The recent announcement of a collaboration between electric commercial vehicle manufacturer Vicinity Motor Corporation and automated driving software platform provider Adastec is being followed by details of a number of new customers. The two companies have already announced an agreement with the University of Buffalo to supply an SAE Level 4 automated bus and now they have added Michigan State University to their deployment plans.
The Vicinity Autonomous Lightning Electric transit bus will be used at the MSU East Lansing Campus from the second quarter of 2024. MSU has been using Adastec’s SAE Level 4 automated driving software technology since 2021 when it became the first company to deploy a full-size automated bus on public roads in the USA. The service covered a 4.6-mile route, including seven intersections, pedestrian crossings and a bicycle lane, all while maintaining a maximum speed of 25mph. This initiative was equipped with Signal Phase and Timing (SPAT) technology as part of a shared vision of the future of campus transit.
“The partnership between Adastec and MSU’s Infrastructure, Planning and Facilities team has created the opportunity to learn and assess the performance of mobility infrastructure assets MSU installed to advance the operational deployment of the automated bus on MSU’s East Lansing campus,” said Adam S Lawver, director of Campus Services at MSU.
“It is exciting to continue this important work for not only improving the MSU campus mobility infrastructure, but to help other entities learn from our deployment, so they can build upon and advance to further stages of their respective mobility efforts.”
Ali Peker, CEO of Adastec, sees the collaboration as taking automated buses to the next level, with his colleague, Cemre Kavvasoglu (product management director – North America), saying it sets a new standard in campus transit and takes the bus and its automated software out of the testing ground and into a living mobility lab.
“Our very successful partnership with Adastec has contributed greatly to Michigan State University’s status as a leading mobility research institution,” said Judd Herzer, mobility director at MSU. “The level of professionalism and technical expertise at Adastec gives us confidence in our shared vision for the future of ADAS technologies and transit services.”