Members of the Leadership Circle will each commit a total of $1 million over three years to the support of the MTC and its programs, and plans call for the implementing a working system in Ann Arbor by 2021.
The University of Michigan announced that seven additional corporate have signed on to be part of the research and development team and Leadership Circle for its Mobility Transformation Center, the public private partnership formed with the goal of creating a commercially viable system of connected and automated vehicles
At a ceremonial groundbreaking session for U-M's new Mobility Transformation Center on May 6, representatives from Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Xerox, Bosch and Econolite all signed on as part of a leadership team.
Today, U-M said that Delphi Automotive, DENSO Corp., Honda, Iteris Inc., Nissan State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., and Verizon Communication have all joined the Leadership Circle.
Wi-Fi connected cars and roads can help drivers avoid crashes, according to research being done at the University of Michigan. Members of the Leadership Circle will each commit a total of $1 million over three years to the support of the MTC and its programs, and plans call for the 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," MTC Director Peter Sweatman said in a news release.
"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."
U-M officials said the 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 goal is to accelerate the progress in the development and implementation of connected and automated technology.
The technology will be tested at the soon-to-be-finished 32-acre MTC on the North Campus Research Complex.
The off-roadway cityscape will have a 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.
"The collective potential of our founding Leadership Circle for innovation and constructive public-private engagement is immense," Sweatman added.
"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."