Skip to main content

University of Michigan, Toyota partner on connected car research

On the heels of last week’s announcement that Toyota is putting more boots on the ground in Ann Arbor to study fully autonomous driving and advanced mobility, Toyota is to partner with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) at the Ann Arbor Connected Vehicle Test Environment (AACVTE) in an operational real-world deployment of connected vehicles and infrastructure. AACVTE is a real-world implementation of connected vehicle safety technologies being used by everyday driver
April 15, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
On the heels of last week’s announcement that 1686 Toyota is putting more boots on the ground in Ann Arbor to study fully autonomous driving and advanced mobility,

Toyota is to partner with the 5647 University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) at the Ann Arbor Connected Vehicle Test Environment (AACVTE) in an operational real-world deployment of connected vehicles and infrastructure.

AACVTE is a real-world implementation of connected vehicle safety technologies being used by everyday drivers in Ann Arbor and around Southeast Michigan. AACVTE will build on existing model deployment in Ann Arbor, including an upgraded and expanded test environment, making it the standard for a nation-wide implementation.

This research will increase UMTRI and 324 US Department of Transportation (US DOT) real-world exploration of connected vehicle technology. The current limitation of connected vehicle testing outside of a closed circuit test tracks is the lack of connected vehicles.

As part of its partnership agreement with UMTRI, Toyota will invite team members and their families to participate in the AACVTE initiative. The Toyota participants will allow their vehicles to be equipped with devices to support accelerated research and deployment of advanced vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)/vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) systems in the region.  The goal is to deploy 5,000 vehicles with vehicle awareness devices throughout the Ann Arbor area.  The Ann Arbor deployment is one stepping stone toward achieving the US DOT’s vision for national deployment of V2V/V2I vehicles.

Related Content

  • August 19, 2014
    ITS America, Global Automakers respond to NHTSA's connected car ANPRM
    ITS America and international motor vehicle manufacturers’ representative the Association of Global Automakers (Global Automakers) have responded to the US Department of Transportation's (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) and a supporting comprehensive research report on vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications technology. The report will include analysis of the Department's research findings in several key areas including technical
  • March 14, 2016
    Connected vehicle trials get big backing from USDOT
    Connected vehicle technology will emerge as a sustainable reality at three sites in the US over the next four years. Jon Masters reports. Advocates of connected vehicle (CV) technology have received a welcome boost from news that the US government has committed a further $4 billion towards automated vehicle research and CV technology. This comes hot on the heels of the US Department of Transportation’s $42 million CV pilot pledge in October last year.
  • July 24, 2017
    Truck platooning trials take to the highways
    There is rising enthusiasm in America and beyond for the concept of truck platooning with trials being planned in several US states, as David Crawford reports. Growing numbers of US states are considering or implementing plans for trials of electronically-linked truck platooning on public road networks. This is in response to the interest being shown by the US$70bn a year road freight industry, where fuel represents 41% of the operating costs making the prospect of improving fuel economy by trucks travellin
  • July 24, 2017
    Truck platooning trials take to the highways
    There is rising enthusiasm in America and beyond for the concept of truck platooning with trials being planned in several US states, as David Crawford reports. Growing numbers of US states are considering or implementing plans for trials of electronically-linked truck platooning on public road networks. This is in response to the interest being shown by the US$70bn a year road freight industry, where fuel represents 41% of the operating costs making the prospect of improving fuel economy by trucks travellin