Self-driving car test site at U-M getting funding boost from feds

The Mcity self-driving car test site at the University of Michigan’s North Campus is getting $5.1 million from the National Science Foundation that will allow researchers in other parts of the country, including those without their own test vehicles, to take advantage of the facility.

It’s being called “Mcity 2.0.”

“U.S.-based researchers can send their algorithms and programs to Mcity, plug them into the facility’s operating system, request specific conditions for testing and participate remotely as those scenarios play out in Mcity’s combined real/virtual setting,” according to a news release.

The release, which did not specify when the remote testing options would become available, noted that a lack of access to testing facilities, data and simulations can hinder research into autonomous vehicles.

“The new digital infrastructure combining real-world data sets with high-quality simulation capabilities and a physical test track will set Mcity apart from other AV test facilities, and enable remote use,” said Mcity Director Henry Liu, who is also a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the university.

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The release noted that real-world data that supports the simulations is collected from intersections in Ann Arbor and Detroit using “privacy-preserving sensors to capture the motion of everything from cars to pedestrians.”

The funding from the National Science Foundation is only the latest funding boost for the 32-acre facility. Earlier this year, a building that will be used to monitor testing at Mcity got a $1.5 million upgrade, the release said.

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Susan Margulies, the foundation’s assistant director for engineering, noted in the release that the foundation “invests in a broad array of fundamental research and new technologies for smart transportation, ranging from semiconductors and microelectronics to wireless communication, contactless electric vehicle charging, and artificial intelligence. …Testing these vehicle technologies in real-world scenarios is an essential step for transferring innovations to businesses, communities and drivers.”