AUTONOMOUS CAR RACE
As Silicon Valley aims to be centre of self-driving tech, Detroit is giving them a run for their money,
In the race to develop self-driving cars, Michigan is suddenly aiming to give Silicon Valley a run for its money.
The Motor City has been the centre of the United States auto industry for more than a century. But as computer chips and software have become increasingly important in automobiles, Silicon Valley has seemed to take the lead, especially in the development of supersmart cars.
Google and Tesla, for example, have been at the forefront in creating cars with the ability to drive themselves. And many automakers have opened California outposts to become part of the high-tech scene. Uber and Lyft, the app-based ride-hailing services, are both based in San Francisco. But Michigan is trying to regain the high ground. General Motors, Ford Motor Company and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles are all engaged in autonomous vehicle projects based in Detroit’s environs, and the state government is laying the groundwork for even more self-driving development. This month, Gov. Rick Snyder signed a package of laws to permit more extensive testing of self-driving cars on public roads, while clearing the way for use of autonomous vehicles in trials by ridehailing services.
“We are opening a new portal for autonomous technology,” Snyder said in an interview. “This helps reinforce the message that Michigan is a place of innovation.”
The passage of Michigan’s new laws come as Uber battles with California authorities over the company’s test of self-driving cars in San Francisco. The state contends Uber has not obtained the necessary permits. Nevada and Arizona are also vying to lure companies that are testing and de- veloping self-driving cars. What’s at stake is a potential economic boost — the millions of dollars automakers and others are spending on research and engineering, and the high-paying jobs they are creating.
The city of Pittsburgh is also intent on competing with Detroit as a selfdriving technopolis. Because of some pioneering research in self-driving technology at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh has emerged as a key development site. Uber has started using autonomous cars to provide rides in one section of the city.
Even before Michigan passed its new laws, the state was gaining ground. Earlier this year, Google’s self-driving car project, now called Waymo, partnered with Fiat Chrysler to develop a fleet of 100 self-driving minivans and opened a technical office in Novi, Mich., near Detroit.
The modified Pacifica vans, engineered in Michigan and assembled at Fiat Chrysler’s plant in Windsor, Ont., just across the river from Detroit, were recently delivered to Waymo. The two companies tested the first prototypes at Fiat Chrysler’s proving grounds near Ann Arbor.
Ontario means to play its own big role in self-driving technology. Earlier this year, General Motors announced that it would create up to 1,000 engineering jobs in the province, many focused on autonomous driving software development. And this week Prime Minister Justin Trudeau officially opened BlackBerry’s self-driving research centre in Ottawa. It is based around a compa- ny formerly known QNX Software Systems, which has a long history as a supplier to auto companies.
Back in Michigan, Ford is expanding its autonomous car efforts at its headquarters in Dearborn.
It has built 30 self-driving cars and aims to have a fully automated car, with no steering wheel or pedals, in volume production by 2021. Ford intends for those cars to be first used in urban, ride-hailing fleets.
The University of Michigan has created a 13-hectare centre for testing self-driving vehicles in Ann Arbor.
Called MCity, the facility has streets, intersections, traffic lights and road signs that provide a realistic environment where companies can hone autonomous vehicles before putting them on public roads.
The university has also broken ground on a much larger,135-hectare site that was once the home of a Second World War bomber factory.
Michigan’s new laws allow the testing of autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheel or gas and brake pedals. California prohibits testing of such cars on public roads.
Michigan is also allowing more extensive testing of autonomous trucks travelling in groups or platoons.
“There’s the wrangling going on between the tech companies and the authorities in California over what is and what isn’t allowed,” said Karl Brauer, a senior editor at Kelley Blue Book, an automotive research firm. “Meanwhile, in Michigan, you get the sense that it’s ‘What can we do to help you?’ ”