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. NO PROBLEMO. puzzle by sudokusyndication.com 2A — Thursday, September 22, 2016 News The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Tweets Dave Askins @chronicallydave Washtenaw County grants FOIA request; Bicycle in for repair at Great Lakes ready for pickup; What will go right next? #wienerwednesday Follow @michigandaily Recycle Ann Arbor @RecycleAnnArbor Where are we today, #AnnArbor? At the #UniversityofMichigan #EarthFest! Come learn about #recycling and #reuse. A2 Foodie @A2Foodie Looking for a job in the #annarbor Food business?!! @amabistro is hiring servers, and hosts! Apply today #umich Mark F. O’Brien @nikonfm2n Siberian Iris, back in June at #MBGNA Matthaei Botanical Gardens, Velvia spooled onto 620, Argus 40. #umich 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 The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University OF Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $110. Winter term (January through April) is $115, yearlong (September through April) is $195. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. 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