Wind River, a subsidiary of Intel and software developer for the IoT, has announced that it will join with the Transportation Research Center (TRC), Ohio State University (OSU), and the City of Dublin, Ohio to advance smart, connected, and autonomous vehicle technologies.
The planned collaboration, which is focused around the Columbus region in central Ohio, has the stated goals of accelerating learning in the automotive community, and developing strategies and technologies that safely and securely increase the pace, quality, development, testing, and deployment of self-driving and other connected vehicle technologies.
“The Central Ohio region is an emerging hub for smart city and smart vehicle technologies, and our unique ensemble approach—uniting minds from academia, the public sector, and the tech industry—can set a standard for how communities can innovate mobility and use the learnings to impact vehicle development and deployment best practices,” said Marques McCammon, general manager, Connected Vehicle Solutions, Wind River. “To realize autonomous driving for the masses, a variety of players must come together with an aligned understanding.”
The group said it is planning to test emerging technologies to discover how a symbiotic relationship between vehicles and infrastructure can improve the lives of community residents. In addition to the self-driving cars themselves, the group plans to test technologies such as vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, connected vehicle cockpit software, smart sensing and mapping, and the associated data collection. With Ohio State students, researchers, and faculty to play a key role, the collaboration is also intended to further develop the next generation of expert automotive minds.
The key objective for the project's initial phase includes joint development and testing of autonomous vehicles or “rolling laboratories.” Applying its expertise from the aerospace and defense, industrial, and automotive industries, Wind River plans to spearhead the project development and contribute its proven software for safety-critical systems.
“The first autonomous vehicle will be on the highway before the last driver vehicle comes off. So, really, part of the challenge is: how do you mix the two? We can mix the two, on purpose in a safe and controlled environment here,” said Mark-Tami Hotta, CEO and president, Transportation Research Center. “Smart mobility, with connected vehicles and enhanced infrastructures, offers greater accessibility and mobility options, reduced road congestion, and more efficient use of natural resources.”
Edited by
Alicia Young
