Ann Arbor self-driving vehicle test track opens

The American Center (ACM) for Mobility opened its state-of-the-art proving grounds for testing on December 11th, with two multinationals braving the snow to begin operations.

ACM is a joint initiative with the State of Michigan, with IASP member Ann Arbor SPARK as one of the founding partners. Open to private industry, government, standards bodies and academia, the ACM serves as a technology hub, allowing companies to lease office space, garages, and other amenities. It also offers the opportunity for additional economic investment by companies looking to expand existing or build new facilities close to the testing ground.

Located on the 500-acre historic Willow Run site in Ypsilanti Township, ACM is a global center for testing and validation, product development, education and standards work for connected and automated vehicles (CAV) and other technologies. It provides a wide range of real-world environments for testing under varied yet controlled conditions, and its infrastructure includes a 2.5-mile highway loop, a 700-foot curved tunnel, two double overpasses, intersections and roundabouts.

“Just as Michigan put the world on wheels, today we are leading the way in the mobility revolution,” said Governor Rick Snyder. “The American Center for Mobility will be the place where innovations go from the drawing board to the open road. With ACM open for testing we are taking one giant step in the right direction to affirm Michigan’s place as the undisputed leader in mobility.”

Visteon began testing the implementation of autonomous highway functionality for its DriveCore™ autonomous driving platform in challenging conditions – one of Southeast Michigan’s first snowfalls. Focus areas for Visteon’s testing and validation at ACM include autonomous driving algorithms; vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure technology and functionality, integrated with autonomous driving; sensor technology; and, security protocols.

Toyota engineers were at the site two days later to begin orientation and driver’s training. Testing will occur during all four seasons, day and night, in sun, rain, ice and snow. These elements help to create the perfect environment for testing and developing voluntary national standards for mobility technologies before vehicles and other products are deployed onto public roads.

“The American Center for Mobility is a place where life-changing technology will be tested and validated efficiently and safely, and we are proud Michigan is a global leader in this field and a hub of mobility innovation,” said Jeff Mason, CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

To read more about the ACM, please visit www.acmwillowrun.org.