In August, Minnesota high school students spent a week learning about connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) at the fourth annual CAV Career Pathways Camp.
The free program gives rising 10th–12th graders a complete overview of CAV technology and careers in related industries through classroom sessions, field trips, and hands-on opportunities with vehicles.
In this year’s classroom sessions, 20 campers got a comprehensive introduction to current and future CAV technology from The PLUM Catalyst. They designed their own drone companies in a session from Northland Community and Technical College and brainstormed ways that CAV technology could help address community challenges in a planning session led by HDR. U of M grad student Robert Hairston also stopped by throughout the week to lead students through activities with programmable robots.
Other highlights included:
- Taking a tour of SICK Sensor Intelligence, a sensor manufacturing facility in Bloomington, to learn about the industrial applications of sensors and robotics.
- Visiting Accelerated Vehicle Technology in Bloomington, where students got a behind-the-scenes glimpse at how experts repair and calibrate advanced driver-assistance systems, a critical feature of CAVs.
- Spending a day at MnROAD, a test track and research facility operated by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), to see live demos of CAV technology. Students got a firsthand look at MnDOT's Road Doctor survey van, truck-mounted attenuator, and a snowplow with lane boundary guidance technology—and took a ride in the MnCAV Ecosystem's automated vehicle.
- Talking with representatives from Bolton & Menk, Hennepin County, Ramsey County, the Minnesota DNR, and MnDOT during a transportation career fair.
