The ACM sits on more than 335 acres adjacent to Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where B-24 bombers were manufactured during World War II in a factory built by Henry Ford. Opened in December 2017, ACM is a national-scale advanced automotive testing and product development center that can accommodate the broad needs of industry and government, test various weather conditions, and provide room to grow and adapt as technology dictates. The testing, education and product development center will be a place where precautionary testing is done before vehicles are deployed on the road, and a proving ground for collaborative safety technology demonstrations. The ACM is also intended to serve as a convening center to accelerate the development of voluntary standards.
Our firm was selected by ACM as the lead technology consultant for phase 1 of the site development. This included a systems engineering process to determine the requirements for the testing facility including connected vehicle infrastructure, traditional intelligent transportation systems technologies, data collection, monitoring, and test simulation needs associated with the site. We coordinated with a wide range of stakeholders and potential site customers to understand testing requirements and key user needs.
WSP’s team was further engaged to conduct the detailed design of the technology systems for the site, a role which continues today as the site expands in subsequent phases. This included close coordination with regulatory authorities, including the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Communications Commission on the complex licensing issues associated with radio infrastructure. Our firm continues to support the construction and communications design for new elements of the test site as they come on-line.
