The Certified Autonomous Systems Professional (CAUP) is a beginner, vendor-neutral certification for the people building and working with autonomous systems. It validates that you understand autonomy foundations and where it fits, can work with perception and sensing, can handle localization and mapping, can plan paths and navigate, can make decisions and control motion, and can test and operate autonomous systems safely and ethically. The exam is computer adaptive and performance-based, and the credential is kept current through continuing education.
| Level | Beginner. An entry credential: it establishes solid autonomous-systems fundamentals and assumes some hands-on exposure to robotics, automation or software. |
|---|---|
| Delivery model | Computer adaptive, three stages. Your score on each stage selects the difficulty of the next, so no two candidates sit the same paper. |
| Format | 60 questions. A performance-based exam that includes performance-based questions and multiple-choice questions. Concepts transfer across every autonomous platform. |
| Time | 90 minutes for the whole exam, timed. Autosaves every answer. |
| Scoring | You need a score of 700 out of 900 to pass. Results are reported on a scale of 100 to 900, and 700 corresponds to answering 72% of the exam correctly. Harder questions carry more weight, so a score means the same thing on any route. Multiple-response items and PBQs are all or nothing. |
| Retakes | No waiting period after a failed first attempt. Every attempt is paid for at the exam price. See the CertLabz Certification Retake Policy. |
| Voucher validity | 12 months from purchase, for one sitting. |
| Certification validity | 3 years. Renew with 35 CEUs per cycle and the $25 annual CE fee, or pass the current exam. Renewal details. |
| Language | English. |
| Credential | PDF certificate with QR code, public verification page, LinkedIn-ready credential ID. Issuer: CertLabz Certification Board. |
| Free resources | The exam objectives PDF and the ten sample questions PDF. |
| Workforce mapping | NICE Framework work roles: Systems Testing and Evaluation (DD-WRL-007). O*NET occupations: Robotics Engineers (17-2199.08), Computer and Information Research Scientists (15-1221.00). Self-declared by CertLabz, not reviewed by NIST or CISA. See the full mapping. |
A signed, verifiable:
The CAUP is a performance-based exam: it includes performance-based questions alongside multiple-choice questions. Instead of only picking A, B, C or D, you match sensors to their use, order a sense plan act task, fix a perception or planning problem, and choose the right approach. It is computer adaptive, is proctored and timed, needs no mandatory course, and tests autonomous systems judgement rather than reciting one product's menus.
What autonomy is, levels of autonomy, system architecture and sense plan act.
Cameras, lidar and radar, sensor fusion, localization, SLAM and pose estimation.
Global and local planning, obstacle avoidance, behavior planning and motion control.
Safety cases, fail-safe design, simulation testing, validation, ethics and regulations.
Autonomous systems are moving into robotics, mobility and industry, and skilled autonomous systems engineers are increasingly in demand. Every route is shown here at once, so nothing is hidden behind a control you have to find.
United States pay reported by Glassdoor, checked September 2026. Pay varies by location, employer and experience, and no certification guarantees a salary.
| CertLabz CAUP | Udacity Self-Driving Car Engineer Nanodegree | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Certification exam | Online nanodegree |
| Computer adaptive | Yes | No |
| Hands-on PBQs | Yes | Projects |
| Scope | Autonomous systems, vendor neutral | Self-driving software |
| Vendor neutral | Yes | Vendor neutral |
| Proctored | Yes | No |
| Questions | 80 | Not applicable |
| Time | 120 min | About 6 months |
| Pass mark | 700 of 900 | Project review |
| Course required | No | Yes |
| Exam voucher | $99 | Subscription |
Compiled September 2026 from Udacity program pages. The Udacity nanodegree is a project-based online course rather than a proctored certification exam; the CAUP is a computer adaptive, performance-based, proctored credential for $99. Product names and trademarks belong to their owners; CertLabz is not affiliated. Confirm current details with each provider.
Six reasons this credential is worth your time, and worth an employer's attention.
One price for the exam, set by its level. Bundles add the study guide and hands-on practice at a saving.
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Every form is drawn from a bank of more than 90 items to these exact weights, whichever adaptive route you take. Filter by the area you want to study.
The exam runs in three stages. Your score on each stage selects the difficulty of the next, so a strong candidate is stretched and a struggling one is measured fairly rather than swamped. No two candidates sit the same paper. Harder questions carry more weight, so a scaled score means the same thing whichever route you took.
Each exam can have up to 5 to 12 performance-based questions, drawn fresh on every attempt, alongside the multiple-choice questions. A PBQ is a task rather than a list: you match sensors to their use, order a sense plan act task, fix a perception or planning problem, or choose the right approach. They are scored all or nothing, so partial guesses do not pass.
The CAUP is vendor neutral and describes autonomous platforms generically, naming products only as examples. It tests the autonomous systems judgement that transfers across platforms.
Yes. Where a capability such as a sensor, a planner or a controller is involved, it is described by what it does, not tied to one product.
700 out of 900. Results are reported on a scale of 100 to 900, and 700 corresponds to answering 72% of the exam correctly.
There is no waiting period between a failed first attempt and a second attempt. Buy another voucher and sit the exam again when you are ready, and it will draw a fresh adaptive form from the bank. See the CertLabz Certification Retake Policy.
Yes, after three years. Keep it current by logging 35 CEUs during the cycle and paying the $25 annual CE fee before expiry, or by passing the current exam again.
The exam objectives PDF and the ten sample questions PDF. The CAUP Official Study Guide is a $50 ebook, included in two of the bundles. Hands-on practice comes with the All Access plan, included in the Complete bundle.
A laptop or desktop with a webcam and microphone, Chrome, Edge or Firefox, a stable connection, and a quiet private room for 90 minutes. Phones and tablets are not supported.
CAUP is a continuing-education certification, like the CE credentials from CompTIA and ISC2. It is valid for three years from the day you pass. To keep it, log 35 continuing-education units during the cycle and pay the $25 annual CE fee before your expiry date. Or pass the current version of the exam again. Earning a higher-level CertLabz certification renews it too, the way CompTIA certifications stack.
CEUs are logged from your CertLabz dashboard with supporting evidence. A certification that lapses can be reinstated only by passing the current exam.
Buy a voucher, study the objectives, sit the exam when you are ready. Your credential is issued the moment you pass.