EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State University announced today that the Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification has established a new partnership agreement with MSU’s Indy Autonomous Challenge team, PoliMOVE-MSU. The collaboration supports a variety of the team’s activities, helping to provide students with hands-on experiential learning with the latest connected and automated vehicle, or CAV, technologies in a unique and demanding team environment. This agreement also will enable MSU to engage Michigan K-12 STEAM students in the future of mobility by providing access to the IAC team through events, campus tours and race event visits.
In December, MSU announced it would be joining Politecnico di Milano, a prominent research university in Milan, Italy, to compete in the IAC under the team name PoliMOVE-MSU, marking the first time a team from Michigan has competed in the IAC racing series. MSU’s official involvement with the IAC program kicked off at the Consumer Technology Association’s CES event on Jan. 11 in Las Vegas, where the team demoed a new IAC AV-24, retrofitted with hardware and controls to enable autonomous control, as well as artificial intelligence drivers programmed by team members.
The IAC features autonomous Indy-style, driverless, high-powered race cars that can reach speeds near 200 mph. Launched in 2019, it brings together academic institutions and public-private partnerships to challenge university students from across the world to invent and prove out new generations of automated vehicle software.
“We are grateful to have the support of the Office of Future Mobility and Electrification and the state’s Chief Mobility Officer, Justine Johnson, as we embark on the future of autonomous racing,” said Judd Herzer, MSU Mobility director. “As a top-three focus area for MSU, MSU Mobility is dedicated to developing mobility talent and strengthening the workforce pipeline. The OFME’s partnership will help us add more students to our race team and provide them line-of-sight into the types of unique and exhilarating careers there are in the mobility sector.”
The IAC stage allows MSU to develop and showcase research efforts in vehicle lightweighting, electric and autonomous vehicles, battery and energy storage technology and more. Students also get the unique opportunity to experience high-level competition as they prepare for career opportunities in this dynamic space.
“Michigan’s creativity, innovation and mobility leadership is globally renown; we remain committed as ever to delivering on that leadership by creating opportunities for young people to build exciting and impactful careers in the future of mobility and electrification,” said Johnson. “Our partnership with MSU Mobility is one of many ways that we continue to remind the world that the future of mobility will be driven by the state of Michigan — whether it’s by air, sea, land or racetrack.”
Most recently, PoliMOVE-MSU team members participated in a challenge in England at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The PoliMOVE-MSU team set a new autonomous record by completing the historical Goodwood hill climb in 66.37 seconds and achieved another record with its top speed of 179 kph during the challenge. Next up is a head-to-head race of the world’s fastest autonomous racecars at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sept. 6, 2024.
To engage with MSU’s IAC race team or become a Checkered Flag or Green Flag supporter with a “front row” seat to experience the future of racing, please contact David Bertram at dbertram@msu.edu or 517-927-3525.
Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 165 years. One of the world’s leading public research universities, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery to make a better, safer, healthier world for all while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 400 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.
About MSU Mobility
MSU has transformed its 5,200-acre campus into a live, connected ecosystem to advance smart-vehicle technology and better understand the human element. With a range of urban, suburban, industrial and rural zones, featuring nearly 60 lane miles of roads, MSU Mobility’s controlled infrastructure – including its own green energy generation and distribution grid – and active campus make it ideal to test emerging technologies for new mobility solutions. Additionally, MSU offers a strong mobility talent pool, with more than 75% of engineering students remaining in the Midwest following graduation and nearly 60% being employed in Michigan.
Learn more about the university’s ecosystem approach and Mobility at MSU.
About Office of Future Mobility and Electrification
OFME works across state government, academia and private industry to enhance Michigan’s mobility ecosystem, including developing dynamic mobility and electrification policies and supporting the startup and scale up of emerging technologies and businesses.
About Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development with the focus on growing Michigan’s economy. For more information on the MEDC and our initiatives, visit www.MichiganBusiness.org. For Pure Michigan® tourism information, your trip begins at www.michigan.org. Join the conversation on: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn, and X.
Source: MSU Mobility
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