Peachtree Corners – the nation’s first smart city environment powered by real-world infrastructure and next-generation connectivity – today announced the addition of a mobility research and test vehicle designed to help companies and organizations develop and prove out new advanced mobility and autonomous technologies in a living laboratory environment. The Ford Edge-based test vehicle is equipped with Level 3 autonomous capabilities on an open-source platform –differentiated from other test vehicles that either only test within closed courses or are limited to a host company’s proprietary platform.
• Companies working on full autonomous driving systems, mapping, light detection/ranging (LiDAR),
cameras/computer vision, radar, V2X systems and/or data/simulation are invited to Curiosity Lab at
Peachtree Corners to test.
• The test vehicle will be interacting with city-owned smart infrastructure, allowing technologies to be
developed with real-world scenarios, including thousands of local residents who live, work and drive
alongside the vehicle.
• The test vehicle is equipped with a large rooftop rack, giving companies the ability to attach their
own LiDAR and other sensors for testing. Engineers may easily access historical AV data directly from
Ford’s autonomous vehicle dataset.
• Invaluable data from the sensors and devices on the test vehicle, as well as across city infrastructure,
is analyzed and made available to engineers through the city’s central control room – giving
developers a unique advantage as they work to mature new technologies.
“There have been many mobility test vehicles introduced these past several years, but at Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners, companies have the opportunity to develop new technologies on an open source
mobility platform alongside other emerging solutions, while also leveraging actual smart infrastructure
wholly owned by the city – not proprietary, closed platforms in closed track environments,” said
Brandon Branham, chief technology officer and assistant city manager of Peachtree Corners. “The Ford
Edge based test platform here operates in a living lab environment alongside residents that are walking
and driving on the same public street. And we’re the first city in the world to insure a public roadway for
both driven and driverless vehicle activity – giving companies a true advantage as they look to learn and
improve their technologies before they ‘graduate’ and scale.”
“We’re proud to have delivered multiple smart city firsts to date, and the introduction of an open-source
platform for mobility research and testing is yet another milestone – giving companies the ability to
develop new technologies in an actual city – complete with obstacles and everyday challenges that
autonomous machines need to learn how to face,” said Brian Johnson, city manager of Peachtree
Corners. “We’ve already had successful long-term tests of autonomous shuttles, Olli, transporting
residents – and we are excited to have the opportunity to have a platform that will help move the world
even closer to fulfilling the vision of fully autonomous vehicles operating safely in a city.”
Source: City of Peachtree Corners Press Release
