Xerox a founding partner in connected vehicle initiative

4186 Xerox joins a select group of companies, including 1763 Econolite, 73 Iteris, 7207 Delphi, Denso, 311 Bosch, 1683 Honda, 838 Nissan, 1686 Toyota and 948 General Motors, which will be the founding partners in the 5594 University of Michigan’s Mobility Transformation Center (MTC).

Spanning such sectors as auto manufacturing, suppliers, ITS, insurance, telecommunications, data management, and mobility services, the MTC’s Leadership Circle will join with government and academic partners to lay the foundations for a commercially viable system of connected and automated vehicles. 
 
Plans call for implementing a working system in Ann Arbor by 2021.
 
“We are on the threshold of a transformation in mobility that the world hasn’t seen since the introduction of the automobile a century ago,” said Dr Peter Sweatman, director of the MTC.

“Only by bringing together partners from these sectors as well as from government will we be able to address the full complexity of the challenges ahead as we all work to realize the opportunities presented by this emerging technology. I am thrilled with the diversity and global reach of the new ecosystem of companies and agencies we have created. Our Founding Leadership Circle provides a unique nucleus for collaboration, deployment, and rapid learning in connected and automated mobility.”

Connected vehicles, commonly known as V2V, have been tested extensively by the 5647 University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) in the USDOT’s Safety Pilot Model Deployment in Ann Arbor.

With the help of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), MTC is building on this two-year deployment of approximately 3,000 vehicles to create a major V2V deployment of 9,000 vehicles in Ann Arbor. The Center is also working with the 1688 Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and industrial partners to provide sufficient V2I infrastructure in SE Michigan to support an unprecedented deployment of 20,000 connected vehicles.
 
"This is the next big thing for the state that put the world on wheels," said MDOT director Kirk T. Steudle. "We are thrilled to join our partners in private industry and the University of Michigan in supporting groundbreaking research to keep our state in the lead in building the safest and most efficient vehicles in the world."

With the goal of accelerating progress in the development and implementation of connected and automated technology, Leadership Circle members will work together to identify emerging opportunities as well as the barriers to realising them, anticipate and help shape key standards and regulations, and help guide the direction of the research.
 
“The collective potential of our founding Leadership Circle for innovation and constructive public-private engagement is immense,” said Sweatman. “Working together, this new group of partners will provide a voice of reason in this exciting technological landscape, while moving forward with a sense of urgency for accelerated deployment.”