At this job, you could commute in a driverless car
Wisconsin’s Foxconn hoping to reshape transportation in USA
MILWAUKEE – The shuttles ferrying workers onto Foxconn’s sprawling new U.S. campus could forego one worker: the driver.
The Taiwan-based electronic manufacturer’s plans to use driverless vehicles to move thousands of workers a day at its 22 million-square-foot campus about 30 miles south of Milwaukee could pave new ground for the technology, which promises to reshape transportation in this country.
More than a dozen states are scrambling to get ready for self-driving cars, and while major companies from Google parent Alphabet to General Motors are testing such cars, few are in use yet. Foxconn’s plans could accelerate Wisconsin’s move into self-driving cars and show how existing highways can be modified for autonomous vehicles.
Foxconn Technology Group in July announced
plans to construct a $10 billion manufacturing plant to build the liquid crystal displays used in televisions, computer screens and other products. It’s a landmark deal that, with nearly $3 billion in state incentives, also amounted to the largest incentive package for a foreign company in U.S. history.
The company has told Wisconsin officials that it wants roads with technological innovations, including those that can ferry workers and cargo in autonomous vehicles to its facilities east of I-94.
Wisconsin officials previously acknowledged Foxconn’s interest in seeing such lanes on I-94 for driverless vehicles to move supplies between Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport and the factory. The company also envisions the use of such vehicles close to the plant to ease commuting pressures.
Self-driving vehicles are expected to be used for an array of purposes, including trucking and on-demand car services. The vehicles are guided with radar, global positioning systems and on-board cameras. Upgrading roads so their high-tech gear can “see” essential road markings is one key part of transitioning to driverless cars.
Another is a national regulatory framework. In September, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued new guidelines for companies developing self-driving vehicles that re- moved waiting periods for testing and roll-outs. The guidelines, however, drew criticism from consumer groups with safety concerns who said the Trump administration was siding too much with industry groups.
In Wisconsin, the state Department of Transportation said in documents that it is “strongly committed” to making upgrades on key roads by 2021 to accommodate self-driving vehicles, at least near the plant.
In January, the U.S. Department of Transportation named the University of Wisconsin-Madison as one of 10 “proving grounds,” or pilot sites, across the country designed to encourage testing, information sharing and research involving automated vehicle technologies.
The expected size of the Foxconn project potential logistical issues — both for the site of the plant in a rural area of Racine County and the freeway system south of Milwaukee in Racine and Kenosha counties. In that area, congestion during peak periods is already a problem and is projected by state planners to worsen in the coming years due to Foxconn and other pressures.
Foxconn intends to employ driverless vehicles to move an estimated 4,000 employees per shift to their jobs at the company’s plant, according to state DOT documents.
Workers at the plant would park their cars in lots west of I-94, and then be driven a mile or two to Foxconn’s campus along two roads that are slated for major upgrade, DOT documents show.