Autonomous Vehicle Dynamics and Control (Taught)

The global market for drones and autonomous aerial vehicles is rapidly growing. With a rise in applications for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), the defence and aerospace industries seek graduates conversant in key aspects of autonomy including: dynamics and control, guidance and navigation, decision making, sensor fusion, data and information fusion, communication and networking.

Students on the MSc in Autonomous Vehicle Dynamics and Control benefit from a distinct educational experience and unique facilities, including our drone laboratory, allowing you to gain hands-on experience in the development of the autonomous flight systems and technologies of tomorrow. The course content has been designed based on advice and industry insights from our Industrial Advisory Board, comprising industrial representatives from big primes to small- and medium-sized enterprises, and is accredited by the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) on behalf of the Engineering Council as meeting the requirements for Further Learning for registration as a Chartered Engineer.

Who is it for?
This course provides graduates from a range of disciplines with the advanced skills that can be applied to the security, defence, marine, environmental and aerospace industries. Typically, students have academic backgrounds in engineering, science, physics or applied mathematics and have a keen interest in aerospace and autonomous aerial vehicles.

Why this course?
This course is unique in that it offers a combination of subjects much sought after in the autonomous vehicle industry. Successful graduates of our MSc course become conversant in key aspects of autonomy which places them at an advantage in today's competitive employment market.

The Autonomous Vehicle Dynamics and Control MSc includes eight taught compulsory modules, which are generally delivered from October to March. The course begins with the fundamentals of autonomous vehicle dynamics and control, and progresses to the core subjects of guidance and navigation, sensor fusion, advanced control, decision making, AI for autonomous systems.

The taught segment of the course is followed by individual research projects (IRPs) and the topic of each of the IRPs is provided by one of the member of the Industrial Advisory Board. The real-world relevance of the IRP topics is another unique feature of the MSc course and can be another effective differentiator in the job market.

A key feature of the MSc is the inclusion of a CAA approved UAV remote pilot competence course. The course incorporates a ground school element for flight planning – covering principles of flight, rules and regulations of the air, using aviation charts, risk assessment and meteorology – and flight training to provide basic pilot competence, including how to respond in an emergency and being able to operate safety features. Successful completion of the course allows students to fly small UAV’s in the Open Category.