Connected Vehicles
By combining wireless communication with transportation systems, connected-vehicle technology promises significant improvements in vehicle safety, mobility, and personal convenience.

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Connected Vehicle Proving Center - Driving Connected Vehicle Innovation

History

The Connected Vehicle Proving Center and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) work together to foster an environment to help entrepreneurs and technology companies succeed.  The initial grant to support the CVPC was provided by Michigan's 21st Century Jobs Fund, which is administered by the MEDC, Michigan's one-stop resource for business retention, expansion, and relocation projects.  This extensive, thorough, and rigorous proposal process, which included proposal evaluation by the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), resulted in more than 50 awards for projects deemed innovative and beneficial to the Michigan economy. From this process, in January 2007, the MEDC awarded a grant to CAR to develop and establish the Connected Vehicle Proving Center.

Throughout the proposal process, CAR worked cooperatively with other organizations to ensure that the CVPC proposal and resulting organization would best serve the needs of its intended users: automotive manufacturers and suppliers, the telecommunications and consumer electronics industries, and transportation agencies. Of these partners, the Connected Vehicle Trade Association played an important role in developing the proposal and presenting it to the MEDC and AAAS review teams. From these partners, the CVPC secured in excess of $3 million in commitments to match the grant from the State of Michigan.

Upon receipt of the grant, CAR and the CVTA continued to assemble the partners, hardware, software, and other resources needed to launch the CVPC as a functioning enterprise. Early on, CAR and CVTA established two important committees to advise them in their efforts. First, they established the Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) to provide the CVPC with high-level, strategic advice on how to ensure that the Center meets the needs of the automotive industry, transportation agencies, and telematics firms. Second, they formed the Technical Roadmap and Architecture Committee (TRAC) to review the technical components of the CVPC. These efforts culminated in an official dedication of the CVPC's home on October 2, 2007.

On 14 May 2009, the grant was transferred from CAR to the University of Michigan - Dearborn.