German technology major Continental together with Magna International, North America’s largest and the world’s third largest automotive supplier, are testing two fully-autonomous vehicle that will travel 300 miles (482km) before reaching Traverse City as part of an international border demonstration.

The demonstration to begin at southeast Michigan will culminate at the Center for Automotive Research’s annual management briefing seminars. 

The autonomous cars will cross into Windsor, Ontario before going north to Sarnia, Ontario and return back into Michigan. In a first cross-border demonstration of its kind, will allow Continental and Magna, as well as the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO), to test automated driving technology in a variety of settings.
 
Commenting on the testing, Kirk T Steudle, Director, MDOT, said, "Today's cross-border demonstration of an automated vehicle represents unprecedented collaboration between two nations and private industry."

“With operations in both Ontario and Michigan, Magna can clearly see the benefits of cross-border collaboration as we have on this project,” said Tom Toma, Global Product Manager, Magna Electronics.  “And with our commitment to innovation and ongoing work in helping define the future mobility landscape, our involvement is a natural fit and we are pleased to join with our partners in this hands-free road trip.”
The vehicles will use Continental’s Cruising Chauffeur function that will enable vehicles to take over driving tasks on various roadways in accordance with traffic regulations. Once Cruising Chauffeur is activated, data analysed in a central control unit called Assisted & Automated Driving Control Unit (ADCU) will generate a 360-degree model of the vehicle’s surroundings. In combination with a high-resolution map, the system will recognise all moving and static objects, as well as the layout of the roadway ahead. The drive will demonstrate how the vehicles’ multiple camera, radar and LiDAR sensors will interact while being driven underwater through the concrete Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and across the steel Blue Water Bridge.

Continental’s worldwide development of automated driving includes six key elements: sensor technology, cluster connectivity, human-machine dialog, system architecture, reliability and the acceptance of automated driving.

“Continental has been testing automated driving on public roads for more than five years and our approach is a global initiative. The engineering teams are spread across locations in the U.S., Europe, China and Japan to ensure driving and safety functions can be easily adapted to the individual regions as one comprehensive team effort,” said Jeff Klei, President, Continental North America. “Approximately 95 percent of all road accidents involve human error. Saving lives and reducing injuries will always be our priority in developing new technologies at Continental. That’s what we call our Vision Zero – our goal of having no fatalities and no injuries as a result of traffic accidents."

To mark the event as the latest example of partnerships in the Great Lakes region, MDOT and OMT will sign a memorandum of understanding at the drive’s completion to further promote and foster growth of connected and autonomous technology testing and deployment, supporting both Michigan and Ontario’s economic interests and technological advancements by enabling job-creating growth for both jurisdictions.

“Ontario is proud to be part of North America’s first national, cross border test drive in our Automated Vehicle Pilot Program,” said Steven Del Duca, Minister of Transportation, Ontario. “Today’s test drive is a great example of the continued collaboration and innovation between Ontario and Michigan. This new memorandum of understanding and our recent commitment of $80 million (Rs 505 crore) for an Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Network signify the importance of a strong, cohesive partnership and continued investment in the development of AV/CV technologies and the mobility sector.”

This is the second such agreement between Michigan and Ontario, with this most recent partnership aimed at exploring rules and regulations, as well as data collection and sharing.