PlanetM Funds Three Mobility Pilots in Michigan

PlanetM awarded grants to three mobility startups as part of the PlanetM Startup Grant program, which provides mobility startups funds to test, deploy and validate their technologies that address real-world transportation challenges in Michigan.

Meet the latest winners:  

• HAAS Alert, a Chicago-based startup, has partnered with Grand Rapids Police, Fire and Life EMS to deploy the nation’s first complete citywide alert system. As part of this pilot, HAAS Alert will test real-time notifications to drivers when responders are en route via responder-to-vehicle technology and will work with deaf and hard of hearing ride-share drivers to deliver safety messages.
• Humanising Autonomy, a London-based startup, will build human-centered tools to improve safety and efficiency of autonomous systems through understanding human behavior. It will test bus driver alerts to help predict pedestrian, cyclist and other driver actions in collaboration with the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority.
• RoadBotics, a Pittsburgh-based startup, uses artificial intelligence to generate automated pavement condition data. The company will analyze Detroit’s roads to build a data-driven pavement management strategy for the city, helping maximize investments. The company will also test its crack-detection application.

Don’t miss your opportunity! Global mobility startups can still apply for one of two PlanetM Startup Grant opportunities in 2019.

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10 Global Startups, 10 Michigan Companies, 43 Match Meetings

In partnership with Plug & Play, PlanetM welcomed ten mobility startups to Detroit from around the world for a series of match meetings with Michigan-based OEMs and suppliers, including BorgWarner, Lear and Bosch, for a grand total 43 meetings. 

The startups traveled from Germany, Tel Aviv, France, Czhec Republic, and Belgium to connect with Michigan’s automotive ecosystem. This series of matchmaking events exposed local corporations to mobility startups from around the globe and helped Plug & Play gauge Detroit’s appetite for a local Plug & Play office.

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Kaizen Health Wins Grand Rapids City of Tomorrow Challenge

Kaizen Health, a health technology company modernizing and streamlining access to transportation in partnership with providers, payers, self-insured employers and municipalities, has won $100,000 from the Grand Rapids City of Tomorrow Challenge to test and implement its project in Grand Rapids. The company has partnered with Lyft, GO!Bus, The Rapid call center and Innova EV’s first- and last-mile vehicle.

In June, the City of Grand Rapids, Ford Motor Company, AT&T, Dell Technologies, Microsoft and PlanetM launched the challenge – a crowdsourcing platform for residents, businesses and community groups to propose and pilot solutions that improve mobility in Grand Rapids.

More than 200 Grand Rapids residents and community stakeholders engaged with the challenge throughout the process and the City received more than 100 proposals for ideas. The group selected 12 semifinalists to work with a mentor and local accelerator refine their proposals before the group selected a winner.

Read more about Kaizen Health's winning project.

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Real World Meets Virtual World in AV Testing

Researchers found that by projecting virtual traffic onto Mcity’s test course, they could instantly generate rare situations and address solutions, with the ability to adjust and replay them for valid results. This not only creates multiple hard to replicate scenarios, but allows researchers to save money by computer-generating pedestrians, buses, etc. instead of installing them on tracks and without damage to the actual vehicle.

Mcity can accelerate testing by an estimated 1,000 to 100,000 times, pending scenarios, resulting in less money spent and AVs safely implemented on public roads sooner in a reliable and trustworthy manner.

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Collaboration is Critical in the Era of Mobility

Landing Zone member Kevin Mull, director of connected mobility solutions at Bosch,emphasizes the need for companies to collaborate and join forces with startups, competitors and universities to share information to quickly and safely deploy autonomous vehicles in this Driven story. 

Bosch understands that large companies play a key role in collaborative work spaces, like PlanetM’s Landing Zone, to show themselves as less intimidating and open to partnering with new startups.

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Mobility Events Calendar

Reach out to our PlanetM team at PlanetM.com to connect to the people, places and resources dedicated to the evolution of transportation mobility.

‘Tis the season! Mark your calendars for the largest mobility events of the year:

• January 8-11 – CES (Las Vegas, NV)
• January 14-17 – Automobili-D/NAIAS (Detroit, MI)