Although Michigan is home to 2,500 small manufacturers and is the center of the domestic auto industry, it didn’t have a hardware technology incubator until Lawrence Technological University launched one about a year ago. The Centrepolis Accelerator’s mission is to help grow the state’s advanced manufacturing and hardware ecosystem by providing funding, product- and business-development … Continue reading “Free Workshops, Tools, & Advice? Centrepolis Aids Hardware Startups”
Tag: PlanetM
Ford Initiative Will Crowdsource Mobility Solutions in Detroit
It’s been a year since Ford announced it will refurbish a massive abandoned train station in Detroit and transform it into the anchor of its mobility and autonomous vehicle operations, which will eventually house hundreds of employees. This week, the automaker announced a new program called City:One Michigan Central Station Challenge to solicit ideas for … Continue reading “Ford Initiative Will Crowdsource Mobility Solutions in Detroit”
Mark Your Calendars: Startup Week Detroit Kicks Off on June 17
Every year, Detroit’s entrepreneurial community comes together for a five-day event encompassing panel discussions, TED talk-style keynote speeches, bootcamps, tech demos, and networking happy hours, all of which are open to the public and free upon registration. Techstars Startup Week Detroit kicks off on June 17, but the registration process is already underway for those … Continue reading “Mark Your Calendars: Startup Week Detroit Kicks Off on June 17”
PlanetM Awards New Grants to Advance Mobility Pilots in Michigan
PlanetM, the state of Michigan-backed business development organization, has announced a new batch of grants that aim to entice mobility startups and corporations to pilot their innovations in Michigan, or test and validate their technology at one of Michigan’s proving grounds. PlanetM has awarded a total of $440,000 in grants to five companies. The startups … Continue reading “PlanetM Awards New Grants to Advance Mobility Pilots in Michigan”
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”
Auto Show Notes: Techstars Mobility Rebrands, Expands Mission
Detroit’s North American International Auto Show was the place for a plethora of mobility-related announcements this week, including some significant news from the Boulder, CO-based Techstars accelerator program. Techstars launched an incubator for mobility startups in the Motor City four years ago, and the program has flourished since. In recognition of that success as well … Continue reading “Auto Show Notes: Techstars Mobility Rebrands, Expands Mission”
City of Detroit Tests Real-World Mobility with Innovation Initiative
Michigan’s government and business leaders have worked diligently over the past few years to position the state that put the world on wheels to be major player in the development of self-driving cars. (According to a June 25 opinion piece in Forbes, Michigan has become “the Silicon Valley of mobility.”) The city of Detroit is … Continue reading “City of Detroit Tests Real-World Mobility with Innovation Initiative”
Derq Teaches Driverless Cars to Safely Navigate Busy Intersections
There are many technical challenges to overcome in the development of self-driving cars, but one of the toughest is predicting and preventing collisions with pedestrians and other objects that end up in the roadway. As urban cyclists know, there is a fair amount of intense eye contact that goes on between bikers and drivers as … Continue reading “Derq Teaches Driverless Cars to Safely Navigate Busy Intersections”
Michigan Mobility Challenge Designed to Address Transportation Gaps
Each year, at the end of May, Michigan’s government, industry, and nonprofit leaders get together on Mackinac Island for a few days to discuss the day’s most pressing political issues. It’s a popular place to announce new policies and programs. This year, Gov. Rick Snyder used the Mackinac gathering to unveil the Michigan Mobility Challenge, … Continue reading “Michigan Mobility Challenge Designed to Address Transportation Gaps”
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””
After Conquering Detroit Auto Show, Carmera to Expand Mapping Service
At the North American International Auto Show, which just wrapped in Detroit, New York-based Carmera won best in show at the startup competition hosted by AutoMobili-D, and also received startup of the year honors in the autonomous driving category from the state’s PlanetM program. Not bad for a company that just exited stealth mode a … Continue reading “After Conquering Detroit Auto Show, Carmera to Expand Mapping Service”
Detroit Auto Show Puts Big Focus on Mobility Technologies, Startups
The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) kicked off this week in Detroit, allowing industry affiliates and media to get an early look before the show opens to the public this weekend. For the second year in a row, NAIAS highlighted the mobility sector’s potential business models and offered glimpses of how the trillion-dollar market … Continue reading “Detroit Auto Show Puts Big Focus on Mobility Technologies, Startups”