Autonomous vehicle engineering provider Dataspeed has received a US$1.77m grant to develop shuttle services for attendees of the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) media days.
Dataspeed was awarded the grant in partnership with AM General, Comet Mobility, Easterseals and Michigan State University from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT).
The grant was awarded to winners of the NAIAS 2020 Michigan Mobility Challenge dedicated to developing AVs to shuttle NAIAS attendees.
The Dataspeed-led team was one of two autonomous airport-to-downtown route providers. Select attendees can go downtown from Detroit Metropolitan Airport during the NAIAS media days from June 8 to June 11.
The autonomous shuttles, which Dataspeed will engineer on the AM General MV-1 platform, will be equipped with software and sensors including lidar, radar, GPS and cameras to detect, predict and react during the pre-planned route.
Paul Fleck, founder and CEO of Dataspeed, said, “This project is a paramount step for the autonomous vehicle industry by showcasing driverless solutions that can bridge the mobility gap for seniors and persons with disabilities. These shuttle rides will build upon the increasing public trust and interest surrounding self-driving cars.”
