Michigan Launches Mcity Automated Vehicle Test Track as AVS Convenes

The giant Mcity driverless-vehicle test track in Ann Arbor, Mich., is scheduled to open Monday, setting the stage for increased competition among such tracks in the U.S.

The $6.5 million Mcity boasts 32 acres featuring a simulation of urban and suburban roads with traffic signals, intersections, crosswalks, circles, tunnels, construction sites, buildings, and Potemkin Village-style building fronts. The facility is operated by the Mobility Transformation Center of the University of Michigan.

UMTRI’s partners on the project include such blue-chip autonomous-driving firms as Delphi Automotive, Denso, Honda, Ford, GM, Toyota and Xerox. Monday’s official opening is scheduled to feature University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel, Michigan’s U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, and the mayor of Ann Arbor.

A number of test tracks have expanded recently in the quest for business from the growing ‘hands-on’ research into autonomous vehicles.

In June, Va Tech announced it planned to operate the Virginia Automated Corridors, 70 miles of real roads in the Washington, D.C.-area that offer highway, suburban, urban and rural driving. Va. Tech already operates the 2.2 mile Virginia Smart Road near its campus in Blacksburg. (See “Va Tech Leaves ‘Em Eating its Dust in the Race to be the Top Driverless Track”).

In March, GoMentum Station in Concord, Calif., reported Honda had joined Mercedes Benz in testing autonomous cars at its 5,000 acre space on the former Concord Naval Weapons Station. The decommissioned base is about 30 miles northeast of San Francisco and around the corner from Silicon Valley. (See “Major Test Beds Gear Up for Autonomous Vehicles”).

GoMentum claims 20 miles of paved roads and a variety of cityscapes, along with a slew of intersections, traffic signals and other accoutrements for driving tests.

AVS OPENS TUESDAY

The Mcity opening coincides with the Automated Vehicle Symposium 2015 at the Ann Arbor Marriott Ypsilanti that brings together some of the top researchers in the industry. The symposium runs from Tuesday, July 21 to Thursday, July 23, but ancillary meetings will be held on the 20th and the 24th.

There will be demonstrations at Mcity for AVS attendees on both Tuesday and Wednesday from 12:30 to 5:00 p.m. On Thursday, a Mcity demonstration will be open to the public from noon to 8:00 p.m.

Suppliers and research organizations that are scheduled to provide Mcity demonstrations for AVS include Bosch, Changan, Delphi, Denso, Nokia’s HERE, IAV Automotive Engineering, Iteris, Qualcomm, Rosco, Southwest Research Institute/TARDEC, and the University of Michigan. Learn more here.