Continuing the transformation of Michigan into the national hub for connected-vehicle research, the Michigan DOT announced it is working with automakers and the University of Michigan to deploy more than 120 miles of vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) corridors in the metro Detroit area. The announcement came during the ITS World Congress in Detroit this week.
According to MDOT, the deployment will focus on a 50-mile stretch of I-96/I-696 between St. Clair Shores and Brighton, Mich. The highway is one of the most heavily congested in the state and is the central connector for technology and automotive development in the region.
Sensors and cameras for data collection will line the entire corridor, deployed as far as a half-mile off the highway. No mention was made of how many vehicles will be deployed on I-96/I-696 or how long the testing period will run.
MDOT already has several other metro Detroit l sites in mind for future V2I and V2V research corridors, including I-94, I-75 and U.S. 23.
A connected-vehicle safety pilot is ongoing in Ann Arbor, Mich., with the number of vehicles involved possibly swelling from 3,000 to 9,000 before the new corridor is complete.
