel economy estimation for autonomous cars in addition to a “highway driving simulator to measure risk acceptance.” According to the convention attendees, the driving simulator from Penn State was one of the best events at the convention (Laud). This positive feedback about Penn State’s presentations shows that successful research for autonomous vehicles is occurring not just in my local community but as close to me as in my own university.
Knowing that research and development opportunities for autonomous vehicles are within such an obtainable reach is integral for my future education and career plans. As I progress through my studies, I will be able to participate in research projects through Penn State, such as the fuel economy and driving simulator ones lead by Sean Brennan, which will help build my knowledge of the developing technology. Also, I will be able to attend conventions similar to the one recently held in State College to experience other people’s expertise and research on autonomous vehicles. From these opportunities, I will allow me to get a head start in contributing to the autonomous vehicle industry and to build my list of accomplishments for future employers to reference even before I fully obtain my degree.
As one can see, the development of autonomous vehicles is becoming very popular and is going to affect the computer engineering field enormously. The popularity of this emerging technology is reflected in the large number of preorders of semi-autonomous vehicles such as Tesla’s Model 3, as well as positive comments from my IST professor Michael Bixler. Technology companies such as Google and Intel are leading innovators for this technology; whereas automotive companies such as Ford and GM are some of the leading producers. Most of these companies are looking to pay computer engineers large salaries to work on their projects since they are becoming desired assets, and while these companies are the biggest contenders in the autonomous vehicle industry, there are others like Argo AI in Pittsburgh and research groups such as the students here at Penn State that are strong local supporters of the developing technology. With this amount of knowledge on autonomous vehicles and its public acceptance, I can make a solid career plan to finish my computer engineering degree at Penn State while participating in autonomous vehicle research opportunities, applying to companies that have made their name known in the industry, and attending conventions to expand my horizon on the emerging technology. Autonomous vehicles are coming, and they are going to affect my career path in the most positive way.
Works Cited
Bixler, Michael. Personal interview. 19 Sept. 2017.
Blain, Loz. “Self-Driving Vehicles: What Are the Six Levels of Autonomy?” New Atlas – New Technology & Science News, New Atlas, 8 June 2017.
“17-2061 Computer Hardware Engineers.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 31 Mar. 2017
“Detroit Is Stomping Silicon Valley in the Race to Build Self-Driving Cars.” WIRED. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2017.
Hawkins, Andrew J. “Intel Says It Will Build a Fleet of 100 Fully Autonomous Vehicles.” The Verge. N.p., 9 Aug. 2017. Web. 17 Sept. 2017.
Laub, Danica. “The Road to Reality of Autonomous Vehicles.” Penn State University, 15 Sept. 2017.
Ohnsman, Alan. “Autonomous Car Race Creates $400k Engineering Jobs For Top Silicon Valley Talent.” Forbes. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2017.
Spice, Byron. “A Billion Dollar Idea: CMU Veterans Head Automotive AI Startup.” Carnegie Mellon Today, 13 Feb. 2017.
Stewart, Jack. “You Can Finally Ride in Google’s Self-Driving Car.” Wired, Conde Nast, 2 June 2017.
“Tesla’s Model 3 Is Here, and It’s Much More Than an Electric Car.” WIRED. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2017.