Skip to main content

Continental, Magna International to conduct real-world test of driverless vehicles

Two automated driving vehicles will travel more than 300 miles before arriving in Traverse City, Michigan, US as part of an international border demonstration by Continental and Magna International. The demonstration will start in southeast Michigan and finish at the Center for Automotive Research’s annual Management Briefing Seminars. The vehicles will cross into Windsor, Ontario before going north to Sarnia, Ontario and return back into Michigan. The demonstration drive allows Continental and Magna, as we
August 1, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Two automated driving vehicles will travel more than 300 miles before arriving in Traverse City, Michigan, US as part of an international border demonstration by 260 Continental and 5026 Magna International. The demonstration will start in southeast Michigan and finish at the Center for Automotive Research’s annual Management Briefing Seminars.


The vehicles will cross into Windsor, Ontario before going north to Sarnia, Ontario and return back into Michigan. The demonstration drive allows Continental and Magna, as well as the 1688 Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO), to test automated driving technology in a variety of settings.

Using Continental’s Cruising Chauffeur function, the vehicles will be able to take over driving tasks on various roads in accordance with traffic regulations. Once Cruising Chauffeur is activated, data analysed in the Assisted and Automated Driving Control Unit (ADCU) central control unit is used to generate a 360-degree model of the vehicle’s surroundings. In combination with a high-resolution map, the system recognises all moving and static objects, as well as the layout of the road ahead.

The drive aims to demonstrate how the vehicles’ multiple camera, radar and LiDAR sensors will interact while being driven through the concrete Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and across the steel Blue Water Bridge.

To mark the event as the latest example of partnerships in the Great Lakes region, MDOT and OMT will sign a memorandum of understanding at the drive’s completion to further promote and foster growth of connected and autonomous technology testing and deployment, supporting both Michigan and Ontario’s economic interests and technological advancements by enabling job-creating growth for both jurisdictions.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • China paves way to enhanced safety with C-V2X
    September 30, 2021
    China is blazing a trail for C-V2X technology and paving the way for deployments worldwide, explains Qualcomm Technologies' Jim Misener
  • Here, automotive companies move forward connected car data standard
    June 30, 2016
    Following successful discussions with international automotive and mapping companies in Europe, the US and Asia, Here has now submitted the design for Sensoris, a universal data format, to Ertico-ITS Europe, which has agreed to continue it as an Innovation Platform to evolve it into a standardised interface specification for use broadly across the automotive industry. To date, 11 major automotive and supplier companies have already joined the Sensoris Innovation Platform now under the coordination of Ert
  • 3M’s tag reader interoperability
    December 4, 2012
    Ambassador Bridge, a key transit corridor linking Windsor, Ontario to Detroit and one of the most heavily travelled crossings in the US, is the first organisation in the US to install the 3M ID6204 Multiprotocol Reader, capable of reading all six tolling protocols used in North America. 3M says the ID6204 (formerly Sirit) ensures seamless interoperability regardless of tag type. Exclusive software controlled radio technology enables protocols to be turned on and off remotely with a simple command.
  • ITS instrumental in reducing Texan congestion
    September 4, 2018
    ITS projects in the Houston area have seen costs crunched – and even a system failure has proved valuable in analysing performance. David Crawford reports on developments in the Lone Star state Savings by Texan public agencies are major factors in the recent ITS Texas awards, recognising beneficial initiatives in bridge strike prevention and traffic intersection control. In the first, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)’s Houston District, covering the state’s most populous city and its surround