May Mobility today announced the launch of the Detroit Automated Driving Systems (ADS) pilot in partnership with the City of Detroit’s Office of Mobility Innovation (OMI) and the Michigan Mobility Collaborative (MMC). The Accessibili-D service aims to improve the quality of life for Detroiters who live with disabilities or are 62 and older, starting next week through 2026.
The Ann Arbor, MI-based developer of autonomous vehicle (AV) technology will deploy three AVs, including two wheelchair-accessible vehicles, to help participants achieve greater access to healthcare facilities, shopping centers, jobs, and social and recreational activities. The free service will operate across 68 stops in 11 square miles of downtown Detroit most days of the week.
“Many Detroiters have trouble getting around due to the costs of owning a car or mobility challenges arising from age or disabilities,” said Edwin Olson, CEO and Co-founder of May Mobility. “We’re excited to show how autonomous technology can help in Detroit, where we will be launching our largest service area to date.”
Last July, the Detroit City Council approved a $2.4 million contract with May Mobility to provide the Accessibili-D service.
“This free, innovative service will provide safe and efficient transportation, greatly improving access to essential services for residents who have faced difficulty navigating their needs in the city,” said Tim Slusser, Chief of the Office of Mobility Innovation at the City of Detroit. “We are thankful for the expert collaboration of the institutions and individuals at the Michigan Mobility Collaborative and May Mobility for their invaluable partnership.”
The MMC, led by Henry Liu, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering and Research Professor, Engineering Systems, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute-Administration, and May Mobility have conducted a variety of outreach programs within the community to educate future riders about the benefits of May Mobility’s AVs and to pinpoint specific locations of interest around downtown Detroit that best serve the members using the service. Based on rider feedback, May Mobility and OMI plan to expand the service zone over the coming months with additional stops and vehicles.
May Mobility performed extensive vehicle testing with the University of Michigan’s Mcity and the American Center for Mobility (ACM) in preparation for launch. Testing protocols included the Mcity Safety Assessment Program, made up of a Driver’s License Test and Driving Intelligence Test, and a comprehensive testing and evaluation process developed by ACM that simulated genuine scenarios encountered in urban settings like Detroit.
May Mobility’s AVs use its Multi-Policy Decision Making (MPDM) technology to navigate city streets. Each vehicle is equipped with multiple lidar, radar, and camera sensors that feed the MPDM for a 360-degree view of its surroundings. Using the data collected from the AV’s sensor suite, MPDM can virtually simulate thousands of possible scenarios every second. As the AV detects vehicles, pedestrians, bikers, and pets, MPDM quickly analyzes the best maneuver to perform to efficiently and safely reach its destination—even in unencountered situations.
The Detroit pilot is May Mobility’s 14th deployment to date. The company operates in Ann Arbor; Grand Rapids, MN; Miami, FL; Arlington, TX; and Sun City, AZ.
