University of Michigan to receive nearly $10 million for connected vehicle tech

Riley Beggin
The Detroit News

Washington — The University of Michigan will receive a nearly $10 million grant to research connected vehicle technology, the Department of Transportation announced Thursday.

The $9.85 million in funding will go to the university's Transportation Research Institute and be used to prepare Ann Arbor's infrastructure to allow car companies to test and deploy new technology under the Ann Arbor Connected Environment Reimagined project.

It will use "cellular vehicle-to-everything technology," according to the Federal Highway Administration. The project aims to help connect passenger cars, trucks, buses and pedestrians with safety information.

Jim Sayer, director of U-M's Transportation Research Institute, thanked Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, for his leadership on the issue and said the funding would allow researchers to speed up connected vehicle and infrastructure deployment in the U.S.

"We believe the widespread deployment of cellular vehicle-to-everything will create more than 120,000 jobs developing new products, applications, services and smart infrastructure," he said. "The impact will be felt broadly and across economic sectors, including infrastructure owner-operators, vehicle manufacturers, technology providers, and chipset designers to name a few."

Federal Highway Administration Administrator Shailen Bhatt says connected vehicle technology is key to the federal government's goal of eliminating traffic deaths.

FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt also said the funding is intended to support transportation systems "designed to reach everyone and to work for everyone."

“Connected vehicle technologies are a key tool for getting to zero deaths on America’s roadways," he said.

The grant is part of a $52.78 million program approved as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in 2021. Funds will go to eight projects around the country to work on "innovative technology-based solutions" to improve travel on highways and transit.

The project launched in 2012 with $30 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation and expanded from northeast Ann Arbor to 27 square miles encompassing the city.

It is the world's largest "operational, real-world deployment of connected vehicles and connected infrastructure," according to UM.

rbeggin@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @rbeggin