Mcity 2: An Integrated Automated Testbed for Autonomous Transportation Research

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This NSF Civil Infrastructure Systems project will create the world’s first fully automated augmented-reality test facility for autonomous transportation research. Connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technologies have the potential to significantly improve safety, mobility, and sustainability, but also pose great challenges in technical and social dimensions including control, sensing, communication, human-in-the-loop, etc. Although significant research effort has been dedicated to the research and development of CAV technologies, most research ideas have been tested using simulation only with limited open datasets. Access to physical test facilities and large-scale real-world data is limited, severely hindering the progress of scientific research and technology development. This project will leverage the University of Michigan’s existing Mcity Test Facility—the world’s first purpose-built CAV proving ground—by integrating the physical test track with a software simulation environment to create an augmented-reality CAV testbed that would be made available to academic researchers nationwide through cloud-based access. This project will provide the means for nation-wide collaborative discovery and collective effort to accelerate the research and workforce development of CAV technologies. The project will also significantly broaden participation by providing easier access to top-tier research infrastructure for the research community, especially those with less resources from under-served communities. The Mcity augmented reality testbed integrates three components: (1)a physical test facility including infrastructure and CAV fleet, (2) a mobility data center that collects and shares near-real-time traffic information from 21 intersections, (3) an augmented naturalistic diving simulator. This testbed will be automated so researchers can configure and control the test facility infrastructure (e.g., traffic lights, crosswalk buttons, rail-crossing arms, etc.) and build test scenarios using a web-based graphical user interface. The Mobility Data Center will make available sensor data sharing messages (SDSMs) broadcast by roadside units (RSUs) in the Ann Arbor Living Laboratory publicly to the research community. Such data will be used to develop a naturalistic driving environment (NDE) simulator that users can test their algorithms before deployment at the physical Mcity Test Facility, with a blend of real and virtual fellow road users. All test data will be archived in a cloud database to enable secure access and data/method sharing for research and education purposes. A Technical Advisory Committee, composed of members of government, academia, and industry, will be established to ensure equitable and effective usage of this research infrastructure. Education and outreach activities are planned annually to strengthen academic-industry partnerships and workforce development for the emerging CAV industry.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.