UC Davis’ Autonomous Vehicle Design Course Integrates Sony Spresense
At the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), Senior Development Engineer and instructor Lance Halsted is leading the charge with a two-quarter course, EEC195A/B Autonomous Vehicle Design Project. Here, students aren’t just learning—they’re building, designing, and refining autonomous vehicles from the ground up, with help from innovative technology like Sony’s Spresense microcontroller board.
By combining theoretical insights and practical applications, students will be guided through the development of autonomous vehicles capable of following tracks with speed and precision. Around 70 students, working in teams of 3-4, will engage in labs that explore critical aspects of autonomous vehicle design, including motor control, track detection, and robust system integration.
Expanding Possibilities with Spresense
As the course moves into the spring quarter, students will have the chance to integrate Sony’s Spresense microcontroller board into their projects. This compact, low-power device opens up a world of possibilities for edge AI and advanced sensing. This project extension gives students the freedom to stretch their imaginations by using Spresense to enhance the capabilities of their car, including:
- Stop sign detection: Vehicles can recognize stop signs along the track and halt autonomously.
- Outdoor navigation: By using GPS, students can adapt their designs to navigate outdoor tracks with precision.
Throughout the course, students will roll up their sleeves and create motor control PCBs, integrate the OpenMV Cam for track detection, and design systems for speed optimization- while having the option to experiment with Spresense’s GPS, multi-core processing, and edge AI capabilities. We’re excited to see the projects that will emerge from UC Davis’ talented students.
This partnership is part of the Sensing Solution University Collaboration Program (SSUP) which creates opportunities for universities to collaborate on sensing and edge AI technologies. Through SSUP, we aim to support projects and the people behind them—students and researchers who are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.
Share this article: