Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree Review [Is It Worth It?] [2024]

In this post, I will share Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree Review. If you are planning to enroll in this Nanodegree program, I would suggest you, first, read this Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree Review.

I have shared everything you need to know regarding the Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree Program such as the content and project quality, the positives and drawbacks of the Nanodegree program, and how you can save some money while enrolling in the program.

Now, without further ado, let’s get started-

Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree Review

Let’s start with my personal review summary of Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree.

My Personal Learning Experience in a Summary

Category	My Learning Experience
Positives	✅  I learned key concepts in sensor fusion through a comprehensive curriculum. ✅  The engaging hands-on projects allowed me to apply these concepts to real-world scenarios. ✅ The self-paced coursework provided flexibility, allowing me to manage my learning schedule effectively. ✅  The high-quality video lectures and supplementary materials enhanced my understanding.
Negatives	❌ I found that some advanced sensor fusion techniques were not covered in sufficient depth, which left me wanting more knowledge in those areas. ❌ Interaction with instructors and peers was limited, making it challenging to get immediate support or engage in discussions. ❌ Some course materials required additional external resources to gain a better understanding. ❌ I also encountered occasional technical issues with the online platform during my studies.
Target Audience	This Nanodegree is suitable for both aspiring and current professionals interested in sensor fusion. It is also ideal for beginners without prior experience in the field. Individuals seeking to enhance their perception skills can greatly benefit from the program. However, those looking for more advanced or specialized sensor fusion techniques may find the content limited.
Areas to Improve	– To improve the program, there could be more in-depth coverage of advanced sensor fusion techniques. – Enhancing interaction with instructors and peers would facilitate better learning support and engagement. -More opportunities for collaboration and group work would foster knowledge-sharing and teamwork. – Streamlining course materials to reduce the reliance on external resources would be beneficial. -Introducing additional networking opportunities and industry connections would provide valuable exposure to real-world applications.
Topics Covered	Throughout the Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree program, I learned about a wide range of topics, including sensor technologies and data acquisition, sensor fusion algorithms and filtering methods, Kalman filters, LiDAR and RADAR perception for autonomous vehicles, integration of sensor data for accurate perception, localization, and mapping techniques, object detection and tracking, multi-object tracking and sensor calibration, deep learning techniques for sensor fusion, as well as ethics and safety considerations in sensor fusion applications.
Topics Not Covered	However, the Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree program did not cover advanced deep learning architectures and algorithms, advanced statistical signal processing techniques, sensor hardware design and implementation, hardware-specific optimization techniques, specific applications of sensor fusion in domains other than ADAS, and domain-specific sensor fusion challenges and considerations.
Things to Keep in Mind Before Enrolling	✔️ Manage your time effectively due to the self-paced nature of the coursework. ✔️ Supplement the course materials with additional external resources for better understanding. ✔️ Prepare for a significant time commitment for the successful completion of the projects. ✔️ Take advantage of the online community and discussion forums for support and knowledge sharing.
	Check-> Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree

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Now, let’s see the content and projects of Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree–

How are the Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree Content and Projects?

This Nanodegree program has 4 courses and 4 projects. That means this program covers theory and practical approaches. I have seen various other courses on sensor fusion but most of the courses try to cover the theory part. There are very few courses that cover practical learning. And this Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree is one of them.

In this Nanodegree program, each course is divided into lessons and after completing one course, there is one project which you have to complete. This project helps to understand the concepts covered in the previous course.

These are the 4 courses-

1. Lidar
2. Radar
3. Camera
4. Kalman Filters

Now, let’s see what you will learn in each course.

Course 1- Lidar

Lidar is also known as light detection and ranging. Lidar is used in many industries, such as automotive, infrastructure, robotics, trucking, UAV/drones, industrial, mapping, etc.

So, this course tries to clear the concepts of Lidar. You will learn Lidar data representation, how to work with a simulator to create PCD, and how to visualize Lidar data.

The instructor also explains, how to use Point Cloud Segmentation to segment point clouds and the RANSAC algorithm for planar model fitting.

Next, you will learn how to use PCL to cluster obstacles, a KD-Tree to store point cloud data, and how to apply bounding boxes around clusters.

In the last lesson, you will learn how to work with real self-driving car PCD(Point Cloud Data) data, how to filter PCD data, and how to apply point cloud processing to detect obstacles.

After this course, there is one project, which you have to finish.

Project 1- Lidar Obstacle Detection

In this project, you have to filter, segment, and cluster real-point cloud data to detect obstacles in a driving environment.

In the workspace, everything is preinstalled. Following versions, you have to use throughout the project-

• Ubuntu 16.04
• PCL – v1.7.2
• C++ v11
• gcc v5.5

This project requires previous knowledge of C++. If you don’t have C++ knowledge, I would not suggest enrolling in this Nanodegree program.

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After completing this project, there is the next course-

Course 2- Radar

Radar is also known as Radio Detection And Ranging. Radar is used in weather forecasts, resource surveys, traffic control, etc.

And this course will cover everything related to Radar such as how to handle real radar data, how to calculate object headings and velocities, and how to determine the appropriate sensor specifications for a task.

Next, you will learn how to correct radar data to account for radial velocity, how to filter noise from real radar sensors, and how to predict the location of occluded objects.

This course has one project, which you have to complete-

Project 2- Radar Obstacle Detection

In this project, you have to use the concepts learned in the Radar course and calibrate, threshold, and filter radar data to detect obstacles in real radar data.

Udacity provides a technical mentor support feature. That means you can ask any doubts related to projects with your mentor. This feature is very helpful for completing projects.

After this project, there is the next course-

Course 3- Camera

This is an in-depth course, where you will understand the SAE levels of autonomy, compare typical autonomous vehicle sensor sets including Tesla, Uber, and Mercedes, and compare camera, lidar, and radar using a set of industry-grade performance criteria.

Next, you will learn how light forms digital images and which properties of the camera (e.g. aperture, focal length) affect this formation, how to manipulate images using the OpenCV computer vision library, and how to design a collision detection system based on motion models, lidar, and camera measurements.

After that, the instructor explains Feature Tracking and how to match features between images to track objects over time using state-of-the-art binary descriptors.

At the end of this course, you will learn how to project 3D lidar points into a camera sensor, how to use deep learning to detect vehicles (and other objects) in camera images, and how to create a three-dimensional object from lidar and camera data.

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After this course, there is one project, which you have to complete-

Project 3- Camera & Lidar Fusion

In this project, you have to detect and track objects in 3D space from the benchmark KITTI dataset based on camera and lidar measurements. After that, you have to compute time-to-collision based on both sensors and compare the results.

In the end, you will identify the best combination of key point detectors and descriptors for object tracking.

For this project, you should have previous knowledge of linear algebra, calculus, and probability.

After this project, there is the next and last course-

Course 4- Kalman Filters

This is the last course of the Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree. In this course, you will learn about Kalman filters and how to construct Kalman filters, how to merge data from multiple sources, how to improve tracking accuracy, and how to reduce sensor noise.

Next, you will learn how to build a Kalman Filter in C++, how to handle both radar and lidar data, and how to construct Jacobian matrices to support EKFs(Extended Kalman Filters).

In the end, you will learn Unscented Kalman Filters and how to construct an unscented Kalman filter to accurately track non-linear motion.

After this course, the last project of Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree is-

Project 4- Unscented Kalman Filters Project

In this project, you have to utilize an Unscented Kalman Filter to estimate the state of a moving object of interest with noisy lidar and radar measurements. 

To pass this project, you have to obtain RMSE values that are lower that the tolerance outlined in the project rubric. The program main.cpp has already been filled out, but you can feel free to modify it.

So, these are the 4 courses and 4 projects of Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree.

If you ask me how was the content and projects of Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree, I would say it was worth it. The course content was well-structured and advanced. The instructors of the Nanodegree program explained each concept visually and easily.

The projects covered in this Nanodegree Program were based on real-world problems. And these projects will be helpful to your resume.

Now, the next most important point you must clear before enrolling in Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree is the Prerequisites.

Who Should Enroll in Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree?

This Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree is not for beginners. To excel in this Nanodegree program, you should have previous knowledge of any object-oriented programming language, preferably C++, probability, calculus, linear algebra, and basic Linux command lines.

When you enroll in the Nanodegree Program, you will get elective courses too. And in these elective courses, you can learn these topics. But it’s better to have previous knowledge of these concepts.

Now, let’s see how are the instructors of this Nanodegree Program-

Are Instructors Experienced?

• David Silver– David was a research engineer on the autonomous vehicle team at Ford.
• Stephen Welch– Stephen is a content developer at Udacity and has worked on the C++ and Self-Driving Car Engineer Nanodegree programs.
• Andreas Haja– Andreas Haja is an engineer, educator, and autonomous vehicle enthusiast with a Ph.D. in computer science.
• Abdullah Zaidi– Abdullah joined Metawave, where he now leads radar development for autonomous driving.
• Aaron Brown– He is working with Mercedes-Benz research & development as a senior autonomous vehicle software engineer.

As you saw, all instructors are experienced and knowledgeable. And learning from such instructors is amazing and helpful. That is the reason I love Udacity.

Now, let’s see the price and duration of the Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree.

How Much Time and Money do You have to Spend on Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree?

According to Udacity, the Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree program will take 4 months to complete if you spend 10 hours per week. And for 4 months they cost around $1199. But Udacity offers two options- One is either pay the complete amount upfront or you can pay monthly installments of $399/month.

I know Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree is expensive compared to other MOOCs. That’s why I would like to share some methods to save some money.

How to get a Discount on Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree?

Most of the time, Udacity offers some discounts. When they offer a discount, it appears something like that-

Visit the Nanodegree Page.

As you can see Udacity is offering a “Personalized Discount”.

So, you click on the “Personalized Discount” option. And you will be redirected to the next page where Udacity will ask you to answer two questions.

Answer these questions from the drop-down list. And you will get a 70% off on Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree.

They will provide a unique coupon code. You have to copy this code and paste it at the time of payment. And that’s all, you have to do to get a discount.

Now, I would like to mention What did I like about Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree and what I didn’t like.

What did I like about Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree?

• The projects are clear and concise in their explanation and the mentors are quick to respond to queries.
• The explanation of instructors is easy to understand.
• The exercises are really challenging and useful. 
• The development of code with access to solutions is useful and the way to build up the project is also good.
• The balance between the program’s content and the time for completion (4 months) is ideal and realistic for someone who works full-time 5 days a week.
• Nice mix of video lessons and transcripts which is helpful.
• Projects can be used as portfolio pieces.
• The content is of high quality and cannot find it on other platforms.
• Covering all necessary Lidar details for a software developer with the best data to work on.
• Their technical mentor support feature is amazing. Throughout the Nanodegree program, you can ask your mentor and he clears your doubts.

What I didn’t like about Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree?

• The Udacity Nanodegree program is expensive compared to other MOOCs platforms.
• After completing the Nanodegree program, you can’t access the course material. Maybe Udacity does this to avoid misuse.
• Udacity doesn’t have any IOS and android apps. So, you can’t study on your smartphones and outside the house.

Now, after covering all essential points related to Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree, it’s time to answer the-

Is Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree Worth It?

Yes, Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree is worth it for those who are interested in becoming a Sensor Fusion Engineer. The lessons correspond to the projects very well and the projects are really well done. The Projects can be used in a portfolio and the skills learn is definitely useful in the field.

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Now it’s time to wrap up this Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree Review.

Conclusion

I hope this Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree Review helped you to decide whether to enroll in this program or not.

If you found this Udacity Sensor Fusion Nanodegree Review helpful, you can share it with others. And if you have any doubts or questions, feel free to ask me in the comment section.

All the Best!

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