INSIGHT | Happy New Year
Cheers to a healthy, happy 2021!
2020 was a challenging year, marked by uncertainty, change, and a measure of anxiety. As we begin 2021, Mcity is especially grateful to our industry, government and academic partners as we continue our work together toward a safer, more efficient, more accessible mobility ecosystem. Many thanks, as well, to those who support Mcity by subscribing to this newsletter. Wishing you all a safe, peaceful New Year.
Happy Anniversary, Mcity Test Facility! Still evolving. Still innovating. Still one-of-a-kind
The Mcity Test Facility opened five years ago as the world's first proving ground purpose-built for evaluating connected and automated vehicles and technologies.

Today, the test facility continues to evolve and innovate with new features and capabilities, including:
  • Robotic pedestrian platforms
  • Mcity-designed software and app to control facility features, infrastructure
  • 5G and edge computing
  • Lates crosswalk technology
In Their Own Words
We were unable to celebrate the Mcity Test Facility's 5-year anniversary in person due to COVID-19 precautions. So we reached out to those who were instrumental in launching the facility and ensuring its success. They shared their thoughts, memories, and experiences via video.
Bonus Video: "We Built Mcity" 1980's style
Finally, what's an anniversary celebration without a little extra fun? Especially during a global pandemic that made 2020 a year none of us will soon forget.

Taking a cue from Starship and their 1980's mega-hit, "We Built This City," we present, "We Built Mcity."

Enjoy!
Riders, nonriders gain trust in AV tech after Mcity Driverless Shuttle experience
Results from the nation's first driverless shuttle project to focus primarily on consumer acceptance and data collection show high levels of trust and satisfaction among both riders and nonriders of the Mcity Driverless Shuttle.

Mcity at the University of Michigan completed its driverless shuttle research project with a safety record free of major incidents, and published its findings in a white paper.

Results of Mcity's consumer survey, conducted in partnership with global market research firm J.D. Power, showed that 86% of riders said they trusted the technology after riding in it, as did 66% of nonriders surveyed.
Mcity Shuttle at The Henry Ford
U-M donated one of two shuttles used for the project to The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan. Manufactured by French firm Navya, the shuttles were fully automated, all-electric and carried eleven passengers.

Mcity Staff Spotlight
Carnivore's delight! Mcity's in-house charcuterie expert knows his bacon
Mcity Associate Director Greg McGuire was already an accomplished beer home-brewer when he and his wife, Emily, bought their house on the west side of Ann Arbor in 2011. Who knew the house had everything McGuire needed to start another hobby that would pair well with brewing beer: Making charcuterie.

The house featured a “Michigan basement” with a fieldstone foundation and dirt floor — a “glorified root cellar,” as McGuire put it.

“I was looking around to see what I can do down here in this basement,” he said. “I can brew in there, I can ferment things in there. It’s cool and humid. Then somebody said, ‘You could cure salami or something in there,’ so that’s when I got into charcuterie.”

Now, McGuire's getting some of his Mcity colleagues hooked, too.

LEADING THE TRANSFORMATION
TO CONNECTED AND AUTOMATED VEHICLES
Mcity at the University of Michigan is leading the transition to connected and automated vehicles. Home to world-renowned researchers, a one-of-a-kind test facility, and on-road deployments, Mcity brings together industry, government, and academia to improve transportation safety, sustainability, and accessibility for the benefit of society.