Tesla’s Dual Motor Model S will feature the company’s Autopilot hardware, which will enable drivers to share control with their vehicle. Photo: Tesla Motors.

by Jeffery N. Ross

There is no doubt that autonomous vehicles will play a huge role in cars of the future, but it has still yet to be determined exactly how and when cars will be driving themselves on a mass scale. That future could take a big step forward next summer when the University of Michigan opens the doors to its new Mobility Transformation Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Set to commence operations on 20 July, 2015, this 32-acre test site is bringing together private companies from all over the automotive and technology landscape as well as governmental agencies at both the federal and state levels with hopes of creating a research test bed for autonomous vehicles.



As vehicle technologies continue to advance almost daily, the MTC (part of the university’s Transportation Research Institute — UMTRI) will be used to conduct safe research for automated and connected vehicles, according to Francine Romine, UMTRI’s director of communications and marketing. She likens the facility to a movie set replicating just about all conditions that a vehicle would see while driving along a normal road, including intersections, roadway markings, traffic signs and signals, simulated buildings, parked cars, pedestrians, and obstacles such as construction barriers.  



“[MTC] is creating an ecosystem that brings together companies from every sector — legal, urban planning, government and OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] — for connected technology,” Romine says.



This facility was designed and constructed in partnership with Michigan Department of Transportation, and it will be available to Leadership Circle members, which includes suppliers (Delphi, Denso and Bosch), automakers (Toyota, Nissan, Honda, General Motors and Ford), tech companies (Econolite Group, Iteris, Verizon and Xerox) as well as insurance giant State Farm. Romine admits that the automakers’ competitive nature and business models might not allow for full disclosure of technology, but the MTC Leadership Circle will be able to work collectively on “big system issues.” 



Another part of MTC is creating a test fleet of automated and connected vehicles. The organization already has 2,800 such vehicles operating in Ann Arbor, but Romine says this number is expected to grow to 9,000 vehicles in the city alone and 20,000 statewide after MTC opens including real-world deployment for public highways in southeast Michigan. 



Of course, companies outside of the MTC Leadership Circle will continue to develop their own technologies in this arena. Tesla, BMW and Audi are all committed to creating their own autonomous vehicles, but Google is perhaps one company that has made the biggest news lately with the unveiling of its self-driving car. Google has been testing the waters for autonomous vehicles in recent years, but the unnamed prototype no has a face. Like the traditional automakers, there are more questions than answers when it comes to this Google car, but Romine thinks “what Google has done is remarkable and amazing work.” Unlike many other companies testing autonomous cars, the Google car is unique in that it is hands-free with no steering wheel or pedals.



In terms of the other automakers, BMW, Audi and Tesla have all made recent strides in the development of their automated driving technologies. Electric startup automaker Tesla is working on two new driver-assist technologies for its vehicles. In the short term, it will offer a system that combines the benefits of lane departure warning and adaptive cruise control, and down the road it will develop an Autopilot hardware feature that will allow the car to be able to drive itself on the highways without any human input. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has recently stated that Tesla vehicle will be “90 percent capable of Autopilot” by 2015.



As a part of its “Vision Zero” initiative, German automaker BMW will be testing its cars in China in hopes of achieving accident-free mobility. BMW says that it is “embarking on a further research project which will pave the way for highly automated driving in China,” adding that “China’s fast-expanding urban centers present the engineers with challenges such as multilevel highways.” Over the next two years, these self-driving prototypes will be testing on the “urban highways” of Beijing and Shanghai. 



When it comes to testing in the U.S., it seems that Audi is ahead its rivals. In 2012, Audi was the first automaker to receive an autonomous driving license plate in Nevada, and in September it was the first to receive an autonomous driving permit in California. Audi also made news in July when it was the first company to test on Lee Roy Selmon Expressway in Tampa, Florida – also known as Florida’s connected car expressway. This testing of self-driving cars on public roads was made possible by Florida House Bill 1207, which was passed in 2012. The Lee Roy Selmon Expressway is a toll road with a raised center portion that features lanes that are reversible, but they can also be completely shut down for the testing of self-driving cars. It is just one of 10 such autonomous vehicle testing sites nationwide.



“Testing is continuing in California and Germany at present. It will move around to Florida and other states as different road conditions and climate needs are explored. The latest news was the race demo at the Hockenheim Ring DTM course in Germany. Otherwise we are in predevelopment mode. [Audi is] likely to have more ahead of CES [Consumer Electronics Show] in early 2015,” said Audi spokesperson Brad Stertz.



The testing in Florida shows that the technology behind automated driving is just one hurdle to getting these cars in the hands of consumers. State and federal agencies must also factor in to make sure the testing can be performed on public roads but done so safely. California, Nevada and Michigan also have similar laws regulating the testing of autonomous vehicles on public roads, and New Jersey looks to become the fifth with new bill that was passed in October. The New Jersey Senate Transportation Committee approved a bill that sets up rules and restrictions for the operation of self-driving vehicles on streets and highways. Like the congested roads of China and the high humidity of Florida, New Jersey’s traffic congestion will pose different challenges with which to develop this technology.



Just like the technologies themselves, there are a lot of moving parts to get automated driving technologies from concept to reality. Fortunately, it looks like most companies, organizations and government agencies are working together (at least so far) to get this technology brought to the market in a safe and cohesive manner. For now, Romine says that there this is “still no road map” for when autonomous cars will be roaming the streets of the U.S. in large numbers, but there is no doubt that when it is reduced, it will help reduce traffic congestion and save lives. 

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