Ford Motor Company’s new

partnership with the Univer-
sity of Michigan aims to have
self-driving cars ready for large
scale commercial use by 2021,
according to Ford’s website.

The
Dearborn-based
car

company has worked with the
University in the past on auton-
omous vehicle research, most
notably with the driverless car
testing site Mcity on North
Campus.

The
Board
of
Regents

approved the design plan for
a $75 million facility during
their September meeting and
Ford announced it will be leas-
ing the fourth floor of the new
building. The project is set to be
completed in September 2019,
according to Jessy Grizzle, the
University’s director of robot-
ics.

A major perk of the new facil-

ity is that professors, graduate

students
and
undergraduate

students can work together in
one space. Currently, the robot-
ics faculty works in various
departments and is located in
five separate buildings, through
a staff of approximately 20.

Grizzle said the new building

will bring researchers together
through
collaborative
spac-

es, encouraging group work
and fostering communication
among team members.

“We will have startup-style

collaboration space, think Uber
and Google, where faculty and
students can mingle when they
need a break,” Grizzle said.
“That is where crazy ideas
get bantered back and forth,
sometimes leading to a break-
through.”

Designing
technology
for

autonomous vehicles is one of
several efforts that will take
place at the robotics building
in upcoming years. The robot-
ics team is also developing
prosthetic limbs that have the
potential to be controlled by the

brain, an autonomous wheel-
chair that can sense obstacles
and walking robots.

“The facility will be spec-

tacular,” Grizzle said. “Imagine
a three story tall space where
drones can fly. Imagine a large-
legged robot laboratory with
access to an outdoor robot play
pen that makes the Wave Field
look like a piece of cake.”

Grizzle stressed the partner-

ship is extremely beneficial to
both the University and Ford.

“Ford wants access to out-

standing
graduate
students

and new research approaches,”
Grizzle said. “Faculty want
access to new research prob-
lems and industrial insight into
what is really important.”

Overall, Grizzle said the

building will be a massive asset
to the robotics department and
will contain two classrooms
and office spaces for 25 to 30
faculty, about 20 postdoctoral
researchers and 150 Ph.D. stu-
dents.

University Assistant Profs.

Matthew
Johnson-Roberson

and Ram Vasudevan will be co-
leading the Ford and UM auton-
omous vehicle research project.

The new building could help

Ford reach the goal as soon as
possible,
Johnson-Roberson

said.

“What we are going to be

doing is figuring out more about
the technology that currently
exists and what still needs to
be developed so that we can
operate autonomous vehicles
safely on public roads in 2021,”
he said.

Charles Barto, a recent engi-

neering alum of the University,
works as a research assistant
for Vasudevan’s and Johnson-
Roberson’s lab, said he believes
the partnership with Ford at
the new robotics facility could
lead to new opportunities for
researchers in the field.

“It looks like it is going to be

a good investment for the Uni-
versity,” Barto said. “There are
a lot of new research groups
that are looking into moving
into that new facility.”

The Companion app, created

last year by a group of University of

Michigan students and launched

to the public last year, is now

beginning to receive international

attention.

The app, created by a team

of five Ross School of Business

students, won the Michigan

Business Challenge, including

$25,000. Originally launched in

November 2015 by now-Business

alumni Danny Freed, Nathan

Pilcowitz, Jake Wayne and Katie

Reiner and now-Business senior

Lexie Ernst, was created to assist

students as they walk home late at

night, allowing friends and family

to virtually track them as they walk

home and make sure they arrive

safely. The app had a small launch

last November with an iOS version

for students at the University, and

has achieved high popularity.

“I could never have possibly

imagined Companion’s explosive

hyper-growth in the past month,

and I’m so excited to be a part

of a thriving startup that aims

to increase safety on college

campuses,” Ernst said in a press

release.

The app garnered 500,000 new

users during the first week after its

launch. The app works by asking the

user to plug in their destination

and then calculates the estimated

time it will take the user to reach

their destination. Should the user

take a longer than normal time

to walk, the app will contact the

designated “companion” for the

person walking back. Besides

showing the path of the user

walking home, the app utilizes

built-in sensors in the phone to

notice changes — such as a change

in pace of the person walking or if

the headphones come out. If these

sudden changes happen, the app

asks the user if they feel all right.

After initial success on the

University’s campus, enough

universities and colleges

approached the Companion team

about the app that they decided to

make it public, offering it to any user

through iOS and Android.



University faculty and staff have

also taken notice of the possibilities

the app could have, suggesting

features such as why walkers

pressed the “I feel nervous” button.

Diane Brown, information officer

for the University’s Department of

Public Safety and Security, told the

Detroit Free Press she wants to use

the app to help improve campus

safety.

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CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES

Human Rights in Russia
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Indian Economic
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Personal Guarantees by
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Rackham Diversity
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Peer Leadership:
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RHEA CHEETI
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Robot research aims to increase
efficiency in manufacturing plants