Visteon Corp., a leading automotive cockpit electronics supplier, is joining forces with the American Center for Mobility (ACM) in Southeast Michigan to support the development and testing of connected and automated transportation technologies. With a $5 million strategic investment, Visteon is the first Tier 1 automotive supplier to join as a Founder-level sponsor of the center.

The American Center for Mobility is a world-class non-profit testing and product development facility at the historic Willow Run site in Ypsilanti, Michigan, dedicated to leading the safe development of automated technologies and vehicles onto America’s roads.

“We are proud to be associated with what promises to be the premiere national facility for mobility and advanced automotive testing and product development,” said Visteon President and CEO Sachin Lawande. “The center is ideally positioned to fulfill the need to further develop, test and validate new connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technologies that offer great promise for the nation’s transportation system. Teaming with ACM will help advance our own autonomous driving platform while bringing significant benefits to consumers, transportation users and transportation operators.”

Lawande added, “Working with the center provides Visteon a unique opportunity to create and test technologies for automated vehicles in a safe and controlled environment that mirrors conditions on roads and highways where these technologies ultimately will be applied.”

Visteon intends to use the center to test and validate technology related to its DriveCore artificial intelligence-based autonomous driving platform, which the company will introduce at CES 2018 in Las Vegas.

John Maddox, president and CEO for the American Center for Mobility, said, “We are thrilled to have Visteon as a Founder, as they embody the spirit of business collaboration and technical innovation that is our core mission. Partnering with automotive technology leaders such as Visteon, along with the State of Michigan and other organizations, is instrumental in putting self-driving cars on America’s roads safely.”

Focus areas for Visteon’s testing and validation at the center include:

• Autonomous driving algorithms
• Vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure technology and functionality, integrated with autonomous driving
• Sensor technology
• Security protocols

Visteon believes that teaming with ACM will help advance development of its autonomous driving platform, which encompasses three key elements:

• Creating fail-safe, centralized domain controller hardware that provides a high degree of scalability in terms of computing power, and offers integration of data from multiple camera, LiDAR and radar sensors.
• Unlocking the innovation potential of algorithm developers through an open framework for sensor-based artificial intelligence algorithm development, complemented by a test and simulation environment.
• Applying artificial intelligence for object detection, classification, perception and decision-making in autonomous vehicles.

Construction is well underway at the ACM. To date, $108 million needed to fully fund the advanced test bed has been secured, and additional private investment announcements are expected soon.

Visteon joins other ACM Founders: AT&T, Toyota, Ford and Hyundai, which announced their support of ACM earlier this year.

Located on 500-plus acres at the Willow Run site, the center will be a purpose-built facility designed for testing, education and product development. It will enable safe validation and self-certification of CAV technology, and accelerate the development of voluntary standards and workforce education programs, leveraging Michigan’s renowned mobility expertise.

The nationally designated proving grounds will include a myriad of real-world environments with the ability to test under varied, yet controlled conditions. Its unmatched range of driving environments and infrastructure will include a 2.5-mile highway loop, a 700-foot curved tunnel, two double overpasses, intersections and roundabouts. The first phase of the project is on track to be open for testing in December 2017. Other phases including ACM headquarters and convening center, and other real-world environments are slated to open in stages through December 2019.  

ACM is a joint initiative with the State of Michigan, founded in partnership with the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Michigan Economic Development Corp., University of Michigan, Business Leaders for Michigan and Ann Arbor SPARK.

To learn more about the American Center for Mobility, visit acmwillowrun.org.