b'Mcitys Q&A Mcity LabbyfindingcompanieswhoseworkisJOHNSON: Im surprised they didnt call10 or more years. For a general-purpose, TESTINGDirector Greg McGuirecomplementary to our research or who areyou first Haha, You know, I think oursusable vehicle, were a long way off.open to collaborating with others. AnyoneMCGUIRE: and Data Architectcanrentthetestfacility,though,evenis obviously better [jokingly], but nothisJOHNSON: Whats the major change THETyler Worman without being a member of Mcity or part ofis a trend. Were at the front of the trend.we need to make autonomous vehicles the university. This is a trend in the development of morecatch on? andmorecomplex,andautomated,andWORMAN:Rightnowtesting.Testing FUTUREJOHNSON: Lets start with a littleJOHNSON: What kind of research?eventuallyperhapsautonomoussystems.indifferentenvironmentsandconditions. history of Mcity. MCGUIRE:IdsaymostlyconnectedYouneedaplacewhereyoucanreallyThe sensors have a way to go. The public vehicleresearch,autonomousvehicleprove out your research and prove out yourThe important use of this facility currently isperception has a way to go. The software OF ITS MCGUIRE:Mcityisapublic-privateresearch,wellfundstudieswithinthedevelopment before you put vehicles in adeveloping a test track-based concept forhas a way to go. The cost has to drop.partnershipbetweenmobilityindustryuniversity, say like sensor studies. There areplace where theyre interacting with people. assessing the safety of highly automated companies,theUniversityofMichigansa number of published papers about thevehicles before they head out onto openMcitys vision is to lead in the transition to research community and the government workthatsbeendonehere.AugmentedJOHNSON: So, what have yourroads.Theconceptcouldemergeasaa new world of connected and automated By Summer Johnson local level, state level, and federal level.reality testing has been done here. Whenfindings shown so far? model for a voluntary standard for safetyvehicles.Webringallthosegroupstogethertoyoure actually driving a car in the facilityMCGUIRE:So we use this test facility fortesting.Thisissomethingwereworking researchadvancedmobilitytopicslikehere,wecanbroadcastinformationinonwithourindustrypartnersrightnow.Theybelievethebenefitsofthese several purposes. About half of the time itsAnd this is actually where the GRIDSMARTvehicles include reducing vehicle fatalities A GRIDSMART team visits Ann Arbor,connectedvehicles,automation,sharing,the facility as if it were coming from otherused to conduct research. These are thetechnology will play a role. andinjuriesbyasmuchas90percent, Michigan, for an opportunity to tourelectrification. traffic, and there are some public videospooled research projects I mentioned thatincreasingvehicleenergyefficiency,thus theUniversityofMichigansMcityThe60orsocompaniesthatmakeupof that. So the car youre testing, you canarefundedandsponsoredbytheMcityJOHNSON: Do you think cities are likelyreducing carbon emissions, and expanding TestFacilityastheGRIDSMARTMcitys membership invest money that wesimulate things like red-light running, andmember companies. The other half is reallyto embrace this technology? accessibilitytotransportationoptions System is installed.you dont have to risk your car or anotherto help the industry build these advancedtothosewhodonthaveittoday.Mcity pool together and use to fund research atvehicle. Your vehicle thinks that a car justmobilitysystemsandtodosowithnetWORMAN: I think well see a slow upgradebelieves the future of driverless vehicles is The Mcity Test Facility sits on a 30- theuniversityandelsewhere.Thatsourran a red-light in front of it, and you can seebenefit to society. We can make this facilityof existing equipment. Items that are easyon the horizon, and others agree.acre site on U-Ms North Campus andprimary mission. that on the screen inside your vehicle. Its allavailable for member companies and reallyto add on or augment existing hardware are has more than 16 acres of roads andThe lab were standing in right now is therun by a simulator, but your real vehicle canjust companies in general who need a real- going to be easier to justify. Asoflate2018,29stateshavealready trafficinfrastructure,completewithMcity Test Facility. Its a private facility forbe out here testing and responding to it.world test environment. enacted legislation regarding autonomous red light intersections, a roundabout,when you need to test advanced vehiclesJOHNSON: Do you think it will catch onvehicles. Several U.S. auto manufacturers, and even a strip of highway.It is thein real-world conditions, but you also needJOHNSON: Thats impressive! JOHNSON: Has anything shocked youin smaller cities or do you think it willlikeFord,GeneralMotors,Nissan,Tesla, worlds first facility purpose-built forcontrol over the environment, or for safety,MCGUIRE:Yeah,itsreallycool.Theyabout using the test facility so far?mainly stay in urban areas? andMercedes,havealreadyinvested testingconnectedandautomatedor to just test repeatability, when you needsimulated a train coming through, so youMCGUIRE: Whats interesting to me is theWORMAN:IthinkyouwillseetheinautomatedR&D.InDecember2018, vehicles and technologies in a safe,to be in a place where there arent humans. can actually see a train coming throughinnovativewayspeoplethinktousethetechnologyinsmallercitiesTheresGoogles self-driving-car company Waymo controlled environment.The facilitythefacilityandthatsalldonewithfacility. There are lots of different experimentssomeinfrastructurerequiredtodothelaunched their commercial self-driving car opened in July 2015. JOHNSON: What sets this facilitytheaugmentedrealityandconnectedandthingsthathappenoutherethanconnected portion that we have [at Mcity].service in Phoenix, AZ.We meet with Mcity Lab Director Gregapart from others?vehicle technology. justcarsdrivingaroundonasphaltWeIthinkyoullkindofseetheconnectedTolearnmoreaboutconnectedand McGuire,andMcityDataArchitectWORMAN:Were mostly focused on pre- actually tested how humans interact with antechnology roll out way before you see aautomated vehicles, levels of automation, Tyler Worman to learn more about thecompetitive research. We were, I believe,JOHNSON: Has Google contactedautomated system and how that might differgeneral-purpose autonomous vehicle. Theand the future of driverless vehicles, visit facility and the future of connectivity.thefirstpurpose-builtconnectedandyou yet? from a human-driven system. connected technology solves some cases,Mcitys website at mcity.umich.edu. nautomatedvehicletestingfacilityintheMCGUIRE:Haha,wellWaymohasone,like blind corners, better than the current world.Wetrytobuildourmembershipjust like this. They built it for themselves. JOHNSON: I read about peopleautomatedsolutionsdo.Asautomated participating in a research study wherevehicle technology progresses, I think youll they are given multiple scenarios, andsee a hybrid approach where you get some participants are asked to vote on ethicsfeaturesfromboththeconnectedand for an autonomous vehicle. automatedfeaturesetsimplementedfor MCGUIRE:Mysimpleanswer:Thereissmall and urban areas.nobody [who] has the moral high ground toJOHNSON: In your opinion, how close say one life is better than another. Will weare we from truly autonomous vehicles accept some fatalities on the road to feweron public roadways? fatalities? No. The real goal needs to beWORMAN: I think its a long way offat least zero fatalities.Summer Johnson, Graphic Marketing Coordinator at GRIDSMART, A Cubic Company.27 28'