PlanetM Mobility Challenges

Committed to improving the lives and safety of Michigan residents and visitors, MEDC and PlanetM, in collaboration with the Michigan Department of Transportation, have established two initiatives that will showcase the emerging mobility solutions in a real world deployment. Both challenges demonstrate Michigan’s roadways as a proving ground for automated vehicles solutions and highlight the rich automotive ecosystem Michigan offers to companies at all stages – from startup to OEMs.

NAIAS 2020 Michigan Mobility Challenge

NAIAS_2020_Mobility_logo[2].png The NAIAS 2020 Michigan Mobility Challenge is designed to highlight new, innovative mobility solutions for people traveling throughout Detroit during the 2020 North American International Auto Show. The challenged called on industry innovators to propose dynamic technology deployments that demonstrate how the way we live, work and play can be transformed by automotive and connected vehicle technology.

The downtown Detroit circulator experiences will run June 6-June 21, 2020 during preview week and public days of NAIAS 2020 and include:

Continental – Teaming with EasyMile, Nexteer Automotive, 3M, CNXMotion and Oakland University, Continental will provide a fixed-route shuttle, utilizing three, automated 15-passenger vehicles. There will also be capacity for a “shuttle train,” carrying groups of up to 45 people at one time.
NAVYA – Teaming with Wayne State University, NAVYA will offer a fixed route shuttle with 15 passenger capacity piloting technology to improve accessibility options, including an automated ramp and restraints for paratransit riders, shuttle suspension kneels at curb and interior machine vision research.
Yandex – Teaming with Hyundai Mobis and Lawrence Technological University, Yandex will deploy 10 4-passenger sedans as a fleet of automated robo-taxis operating with fixed stops. This will be the largest demonstration of the Yandex robo-taxi fleet to date in the United States.
Local Motors by LMI – Teaming with Robotic Research, Local Motors will deploy two self-driving Olli shuttles along a fixed route. Each shuttle is 80 percent 3D printed, has automated ramps and wheelchair restraints and holds eight seated passengers.
AutoGuardian by Smart Cone – Teaming with, Aurrigo, AutoGuardian by SmartCone will provide a unique shuttle service along a fixed route. SmartTorches will alert pedestrians of oncoming shuttles through visual and audible cues and interact with the TheSmartCone modular platform. The debut of Aurrigo’s new electric shuttle bus features adaptive autonomy, meaning the shuttles can drive on roads today as an electric vehicle and “switch on” its autonomous features as regulations and policy changes allow for greater use of automated vehicles on roadways.

NAIAS 2020 Michigan Mobility Challenge - Airport to Downtown Technology Demonstrations

Dataspeed and FEV have been selected to provide shuttles along two distinct routes from Detroit Metro Airport directly to downtown Detroit. One route will transport passengers along I-94 to M-1, dropping riders in downtown Detroit on Warren Ave., where they can access hotels and other NAIAS activities. The second route will run from I-94 to US-12, providing riders a direct service to the TCF Center for the NAIAS 2020 activities. The shuttles will run Monday, June 8 through Thursday, June 11.

Dataspeed – Partnering with AM General, Comet Mobility, Easterseals and Michigan State University, Dataspeed will provide an accessible, automated shuttle service navigating Detroit’s busy city streets as well as highway-speed traffic. The automated shuttles will be engineered on the AM General MV-1 platform, which is the only commercial vehicle platform built specifically for wheelchair accessibility.
FEV – Teaming up with Polysync, DriveU and Western Michigan University, will offer an autonomous experience using four hybrid electric Kia Niros and the latest autonomous control technology, including the capability to control the vehicles from a remote location.

Moovit to provide seamless user experience across all Mobility Challenge demonstrations

The technology demonstrations will be encompassed by a single mobile app being developed by Moovit, a leading Mobility as a Service (MaaS) platform provider. This MaaS app will provide an integrated, seamless user experience across all of the Mobility Challenge demonstrations, including multi-modal trip planning combining automated vehicles, with public transit, and micro-mobility service providers, step-by-step directions and real-time arrivals.

$8 Million Michigan Mobility Challenge

The $8 Million Michigan Mobility Challenge is a grant initiative seeded with an $8 million legislative appropriation to address core mobility gaps for seniors, persons with disabilities and veterans across the state.

The Challenge is a collaborative effort that is led by Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and PlanetM with collaboration from four other state agencies. A total of 13 projects in communities of varying sizes throughout Michigan have been funded.

For more information, visit: https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,4616,7-151-9621_17216_86614---,00.html