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 
Talk

WHAT: Tanya Cooper, a 
former employee at Amnesty 
International USA, will be giving 
a talk about human rights abuse 
in Russia.

WHO: Osher Lifelong Learning 
Institute

WHEN: 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

WHERE: Rave Theater, 4100 
Carpenter Road

Documenting Detroit 
Photo Exhibition

WHAT: Photographs by students 
from the 1970s through the 1980s 
will be on display. The focus will 
be on Detroit landmarks.
WHO: University of Michigan 
Detroit Center

WHEN: 9 a.m to 4:30 p.m.

WHERE: Detroit Center - Monts 
Hall

Indian Economic 
Reform Lecture

WHAT: Subir Gokarn, former 
deputy director of the Reserve 
Bank of India, will reflect on 
these achievements, what 
worked, what did not work and 
his insights on future economic 
reform in India.
WHO: India Initiatives at Ross

WHEN: 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. 

WHERE: Ross School of 
Business - B1580 - Blau Hall

Free Yoga Class

WHAT: Trotter is offering a free 
hour of calm and relaxing yoga as 
part of their Health & Wellness 
initiative. The class is taught by 
Elizabeth Gonzalez from the 
Clincal Services of CAPS.
WHO: Trotter Multicultural 
Center
WHEN: 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

WHERE: Trotter Multicultural 
Center

Personal Guarantees by 
SME Owners in Japan 

WHAT: Takeo Hoshi, director 
of the Japan Program at the 
Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research 
Center, Stanford University, is 
giving a lecure about his research 
on Japanese corporate financing.
WHO: Center for Japanese 
Studies
WHEN: 12 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: School of Social Work 
Building - Room 1636

Rackham Diversity 
Forum 

WHAT: A graduate student 
diversity forum to discuss 
strategic goals for President 
Schlissiel’s Diversity, Equity & 
Inclusion Strategic Planning 
Initiative.
WHO: Rackham Graduate 
School
WHEN: 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: Rackham Graduate 
School - Amphitheatre 4th floor

EEB Thursday Seminar

WHAT: Luke Nave, assistant 
research scientist at the UM 
Biological Station, will be 
speaking about physiographic 
factors that control carbon 
distribution and biogeochemical 
cycling in a glaciated northern 
forest landscape.
WHO: Dept. of Ecology and 
Evolutionary Biology. 
WHEN: 4 p.m. - 5 p.m.

WHERE: Chem Building 1210

Peer Leadership: 
Getting Results without 
Authority

WHAT: This seminar will 
help attendees to identify their 
personal leadership skills.
WHO: Learning & Professional 
Development

WHEN: 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

WHERE: Administrative Services 
Building

ON THE DAILY: STUDENT-DEVELOPED APP GOES PUBLIC

GRANT HARDY/Daily

Organizers for POPX set up their annual festival, opening tomorrow, at 
Liberty Plaza in Ann Arbor Wednesday. 

POPX IN THE PL A Z A

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RHEA CHEETI
Daily Staff Reporter

Robot research aims to increase 
efficiency in manufacturing plants

