AUTONOMOUS CARS FOCUS OF FCA SITE
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is spending more than US$30 million on a new autonomous-vehicle testing facility on its Chelsea Proving Grounds in Michigan, the automaker has announced.
Testing programs at the site are slated to start this month.
The facility includes a highway-speed track, a 35-acre paved evaluation area and a 6,500-square-foot “command centre.”
The goal is to conduct testing of selfdriving vehicle systems as well as active safety technologies. The track is designed to subject autonomous tech to real-world conditions, with “obstacles, tunnels, varying road lighting conditions and interstate-style exit and entrance ramps.”
The Chelsea Proving Grounds opened in 1954 and is staffed by about 900 people year-round. The site was home to one of the first wind tunnels owned by an automaker.