Let’s catch up on Michigan’s latest innovation news: —[Clarification, 2/11/19, 9:31 p.m.; see below.] Earlier this month, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI 12) announced that the University of Michigan will receive a $2.5 million grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s University Transportation Centers program to continue funding for the Center for Connected and Automated Transportation. … Continue reading “Roundup: Riser’s New Role, STEM Summit, U-M AV News, and More”
Tag: MCity
Roundup: Erie Hack, MedHealth Summit, PlanetM, DTX Detroit, WMU
Now that the holidays are over—heck, January is almost over—Michigan’s innovation hubs are hard at work. Here is a selection of recent tech news from around the state: —Do you wonder what the deal is with driverless cars? Do you have questions as a consumer about safety, technology, or cost? The University of Michigan will … Continue reading “Roundup: Erie Hack, MedHealth Summit, PlanetM, DTX Detroit, WMU”
MEDC Leader Details Michigan’s Road to the Waymo AV Factory Deal
This week, Michigan’s economic development office notched a win when it announced that Waymo, Google’s mobility arm, had chosen the Great Lakes State as the location for a new manufacturing operation. According to a press release from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), Waymo will invest $13.6 million in a factory that will integrate Waymo’s … Continue reading “MEDC Leader Details Michigan’s Road to the Waymo AV Factory Deal”
Insurers Are (Slowly) Preparing for Future World of Driverless Cars
When a self-driving Uber vehicle killed a pedestrian attempting to cross a dark, Phoenix-area street in March, it served as a wake-up call to a mobility industry moving at a furious pace to advance autonomous vehicle technologies. The fatality reinforced consumer skepticism of driverless cars, as evidenced by a recent survey conducted by CarGurus (more … Continue reading “Insurers Are (Slowly) Preparing for Future World of Driverless Cars”
Toyota Research Institute to Open New Driverless Car Test Bed in MI
The state of Michigan notched another mobility-industry win today when the Toyota Research Institute (TRI) announced that a 60-acre parcel in Ottawa Lakes, MI, will be the home of a new autonomous vehicle development and testing facility, the first dedicated exclusively to TRI’s use. TRI is Toyota’s research arm, which aims to enhance the safety of … Continue reading “Toyota Research Institute to Open New Driverless Car Test Bed in MI”
Uber’s Driverless Fatality Sparks Fallout and Finger-Pointing
The fallout from Uber’s autonomous car fatality continues today, with a number of new developments. We’re recapping them very quickly here, and adding two reaction quotes we received from Carrie Morton, deputy director of the University of Michigan’s Mcity research facility and test bed, and Shahin Farshchi, a partner at Lux Capital, a Silicon Valley … Continue reading “Uber’s Driverless Fatality Sparks Fallout and Finger-Pointing”
Mighty AI’s Training Data Helps Mcity Drive Mobility Projects Faster
Last June, when Seattle-based startup Mighty AI opened a second office in Detroit, the company said it chose the Motor City over Silicon Valley because of its proximity to automotive customers and a firm belief in the future of autonomous navigation. Mighty AI has just deepened its ties to the Great Lakes State with the … Continue reading “Mighty AI’s Training Data Helps Mcity Drive Mobility Projects Faster”
Playboy Article: Detroit is “Silicon Valley of Smart Mobility Tech”
We’ve all heard the cliche about reading Playboy only for its articles, but it turns out that the magazine really does have some stellar reporting. On Monday, Playboy posted an article that brings some validation to southeast Michigan’s role in the development of autonomous vehicles. Titled “Detroit is Becoming the Silicon Valley of Smart Mobility … Continue reading “Playboy Article: Detroit is “Silicon Valley of Smart Mobility Tech””
What Are the Nation’s Top Cities and Regions for Driverless Tech?
Whether you think self-driving cars are the stuff of science fiction or a potentially paradigm-shifting new form of transportation, autonomous vehicles are coming—and the companies developing them are spending big money to make it happen. A few years ago, industry analysts seemed to think Silicon Valley would win the race to get self-driving cars on … Continue reading “What Are the Nation’s Top Cities and Regions for Driverless Tech?”
With $11M in New Funding, Mcity Looks Ahead to 2018 and Beyond
Mcity, the autonomous vehicle research center on the University of Michigan campus, announced this week that it has raised $11 million in new funding from 11 industry partners. (See list below.) These partners help Mcity identify opportunities as well as the challenges in bringing them to fruition, and weigh in on the direction of the … Continue reading “With $11M in New Funding, Mcity Looks Ahead to 2018 and Beyond”
Case’s Advice to Entrepreneurs? Persevere, Support Local Networks
Michigan’s tech startup ecosystem has come a very long way in the past decade—a recent report in Engadget took a fair, comprehensive look—but still lacks a few key ingredients, like a culture that embraces failure and entrepreneurial leaders who aggressively work to create a welcoming, collaborative community. Those were some of the takeaways from yesterday’s … Continue reading “Case’s Advice to Entrepreneurs? Persevere, Support Local Networks”
As Self-Driving Car Partnerships Multiply, Ford and Lyft Join Forces
For most of its existence, the automotive industry has been secretive, siloed, and steeped in cut-throat competition. However, as autonomous vehicle collaborations proliferate, the old-school approach is quickly falling by the wayside. That was evident in a pair of blog posts published late Tuesday that spelled out a new partnership between Ford and San Francisco-based … Continue reading “As Self-Driving Car Partnerships Multiply, Ford and Lyft Join Forces”
After Staring Down Adversity, Detroit is Perfect Place for Amazon HQ2
Detroit. There’s no mid-sized American city as revered, as iconic, as talked about as Detroit. That’s because no other city has symbolized America quite like it, or played a bigger role in shaping what we are as a nation. And the intertwining of Detroit with the future of America will become even clearer when it … Continue reading “After Staring Down Adversity, Detroit is Perfect Place for Amazon HQ2”
Tome, Trek Collaborate on Using A.I. to Avoid Bike-Vehicle Collisions
After Jake Sigal’s first startup, Livio, was acquired by Ford in 2013, he knew he wanted to stay in the realm of connected cars with his next venture. At the time of acquisition, Sigal’s company was developing software to enable in-vehicle connectivity, the infotainment-heavy roots of today’s autonomous vehicle innovations. Back then, he saw that … Continue reading “Tome, Trek Collaborate on Using A.I. to Avoid Bike-Vehicle Collisions”
After Y Combinator, May Mobility Ready to Test Self-Driving Fleets
[Corrected, 10:16 am. See below] There has been a lot of speculation about what Ann Arbor, MI-based May Mobility has been up to since the company began working in stealth mode early this year. The new company has to do with autonomous vehicles—one of the hottest fields in tech—but until this week its website revealed … Continue reading “After Y Combinator, May Mobility Ready to Test Self-Driving Fleets”
Buckle Up: Driverless Cars Going Full Speed Ahead at Mcity
From the outside, you wouldn’t expect the humble Ford Fusion to contain technology that could upend the global transportation paradigm—until you notice the LIDAR unit whirring on its roof. LIDAR, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensor technology that uses pulses of light to produce a 3D picture of the surrounding … Continue reading “Buckle Up: Driverless Cars Going Full Speed Ahead at Mcity”
Roundup: LLamasoft, TechHire Bootcamp, Application Deadlines Galore
Here’s a look at innovation news you may have missed from around Michigan: —LLamasoft, the Ann Arbor-based developer of supply chain software, announced today that TPG Capital has invested in the company. The specifics of the deal were not disclosed. LLamasoft marks TPG’s second foray into the supply-chain technology space, following its 2016 investment in Transporeon, a … Continue reading “Roundup: LLamasoft, TechHire Bootcamp, Application Deadlines Galore”
Connected Cars, Cheap Rides, Deadlines to Apply & More MI Tech News
Here’s a look at tech and innovation news from around Michigan: —A University of Michigan startup called Cart is piloting a new service that offers low-cost rides to Detroit residents who want to go grocery shopping. Shoppers that live within five miles of one of Meijer’s two Detroit locations can pay $10 for a round-trip ride … Continue reading “Connected Cars, Cheap Rides, Deadlines to Apply & More MI Tech News”
U-M Unveils Autonomous Shuttle as Snyder Signs Driverless Car Bills
Today, Michigan took another step toward its goal of being a global hub for the development of autonomous vehicles when the University of Michigan unveiled a 15-passenger driverless shuttle. Separately, Governor Rick Snyder signed legislation easing regulations for testing autonomous technologies down the road at the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn. U-M’s electric shuttle, … Continue reading “U-M Unveils Autonomous Shuttle as Snyder Signs Driverless Car Bills”
Chinese Firm Invests $27M in U-M’s Autonomous Tech Research
The Chinese investment firm Frontt Capital Management has invested $27 million to advance autonomous vehicle and robotics research at the University of Michigan, the school said in a press release. Mark Schlissel and S. Jack Hu, the university’s president and vice president for research, respectively, signed a memorandum of understanding with Shenzhen-based Frontt. The firm concentrates on developing China’s intelligent vehicle industry, … Continue reading “Chinese Firm Invests $27M in U-M’s Autonomous Tech Research”
Toyota Opens New $1B Autonomous Vehicle Research Hub in Ann Arbor
All anyone in the automotive industry seems to be talking about these days is the race to develop autonomous cars and new mobility applications. The announcement last month of a new $1 billion Toyota vehicle research operation in Ann Arbor, MI, is another significant milestone in Michigan’s quest to lead the nation in the development … Continue reading “Toyota Opens New $1B Autonomous Vehicle Research Hub in Ann Arbor”
Zendrive is First Participant in U-M’s New TechLab Program at MCity
The University of Michigan’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Mobility Transformation Center are partnering on a new collaboration at MCity called TechLab, designed to help get connected and driverless car technologies to market faster. Meant to unite the efforts of university researchers, student innovators, and advanced transportation startups, TechLab is part startup incubator and part interactive … Continue reading “Zendrive is First Participant in U-M’s New TechLab Program at MCity”
Siemens Showcases Future of Smart Cities with Ann Arbor Partnership
Siemens, a global tech company with more than 340,000 employees in 200 countries, has chosen Ann Arbor, MI, as its first Center of Excellence for Intelligent Traffic Technology, designating the city as a so-called “living lab” to test and demonstrate the latest smart city innovations. Although the company has had a technology partnership with Ann … Continue reading “Siemens Showcases Future of Smart Cities with Ann Arbor Partnership”
MCity and the Race to Get Connected Cars on the Road
The University of Michigan unveiled MCity this week to a throng of international media and local dignitaries on hand to check out the $6.5 million, 32-acre controlled environment specifically designed to test the potential of connected and automated vehicle technologies. The replica city—complete with movable building facades; roundabouts and traffic signals; bike lanes and a … Continue reading “MCity and the Race to Get Connected Cars on the Road”