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U-M connected and automated vehicle initiative announces founding corporate partners

A diverse group of companies will be the founding partners in the University of Michigan’s Mobility Transformation Center, a major public-private initiative that aims to revolutionize the movement of people and goods in society.

 

Spanning such sectors as auto manufacturing, suppliers, intelligent transport systems, insurance, telecommunications, data management and mobility services, the MTC’s Leadership Circle will join with government and academic partners to lay the foundations for a commercially viable system of connected and automated vehicles.  

 

Plans call for implementing a working system in Ann Arbor by 2021.

 

“We are on the threshold of a transformation in mobility that the world hasn’t seen since the introduction of the automobile a century ago,” said MTC Director Peter Sweatman. “Only by bringing together partners from these sectors, as well as from government, will we be able to address the full complexity of the challenges ahead as we all work to realize the opportunities presented by this emerging technology.

 

“I am thrilled with the diversity and global reach of the new ecosystem of companies and agencies we have created. Our Founding Leadership Circle provides a unique nucleus for collaboration, deployment and rapid learning in connected and automated mobility.”

 

Connected vehicles, commonly known as V2V, have been tested extensively by the U-M Transportation Research Institute in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safety Pilot Model Deployment in Ann Arbor. The results have been used to support the recent Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking announcement by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

 

Connected vehicle technology, including vehicles that can communicate with one another and with the surrounding infrastructure (V2I), has the potential to avoid the majority of serious crashes when extensively deployed.

 

With the help of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, MTC is building on this two-year deployment of approximately 3,000 vehicles to create the world’s largest V2V deployment of 9,000 vehicles in Ann Arbor.

 

The center is also working with the Michigan Department of Transportation and industrial partners to provide sufficient V2I infrastructure in Southeast Michigan to support an unprecedented deployment of 20,000 connected vehicles. The vehicles will be supported by a connected road network and developmental set of highway corridors.

 

In addition to their definitive role for safety, connected vehicles will accelerate the deployment of one of the most exciting concepts in transportation today: vehicle automation. To make the most of this convergence, MTC is developing an off-roadway facility for testing connected and automated vehicles.

 

“This is the next big thing for the state that put the world on wheels,” said MDOT Director Kirk Steudle. “We are thrilled to join our partners in private industry and

the University of Michigan in supporting groundbreaking research to keep our state in the lead in building the safest and most efficient vehicles in the world.”

 

Spanning 32 acres on U-M’s North Campus Research Complex, the Mobility Transformation Facility is a unique off-roadway cityscape with the broad range of complexities that vehicles encounter in urban and suburban environments. Scheduled to be completed this fall, it includes four-lane roads with intersections, roadway markings, traffic signs and signals, sidewalks, benches, simulated buildings, streetlights, parked cars, pedestrians and obstacles such as construction barriers.

 

The facility was designed and constructed in partnership with MDOT and is available to Leadership Circle members to work collectively on big-system issues as well as on specific technological developments.

 

With the goal of accelerating progress in the development and implementation of connected and automated technology, Leadership Circle members will work together to identify emerging opportunities as well as the barriers to realizing them, anticipate and help shape key standards and regulations, and help guide the direction of the research.

 

“The collective potential of our founding Leadership Circle for innovation and constructive public-private engagement is immense,” Sweatman said. “Working together, this new group of partners will provide a voice of reason in this exciting technological landscape, while moving forward with a sense of urgency for accelerated deployment.”

 

MTC’s research program will draw on a wide range of expertise from U-M’s schools and colleges.

 

“We have key strengths in engineering and science, but the challenges ahead are not just technical,” Sweatman said. “We will engage faculty from across campus to address interrelated legal, political, regulatory, social, economic and urban planning issues.”

 

Founding members of the Leadership Circle are each committing $1 million over three years to create a vibrant R&D ecosystem, and to support the MTC and its programs. A broader range of companies will engage in the work of the Center as Affiliates.

 

“With more than 375 public and private automotive R&D centers representing organizations from around the world, extensive manufacturing facilities and an exceptional pool of talent, Michigan is uniquely positioned to spark the transformation of mobility worldwide,” said Nigel Francis, senior vice president at the MEDC’s Automotive Office. “The MTC is playing a critical role in catalyzing the diverse technologies, talent and resources from this region and beyond needed to accelerate progress and usher in a new era of mobility.”

 

Founding members of the MTC Leadership Circle are:

 

Delphi Automotive

Contact: Kristen Kinley, kristen.kinley@delphi.com, 248-535-3930

DENSO Corp.

Contact: Julie Kerr, julie_kerr@denso-diam.com, 248-372-8260

Econolite Group Inc.

Contact: Persephone Oliver, poliver@econolite.com, 714-299-5254

Ford Motor Co.

Contact: Susannah Wesley, swesley8@ford.com, 313-594-7903

General Motors Co.

Contact: Daniel Flores, daniel.flores@gm.com, 313-418-2374

Honda Motor Co.

Contact: Jessica Howell, jessica_howell@hna.honda.com, 313-410-3487

Iteris Inc.

Contact: Abbas Mohaddes, akm@iteris.com, 949-270-9400

Nissan Motor Co.

Contact: Wendy Payne, wendy.payne@nissan-usa.com, 248-826-4166

Robert Bosch

Contact: Linda Beckmeyer,  linda.beckmeyer@usbosch.com, 248-876-2046

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.

Contact: Angie Rinock, angie.rinock.i4v5@statefarm.com, 269-207-8006

Toyota Motor Co.

Contact: Cindy Mahalak, cynthia.mahalak@tema.toyota.com, 734-788-3214

Verizon Communications Inc.

Contact: Marie McGehee, marie.mcgehee@verizon.com, 908-229-1894

Xerox Corp.

Contact: Carl Langsenkamp, carl.langsenkamp@xerox.com, 585-423-5782

 

Join the conversation: #GoDriverless.

 

For information on the U-M Mobility Transformation Center, visit www.mtc.umich.edu

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