American Center for Mobility establishes partnership with international proving grounds, harmonizes CAV testing protocols and best practices

The American Center for Mobility (ACM) recently announced a partnership with AstaZero AB (Sweden) and K-City (Republic of Korea) to establish globally harmonized approaches for the development of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) in test environments. The Centre of Excellence for Testing and Research for AVs – NTU (CETRAN) (Singapore) will also be a participant in partnership activities.

Leaders from the participating proving grounds gathered at ACM to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will promote the sharing of cutting-edge testing scenarios, safety methods, and physical validation of CAV technologies.
“As the automotive industry continues to evolve there is a clear need for a standardized and consistent method for testing and validating CAV technologies, ideally communized across the globe,” said John Maddox, president and CEO of ACM. “By establishing this partnership, we are able to integrate the best of our individual practices and facilities to ensure various countries are unified in meeting the challenges associated with advanced level automated driving systems.”
With some of the country’s most progressive laws on testing driverless vehicles, Michigan has become a hub of activity for companies and start-ups working in transportation. The MOU builds on Michigan’s efforts to ensure sustained corporation with other global leaders in research and development and implementation of future technologies.

As part of the MOU, participants will meet on a semi-annual basis to exchange testing updates, address areas of mutual concern related to risk management, deployment environments and data information tools.

“International cooperation in the development of test facilities will provide industry and research greater ability to test in realistic and sustainable world-leading test environments earlier in the development chain,” said Peter Janevik, CEO of AstaZero.

“K-City is a world-class automated test facility, and as we support our testers, it is important that we collaborate with partners across the globe, including ACM, to ensure we provide the very best practices and approaches for this technology,” said Hae Boung Kwon, General Director of the Korea Automobile Testing & Research Institute.

Participating members of the agreement initially convened in Montréal during the 2017 ITS World Congress at the Intelligent Testing Symposium hosted by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) held to connect thought leaders and create global conversations around international programs in the space of advanced mobility.

“Michigan is leading the next revolution in transportation by creating a robust automotive ecosystem through strategic collaborations and engaging partners from across the globe,” said Jeff Mason, CEO of the MEDC . “We commend ACM for being an active and engaged partner in that ecosystem and doing the work necessary to ensure the next generation of autonomous vehicles are road ready.”

About ACM
The American Center for Mobility is a non-profit testing, education and product development facility for future mobility, designed to enable safe validation and self-certification of connected and automated vehicle technology and future mobility, and to accelerate the development of voluntary standards. ACM is one of 10 U.S. DOT designated Automated Vehicle Proving Grounds in the U.S. ACM is also part of PlanetM, a collaborative that represents Michigan’s unique and vast ecosystem, connecting resources and opportunities for its consortium of members.

Made up of industry, government and academia, partners in PlanetM share the common goal of leading the development of smart solutions that will change the way people and goods are transported across all modes of transportation.

To learn more about how Michigan is leading the transportation revolution or to become a member, visit PlanetM. To learn more about ACM, visit americanmobstg.wpengine.com.