24 back on the road and the assumption that all vehicles are alike hamper the learning process today, so too few recalibrations hit the manufacturer’s ideal mark,” Oakes cautions. “The information provided by poorly calibrated car or light trucks will take time to get banished into the dead data universe.” Ensuring there are enough technicians with the skills required to keep the autonomous vehicle fleet roadworthy will require the industry to pay them for their knowledge and provide good working conditions. “Don’t abuse them by keeping them in the bay past 40 hours each week. After all, they are working on vehicles with more modules than the Space Shuttle!” she says. Technicians also need adequate information about the systems they are asked to work on from vehicle OEMs and subsystem suppliers. However, it is not design engineers who typically write ADAS calibration/recalibration directions, but aftermarket technical writing companies hired by the manufacturers, and sometimes this can result in misinterpreted instructions. “Between the manufacturer’s directions and classroom/hands-on training, the well-educated technician can recognise issues such as misnomers and – by consistent learning – will be able to correct them,” Oakes says. Human communications Oakes believes communication between the two worlds of sensor-system technology development and vehicle maintenance could be improved. “They really need to get together because the engineers can explain to the technicians, ‘hey, this is why we are requiring these numbers, and why you don’t just move that stand back and forth for convenience just so you get a passing grade on your scanner’. On the other side, the technicians need to know how the system works and what to expect from the sensors. Having that interaction would really benefit everybody.” Further, maintenance workshops and the technicians working on ADAS-equipped and autonomous vehicles face huge legal liabilities. “When it comes to ADAS calibration/ recalibration and driver safety, there is no cutting corners. That means, for example, that when a vehicle’s tyres require 4/32 in all around, the tread depth must either match or have more meat on the tread, verified beforehand by the technician photographing the tyres,” Oakes says. “I have seen several examples within the past couple of months where an insurance adjuster was trying to convince the technician to perform a calibration/ recalibration on a vehicle that had tread separation on two tyres. Not following the manufacturer’s directions exactly may lead to a court subpoena when a sensor fails to operate properly, and an accident leads to injury or death.” Liability issues relating to autonomous vehicles will only become more critical as autonomy levels get higher and dependence on the technology increases. “It’s going to be interesting how it all plays out, especially in the courts.” December/January 2025 | Uncrewed Systems Technology In conversation | Pam Oakes Pam Oakes grew up in the East side of Detroit and then Florida, passing through the public school system, where she excelled in mathematics and science. A misdiagnosed illness in her late teens forced her to turn down a fully-funded degree scholarship to Florida State University, but she used other scholarships to earn degrees in English, electronic engineering technology and computer programming. A lifelong learner, she has numerous technical certificates and is now studying for a cyber-security degree. While still at school, she took a job on a local newspaper, where she worked following her misdiagnosis, rising from reporter to editor, and fixing fellow journalists’ cars on the side. After 11 years, she found herself wondering why she wasn’t doing the thing she truly loved. “Six months later, I was turning wrenches, and 18 months after that, I started my own shop!” Over the 20 years that she ran the shop, it grew from a one-woman outfit to a business employing 15 people, working on up to 9,600 vehicles per year. Oakes took temporary retirement in 2015, before becoming a consulting automotive technology instructor in areas as varied as diesel mechanics, HVAC, AI/machine learning, ADAS and fleet management, working with both private companies and local government organisations. She has also applied for a patent for an ADAS device. In late 2024, Oakes reopened her consulting business, autoINENG.io, which now provides expertise in ADAS sensor technology for workshops and technicians, along with expert witness testimony and help for clients in “navigating the complexity of automotive safety and technology” on a confidential basis. She regards her father as her mentor. “Even though my great-grandfather gave me my first under-hood lesson when he showed me how to set the choke on our 1969 Plymouth, it’s my dad. I was fortunate to work with him a few years before his retirement. We still talk cars.” Away from work, Oakes enjoys golf, and spending time with her partner (a fellow automotive industry professional) and their dogs – two rescued Great Danes. Pam Oakes
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