Ann Arbor leads the way in self-driving vehicles

In Ann Arbor (USA), residents can now travel the city in self-driving vehicles thanks to a partnership between May Mobility, the University of Michigan’s Mcity and IASP member Ann Arbor SPARK.

“It can be a really good first- and last-mile solution connecting important transportation hubs within our downtown,” says SPARK Director of Mobility Programs Komal Doshi. “One benefit of autonomy is safety. It removes driver distraction and it takes away the risk that somebody might be driving under the influence of alcohol. We also just want to get people more comfortable with the idea of autonomous technology.”

Technology plays a key role in Ann Arbor’s autonomous vehicles, with sensors, cameras, radar, LIDAR — “everything that helps the system to visualize its environment,” Doshi says. To ensure safe operation, each vehicle requires, among other things, five lidar devices, five radars, seven cameras and multiband GPS.

May Mobility leverages Amazon Web Services (AWS) for cloud connectivity, which in turn helps the city to learn from its AV pilot. Anticipating the trend toward autonomy and seeking to establish themselves as leaders in civic tech, many cities now have AV pilots up and running as a way to enhance safety, promote sustainability and expand public transit.

“To provide personal mobility requires a large number of vehicles, and with human-driven vehicles, that becomes fairly costly to operate,” says Sam Abuelsamid, a principal analyst leading the E-Mobility Research Service at Guidehouse. “Autonomous vehicles potentially give you more flexibility and a more cost-effective solution.”

“We are collecting a lot of data, trying to measure the potential of autonomous vehicle services to integrate smoothly with existing transportation systems and make it accessible to more people,” Doshi says.

For Ann Arbor’s AV initiative, “there isn’t any funding from the city itself,” she says. Instead, funders for the AV project include Mcity; important Safety Technologies, an emerging technology company working on pedestrian safety; 4M, Ann Arbor’s first co-living townhomes; the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification; and Ann Arbor SPARK.

“This collection of private, public and academic partners exemplifies that mobility is not just the responsibility of the public sector,” Doshi says.

To learn more about Ann Arbor SPARK, why not join IASP's Pre Conference Training Seminar in Seville on 27th September? CEO Paul Krutko will be one of our expert speakers, covering the module on "The AOI model" with both theory and practical examples from his own hands-on experience expanding the regional economy through initiatives to support entrepreneurs and early-stage companies accelerating their growth to full potential.

This story first appeared in the IASP North American Division newsletter - click here to read more regional updates!