Bloomberg Technology reported that the Toyota Motor Company will be collaborating with the University of Michigan to focus on autonomous vehicles. The initiative has been sparking among all automakers to try and curb the some 1.2 million deaths per year in auto accidents, worldwide. This will be the company's third center focusing on the technology, all of which are a part of their initial $1 billion investment in autonomous technology. The other two centers are in Palo Alto, California and Cambridge, Massachusetts. Both of these centers are very close to very influential colleges, Stanford University in California, and The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard College in Massachusetts. With the University of Michigan added to that prestigious list, Toyota will be working in close quarters with some of the best and brightest students in the country.
This joint venture is only one of many ways in which automobile manufacturers are attempting to gauge the waters of other industries. Companies like General Motors have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in ride sharing companies like Lyft. General Motors also started a new ride-sharing app called Maven recently, offering a cheap alternative to Zip Car in major cities to increase brand awareness. Automobile companies are thinking differently and citizens are reaping the benefits.
In fact, the University of Michigan center is far from the first of its kind in the area. General Motors and Ford both have plans for autonomous vehicle centers in the Metro Detroit area. MCity, the University of Michigan’s autonomous vehicle testing area, has been operational since July. The part of the country that once made almost every car which was produced in the world is now leading the research going into self driving cars. This technology could be paramount for preventing lives lost to automobile accidents. Automobile technology has been erupting from the motor city for over a century and it does not appear to be slowing down today. The safety benefits that research like this will bring is yet to be seen, but one can imagine it will be almost as huge as the invention of the automobile itself.
Autonomous car technology may be on the way, but it has not quite arrived yet, and accidents still happen. If you or someone you know has been involved in a motor vehicle accident, call the Michigan Law Firm, PLLC. Our attorneys are highly experienced in handling all types of personal injury cases. Call us today, at 844.4MI.FIRM for a free consultation.