Highlights:

  • ACM gets its first license for automated vehicle (AV) testing software.
  • The Mcity OS software allows scientists to develop and execute complex, highly repeatable testing scenarios for AV, CV, or CAV vehicles.
  • Mcity OS is beneficial in situations concerning smart road infrastructure and intelligent transportation systems.
  • The app used for managing software is called ‘Skyline’ by Mcity.

Mobility solution

For the first time, a novel cloud-based operating system for testing connected or automated vehicles (AV) has been licensed. The American Center for Mobility (ACM) in Ypsilanti Township was the first one to receive this first license. Mcity developed the platform. Mcity is an AV test site that mimics a small town at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

The Mcity OS software allows scientists to develop and execute complex, highly repeatable testing scenarios for vehicles that are automated (AV), connected (CV), or both connected and automated (CAV). The U-M Office of Technology Transfer is licensing these to the American Center for Mobility.

As per developers, Mcity OS is beneficial in situations concerning smart road infrastructure and intelligent transportation systems. ACM teams up with Mcity to integrate Mcity OS with simulated and physical test infrastructure at its approximately 500-acre Smart Mobility Test Center, i.e., about 15 miles east of Ann Arbor.

With the help of Mcity OS, scientists could boost AV (automated vehicles), CV (connected vehicles), or CAV (connected automated vehicles) testing by reducing the overall testing costs and increasing overall product development speed. The software is managed using several internet-enabled devices, including an in-vehicle computer system, smartphone, or laptop/tablet. The app used for managing software is called ‘Skyline’ by Mcity.

When Mcity OS is certified for use at other testing sites, such as ACM, situations developed at one location could be replicated, increasing the reliability of testing results and ultimately saving time.

Experts’ take

Greg McGuire, Associate Director at Mcity, commented: “Vehicles of the future are magnitudes more capable and complex in their behaviors than vehicles today.” He further added, “Test facilities have to advance along with them in terms of their own capabilities.”

McGuire and Tyler Worman, Manager, Software Engineering – Mcity at University of Michigan, commented: “They saw the need for something like Mcity OS when they realized many users of Mcity’s test facility were not taking advantage of the infrastructure, such as smart intersections, a working railroad crossing, and pedestrian crosswalks.”

Worman added, “Testing engineers were controlling individual features at the test facility manually, perhaps by using a radio to instruct a colleague at a traffic signal to turn the light red. With Mcity OS, you can orchestrate that.”

Reuben Sarkar, President and CEO at American Center for Mobility, commented: “ACM is an ecosystem where we constantly look to integrate the latest testing technologies like Mcity OS to support engineers as they prove out new use case scenarios.” He further added, “Mcity OS is now a key part of our toolset, serving to improve our customers’ efficiency when using ACM’s comprehensive capabilities. The collaboration with Mcity has been an outstanding example of how we can complement each other to bring new value to the mobility ecosystem.”

It’s not just that Mcity OS would be applicable for vehicle test facilities, but would also be the core for future smart mobility applications. The primary goal of Mcity was to develop a software system that could be specifically used at the Mcity Test Facility.

Worman adds: “We’ve changed technologies behind the scenes quite a bit, but we’ve really tried not to change anything that users interact with. If you wrote a testing or research data collection scenario two years ago during the early development phase of Mcity OS, it will still run today.”