UMTRI and Mcity welcome Federal Highway Administration Delegates
A delegation from the Federal Highway Administration got an up-close view of how federal investments are supporting innovative research that advances transportation safety, infrastructure, and mobility during a recent visit to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.
The delegation toured the Ann Arbor Connected Environment (AACE) and the Mcity Test Facility to experience how connected and automated vehicle technologies are being evaluated in real-world conditions.
AACE, a research initiative of UMTRI, is deploying cellular vehicle-to-everything technology across the city of Ann Arbor, home of the world’s first large-scale real-world deployment of connected vehicles.
The visit demonstrated for the FHWA how federally supported research at UMTRI is progressing beyond the laboratory into real-world transportation systems. By combining multidisciplinary research, deployment, and evaluation, UMTRI is helping ensure that federal investments translate into practical solutions that improve roadway safety and serve as a benchmark for the rest of the country.
Credit: Debby Bezzina/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, UMTRI
The visit began with a presentation from Mcity Managing Director Greg McGuire on building the Mcity Test Facility in an artificial intelligence-ready testbed for the scaled deployment of autonomous mobility. Then, the group experienced a live demonstration of its near-miss alert system, showcasing how connected infrastructure can improve roadway safety by detecting potential conflicts and delivering real-time warnings to all road users.
The group also toured the Mcity Test Facility, where researchers highlighted the university’s connected and automated vehicle testing capabilities and recent work in advanced air mobility.
Mcity, part of UMTRI, is a public-private partnership working to advance mobility on the ground and in the air, and operates the Mcity Test Facility.