Anyone here working on autonomous and/or electric cars?

It's a long story; I believe around August, 2019, I will be on the job hunt again.  I would like to hit that ground running by having something lined up in areas that I feel are going to become more and more important to the public at large.  Are there folks here on this forum that are working in either areas mentioned in the topic or similar?  I'm an avionics engineer that would like a shot at doing something more valuable to the world than what I do currently while still working in the world of transportation.  

I'm happy to expand on any of the above if it helps me find something I can be really excited about again.  I also want to express my appreciation for this forum, again, as I think there's a lot of great folks here.

I do hope you meant Aug 2018

I don't work directly, but, of course, work in the field.  Besides any OEM, there are a number of subcontractor, or sub owned companies that are doing a huge amount of for on autonomous vehicles.  

As for just EV's- that's mostly in OEMs.

And for those, I'd go to (OEM).com and find the connection to careers.  In those, you should be able to search terms for what you are looking for.

My car slipped out of gear and rolled two blocks once...does that count?  

In reply to alfadriver :

I meant Aug 2019.  Changed in post.

I wasn't sure if it was best to bother you again, as we've communicated a while back offline about careers, but this seemed a bit different from what I believe you are still doing.  I'm wondering if there are engineering and/or test facilities in the mid-Atlantic or new England area that might be good for me to look into.  I guess I'm a bit curious how viable this path would be for me to take and what's out there.

pres589 said:

In reply to alfadriver :

I meant Aug 2019.  Changed in post.

I wasn't sure if it was best to bother you again, as we've communicated a while back offline about careers, but this seemed a bit different from what I believe you are still doing.  I'm wondering if there are engineering and/or test facilities in the mid-Atlantic or new England area that might be good for me to look into.  I guess I'm a bit curious how viable this path would be for me to take and what's out there.

It's possible.  One of our big sub contracting companies is in Pittsburg.  https://www.argo.ai/

I'd be willing to bet there is more than one in Boston, thanks to MIT.

As for viability- while I don't subscribe to the idea that autonomous vehicles is going to massively reduce car ownership, I do think that more and more cars will be autonomous in the future.  So, long term, I'm pretty confident in that segment of the industry.  

I've wondered about robotic ride-share taxi services, basically, replacing car ownership for a lot of people.  I know I would love it if, five days a week, I can just sit in a car that drives itself at peak efficiency for given road conditions while I read a magazine or use my phone, etc.

My hope is that at the intersection of improved autonomy, public acceptance, and continued improvement of electric & hybrid cars, fuel efficiency will be increased dramatically.  Having an electric car, for example, that shows up at my door a few minutes before I leave, takes me where I want to go, and then returns to a "base" where it's charged when it's most ecologically sound (say, from wind power during the day when wind power is most available) sounds like some awesome Jetson's action that I would be proud to be a part of helping to bring to the public.

In reply to pres589 :

Here's the thing- everyone goes to and from work at the same time.  So the nation will still need many many millions of cars, all moving at the same time, to take people to and from work.  Given the success of carpooling, that's not going to happen, and given the relative popularity of mass transit, that's only useful in a few places.  

So I don't think that it's realistic that taxis are going to expand by many MANY millions of cars to compensate for that.  If it were a realistic option, people would be doing it in MUCH higher numbers now.

For a lot of people, they wouldn't need to own a car anymore, if this were available.  I'm not saying this is the solution, I'm saying this is the kind of thing that would be possible that I think makes sense.  You don't have the hunk of metal and plastic in your driveway anymore because most of the time it isn't needed.  The costs should be lower, you just pay into the thing, like fractional ownership of an airplane or shared bicycles in a city that you pay a nominal fee to use.

You're getting hung up on details that aren't really important to my question, which is; how do I get into a green energy role in the transportation side of tech given my experience and education.  Education is a challenge as I don't have a typical engineering degree and getting a P.E. would be an extremely challenging thing to do at this point.  Projects like wind turbines or power plants are not really viable for me unless I wanted to work on a Master's.

So who would own all of those cars that are still only used twice a day to commute with?

I know it's an odd tangent, but I think it really means that the audience who will buy autonomous cars is a lot bigger than most like to think.  It's going to just enhance the fleet of cars being sold instead of replacing them.  Also- based on the enhance model, the tech can be easier to phase in.  Just setting standards that the industry can use so that a lot of this communication can even happen is a HUGE deal. 

BTW, back 25 years ago, I did work on projects that got key enablers from the aviation industry.  So your experience can be very useful.

The ownership could come in different forms.  Citi Bike is apparently private.  This is basically that, but the bike can come straight to you, without a driver.  Maybe you own the car and this shared setup isn't for everyone.  I mean, if I drive to work five days a week (which is what I currently do, and it's always been some flavor of that) maybe I just own the car because I will need it most every day.  But for folks that don't need or want to own the car because they don't have the need or it doesn't make sense for their specific situation, they request it from "the base" where the owner keeps and maintains a fleet of these things.   

Sort of like how an Uber or Lyft driver comes to your location, only now we don't need the driver.  Uber is working on that, and has been for a bit of time, only Uber doesn't seem to really want to own anything physical like a fleet of cars and pay taxes and insurance.  So I'm not sure how this works.  My goal is not to put drivers out of work but it seems somewhat inevitable.  My goal is to help make it possible for huge improvements in efficiency and mobility.  It's my honest belief that a fuel efficient vehicle, driven by a computer, is going to be more efficient and safe than the same vehicle being controlled by a person.  And for the times when I don't really want to be driving, like my commute, I'm fine to let the machine do it while I do other things.  I could see my garage having a motorcycle with only an IC propulsion source sharing space with such a vehicle in, say, ten years.  Maybe less.

Anyone here on this forum working on anything like what I'm describing?

In reply to pres589 :

there's a lot of FE benefit potential with not even requiring full autonomous operation.  

alfadriver said:

In reply to pres589 :

there's a lot of FE benefit potential with not even requiring full autonomous operation.  

No disagreement.  I'm interested in autonomous operation, hybrid and/or electrification, or both.  I'm trying to keep options open and explore what feels like a real interest of mine at a time when I could prepare myself for opportunities.

While some are working on the autonomous side of automotive technology, others of us are still trying to make sure that the wheeled contrivances invented in the 18th century that operate on rails make it from one point to another...with an engineer still in charge.  In other words, trains.  And if you're looking for opportunities in transportation in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions, would you enjoy playing with 4400 horsepower, 125 mph diesel-electric toys?  

On the educational side, I know of more than a couple of people involved on the technical side of our industry whose experience is best described as "hard knocks".  So a BSME isn't necessarily required.  Lots of previous experience in the miitary/ aviation is common.

In reply to volvoclearinghouse :

Trains could be great from an engineering standpoint.  Am I understanding properly that you're in this sort of work?

I've got a BS in Automotive Technology and a BS in Electrical Engineering in Technology.  I'd like to not have to go back for another degree at this point, but, I'm in a college town where the school has an engineering department and could work on something if it really makes sense and would help me get some traction.  All of my industry time is in low-power, sensors and communications gear, basically.  Trains are a whole lot of power vs. sat. comm. systems, for instance...

In reply to pres589 :

Yup.  Mass transit systems- I've done most kinds- light rail, subway, commuter rail.  Did some work on buses, too (hybrid drivetrains and brakes and stuff).  The industry (particularly the passenger side) is evolving and while main power systems are still crucial there's a whole lot more system integration and computer controls and the like involved.  You may have read some stuff about Positive Train Control (PTC) in the news (usually following a crash).  So that's big right now- and a lot of that isn't even equipment that's going on the trains (though there is plenty of that) as it is wayside communications.  

In my field there are a few major consulting firm players and they may be good places to start looking, with your experience.  PM me if you like and I can drop a few names of places to check out.  They usually have listings of openings on their websites.  

Thank-you for the info.  Note that my August 2019 thing is unlikely to change.  Current openings are still good to read to gain knowledge of what's out there and what kind of background/education/etc is valued.

Understood.  Glad to help.  I think with your background there should be jobs available when and if you decide to make the move.  

Giving this a Thursday Bump to see if others have input.  

Thx, pres589

In reply to pres589 :

I live and work in Silicon Valley. There is a lot going with autonomous and electric vehicles here. The major German OEMS, VW, BMW and Benz all have research centers here working on one or both. GM and Ford are both have R&D offices here as well. The Asian OEM's have  work happening too, but there are far less public about it. Obviously there is Tesla who is trying to lead in both.  Nvidia is betting big on automotive for its long-term growth. Artificial Intelligence for autonomous vehicles is one of the centerpieces. 

Are you a member of SAE? If so, you might see if you can get member information for San Francisco Bay area.  You could potentially use that as a channel to connect with people at the companies mentioned above. Linked In is another way to find people you are looking for. I have one contact in autonomous vehicles at one of the companies above.  We can talk off-line if you would like. 

As someone mentioned, there is work going on in Pittsburgh as well. Uber has teamed-up with Carnegie-Mellon to do R&D. The university has AI research and Pittsburgh is good place to test solutions to the conditions in which autonomous vehicles do poorly now, operate in crappy weather(cloudy, rain, snow, sleet, ice) and function in narrow congested city centers.

I have not had any involvement with SAE since about 2001 and at that time it was through a university chapter for students.  I did think of using LinkedIn for this.  I'm feeling distinctly more East Coast than West.   

I am not advocating moving west. Nor-Cal is definitely not for everyone. I am just sharing what I know work being done in electric and autonomous vehicles near me. 

Regarding LinkedIn, the majority of degreed professionals in the bay area have a LinkedIn profile. If you can get good using the search function, you can start finding people doing the work you are thinking about and  perhaps start building relationships. I am guessing most of the companies that you would be interested in have a global presence and being in California would not be required. 

Agreed and understood on all points.  I appreciate all of the good input I have received thus far.  Sent a PM as well.

Remember at the end of Pulp Fiction, where Samuel A. Jackson says he's in a "transitional period"?  That's sort of where I'm at, only with less gun violence, basically.