AASHTO Journal, 4 April 2014
Michigan Department of Transportation officials announced Wednesday that Quantum Signal has become the first company to receive manufacturer plates under a new Michigan law that broadens eligibility in automated vehicle testing on the state’s roadways.
Gov. Rick Snyder signed Public Act 231 into law last December, a measure that “explicitly approved testing of driverless cars on Michigan roads and expanded the eligibility of those who can do the testing to include universities and automated technology developers and suppliers,” according to a news release form MDOT. Before this law, only a few groups could legally test the technology on the roads.
“Vehicles with semi-autonomous and fully autonomous capabilities are clearly the future of automotive transportation, and having the opportunity to test advanced systems on public roadways will help our team enhance the technology to better traverse the complexities of the roadway that we as human drivers face every day,” said Quantum Signal CEO and co-founder Mitchell Rohde in a statement.
The new law gives the Michigan Secretary of State responsibility for issuing the manufacturer plates, though that is done through a strong partnership with and assistance from MDOT.
“This new law will help make Michigan the leader in automated vehicles in the world, and that means good-paying jobs for Michigan,” said MDOT Director Kirk Steudle in a statement. “It also means safer roads in the future, as well as less expensive ones as we reduce the need to design roads for human error.”
Michigan has been a pioneer in the automated/driverless vehicle technology arena. After years of pilot testing, MDOT partnered with the University of Michigan and its Mobility Transformation Center to “lay the technical, social, cultural and regulatory groundwork to accelerate the development of a commercially viable ‘ecosystem’ of connected and automated vehicles” to demonstrate a mobility system of connected and automated vehicles and infrastructure in Michigan’s southeast region “rapidly and effectively” (see related AASHTO Journal story here).
Additional information on Michigan’s automated vehicle initiatives is available here.
