Siemens’ Intelligent Traffic Systems (ITS) business unit will provide connected vehicle technology and smart traffic control infrastructure to the American Center for Mobility (ACM) for automated and connected vehicle testing.
The new contract will the Siemens group’s second partnership with the ACM. Under the new agreement, Siemens ITS will provide approximately US$1m in state-of-the-art ITS infrastructure, software and engineering support to aid ACM in developing real-world testing and validation of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs).
The newest agreement between Siemens and ACM adds physical infrastructure, software applications, and analytics to the Virtual Simulation and Testing systems provided by Siemens PLM, which was announced in May this year. Under the terms of this new agreement Siemens ITS will also have a seat on ACM’s Industry Advisory Board (IAB). Under the previous deal, Siemens PLM also has a place on the IAB.
The two Siemens divisions join a long list of companies supporting ACM, including its founders AT&T, Visteon Corporation, Toyota, Ford and Hyundai America Technical Center Inc.; sponsors Microsoft, Subaru of America Inc., and Adient; and partners Microsoft, Intertek and Deloitte.
As a leader in connected vehicle and intelligent transportation technologies, Siemens ITS is already working with several cities in the USA, including Tampa (Florida), New York, Las Vegas (Nevada), and Ann Arbor (Michigan) to design and deploy these types of intelligent systems. The company is also a member of the USDOT’s Affiliated Test Bed for Connected Vehicle technologies, a group pursuing wide-spread deployment of wireless communication systems between vehicles and road infrastructure (V2I).
“This expanded partnership with Siemens enables the ACM to be outfitted with the best infrastructure and applications to benefit our testers,” said Soraya Kim, chief innovation officer of the ACM. “Our goal is to provide our testers with the means for exhaustive validation methodologies and comprehensive regulations for the safe deployment of connected vehicle technologies; something I am confident this extended partnership accomplishes.”
Marcus Welz, CEO of Siemens ITS, commented, “Michigan has done an incredible job of ensuring its position as a leading technology hub for future transportation solutions, and the American Center for Mobility is an important cornerstone of that effort. As a company that is transforming today’s digitized environment for many different transportation applications, we realize the importance of being involved with the type of research and testing that is happening at this center and its ecosystem.”
Dave Lauzun, vice president of automotive and transportation industries at Siemens PLM, added, “Now, having both our virtual and physical assets at the Center will ensure a comprehensive validation of today’s, and tomorrow’s, mobility ecosystem.”
