ANN ARBOR, Michigan—On Monday, the University of Michigan formally opened Mcity, a 32-acre outdoor research lab for testing out the future of automotive technology. Mcity simulates an urban environment for University of Michigan researchers, car makers, and technology suppliers so they can try out ideas in real-world conditions without the risks that would come on actual public streets. As it opened, we were on hand to see Mcity for ourselves and to experience some of the technology demonstrations first-hand.
If you ever had one of those large play mats for toy cars as a kid, Mcity will look familiar. It features a variety of roads and streets, including a small section of freeway, a little downtown Main Street, an underpass, gravel and brick-paved roads, roundabouts, plus plenty of traffic signals and intersections. (Of course, this one is built for real cars and adults, not Matchbox toys.) The whole lab is also packed with networked sensors to collect data on tests conducted on its streets.
The day kicked off with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Both of Michigan's senators and Congressperson Debbie Dingell sat on stage for the ceremonies alongside Ann Arbor's mayor. The intent behind Mcity was best summed up by Senator Gary Peters (D-Mich): Michigan—not Silicon Valley—should be at the vanguard of automotive technology development. That said, plenty of tech firms familiar to readers of Ars were present, including Qualcomm, Verizon, and Xerox. Traditional automotive tech firms like Bosch and DENSO came out to see the facilities, too, as did actual car makers.
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