Mcity, the new 32-acre autonomous vehicle testing environment, opened July 20th on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. This research facility - consisting of city streets, complex intersections, dirt roads, highways, tunnels, and simulated forest covered roads - was established by U-M's Mobility Transformation Center (MTC) in conjunction with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), and with the support of automotive manufacturers and suppliers, telecommunication companies, and the global insurance industry.
The MTC's stated goal is to help the global auto industry in "dramatically improving (vehicle) safety, reducing congestion, and conserving energy." The MTC is exploring the use of connected and autonomous technologies to achieve these goals. During the Mcity event, MTC members - including China's Changan Automobile - exhibited the latest connected and autonomous vehicle applications.
Changan Automobile sponsors both the MTC and Mcity. The company's Mcity exhibit focused on near-term, production-ready connected vehicle technologies designed to enhance driver safety. Changan demonstrated vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications and warnings that can potentially be integrated with semi-autonomous braking. Industry attendees were afforded an opportunity to ride in a specially equipped CS35 to experience Changan's next generation smart vehicle technology.
By the end of 2015, several new features resulting from Changan's strong commitment to advanced technology will be introduced into production vehicles. "Level 1" intelligent drive (automated driver safety assist) technology will begin with the launch of the new Raeton, CS35, CS75, and Eado at year end. Additionally, the InCall 3.0+ TBOX feature is available with voice control, remote control, and access to an open Changan application platform. Vehicles like Alsvin, CS35, CS75, Eado, and Raeton can currently be equipped with InCall. Before 2015 is concluded, there will be nearly 500,000 InCall users.
Moving forward with automatic parking assist (APA) technologies, Changan R&D is completing pre-production evaluation on APA 3.0, a semiautomatic parking technology with steering wheel control and active braking. APA 3.0 will be introduced into production by 2015 year end. In accordance with Changan's Intelligent Vehicle Development Plan, the R&D focus will quickly turn toward the next generation of core technologies such as HMI and adaptive cruise.
10 August 2015
