This Nanodegree program is an advanced specialized program in aerial vehicles—transformational technologies that are reshaping our future and driving amazing new innovations. If you are interested in developing the skills to build an autonomous aircraft system, and excited by the opportunity to port your code to real drones, this is the perfect way to get started.

Prerequisite

Substantial experience programming in any language

Intermediate-level programming experience in Python or willingness to learn

Intermediate-level programming experience in C++ or willingness to learn (including knowledge of memory allocation, classes, and references)

Basic Linear algebra

Calculus (derivatives and integrals)

Probability and statistics (mean, variance, and probability distributions)

Basic Physics (basic mechanics including knowledge of kinematics, dynamics, and torque)

As a graduate of the world’s first flying car engineering program, you will be prepared for positions pertaining to aerial robotics, autonomy and mobility. Job titles in this industry vary, but include: Unmanned Aircraft Software Engineer, Software and Controls Engineer, Guidance Navigation and Controls (GNC) Engineer, Aerial Roboticist, and more.

Career Focus

With experience architecting sophisticated yet safe autonomous systems, you will also be prepared for jobs far beyond aerial systems, including: Autonomous Driving Engineer, Autopilot Engineer, Robotics Software Engineer, IoT Engineer, and more.

Target Audience

This Nanodegree program is an advanced specialized program in aerial vehicles—transformational technologies that are reshaping our future and driving amazing new innovations. If you are interested in developing the skills to build an autonomous aircraft system, and excited by the opportunity to port your code to real drones, this is the perfect way to get started.

General Curriculum

Student first learn about the basic components of a drone and get familiar with the drone hardware. Then students will familiarize themselves with the Udacity simulator and build the first project: backyard flyer. Then student will learn about planning, generating paths for the drone to navigate to the desired location in 3D space. After that, student will learn about the dynamics of a drone, as well as how to build a robust controller for the drone. In the final part, students will learn about estimation and sensors. Students will learn about 3D EKF and UKF, and build the estimation project to track the position and attitude of a quadrotor moving in three dimensions. In the optional part, students will learn about the fundamentals of fixed wing vehicles, and build the optional project to implement and tune the fixed wing aircraft's autopilot.