University of Michigan
University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute
Center for Connected and Automated Transportation (CATT)

CATT Director: Henri Liu
ph. (734) 763-6076

CATT Managing Director: Debra Bezzina
ph. (734) 763-2498

CATT Marketing and Communications Director: Calvin Tuttle
ph. (734) 936-3703

Primary Research Goals: For nearly 60 years the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) has been a global leader in safe, equitable and efficient transportation research innovation. Together with our partners across academia and our sponsors in government and industry we remain at the forefront of research innovation and have helped shape the evolution of a global transportation and mobility system.

UMTRI experts focus on large scale data collection, driver behavior, human factors, engineering systems, injury and biomechanics, and are committed to data-driven changes in legislation that will ensure all individuals experience safe, equitable and efficient transportation and mobility options.

With $15-20M in annual research expenditures we are one of the largest research institutes on the U-M campus.

UMTRI’s faculty and staff include full-time researchers, technical and administrative personnel, teaching faculty affiliated with university academic departments, as well as graduate and undergraduate students. UMTRI research scientists collaborate with many academic, government and industry partners to accomplish interdisciplinary research and disseminating scholarly knowledge. UMTRI faculty and research staff work with nearly 300 students every year. Students engage in research and experiential opportunities. Students participate in all levels of research, working with multidisciplinary teams to solve real world problems and gain valuable experience and skills.

Facilities: UMTRI researchers employ the latest technology and equipment to conduct high-quality transportation research. UMTRI facilities include a driving simulator facility, a multidimensional full-body scanner, a fleet of test vehicles fitted with advanced safety and data acquisition systems, a sled lab for occupant restraint tests. We have produced 1,000’s of studies and publications, and have developed research methods, tools and facilities in anthropometry, simulation, measurement, and verification. UMTRI houses one of the largest, most efficient, and high-quality naturalistic datasets in the industry, including the largest set of connect vehicle research data in the world. UMTRI maintains the Ann Arbor Connected Environment (ACE) a connected vehicle driving environment, the Ann Arbor Living Laboratory, and our researchers and their partners have access to Mcity, the American Center for Mobility (ACM), as well as a unique traffic control center with augmented reality applications. Several of those facilities are highlighted below. As a research institute of Michigan Engineering, UMTRI researchers collaborate with experts in the U-M Robotics, the Electric Vehicle Center, the U-M Center for Entrepreneurship, just to name a few.

Mcity Test Facility: The Mcity Test Facility opened in 2015 as the world’s first purpose-built proving ground for testing and evaluating CAVs under controlled, realistic conditions. To address the need for background traffic, an augmented reality testing platform has been developed and deployed at Mcity. Movements of a real CAV under test in the physical test track are synchronized with a NDE simulator, and the information about virtual background vehicles generated in simulation is fed back to the real CAV. Consequently, the real CAV at the physical test track can interact with the virtual background vehicles as if it is in a realistic traffic environment. In addition to the physical features and connected capabilities, coordinated and repeatable testing is accomplished through Mcity OS. Mcity OS provides facility users with a universal messaging layer, sub-inch location awareness, internet-of-things (IoT) integration, and a graphical scenario tool for precision triggering and test repeatability.

Mcity Open CAV Fleet: Mcity has also built a fleet of three open-source CAVs that can be customized for research. The open CAVs are drive-by-wire vehicles that have been equipped with commonly used perception sensors (LiDAR, radar, and cameras), modularized full-stack automated driving systems (e.g., the open-source Autoware platform), and wireless communication devices (DSRC, C-V2X, 5G). This enables them to function as highly automated vehicles (SAE level 3 or 4) as well as performing the role of challenge vehicles in scenario-based tests. One of the Mcity test vehicles will be converted to run the FHWA CARMA open-source system.

Ann Arbor Living Lab: In 2021, sponsored by U.S. DOT, we launched the Smart Intersections Project, which will instrument 21 intersections with multiple infrastructure-based sensors (cameras, radar, LiDAR, and infrared sensors), edge compute, and C-V2X RSUs. These smart intersections will be equipped with roadside sensor suites for object detection and tracking. Information about detected and tracked road objects (including cars, buses, pedestrians, and bicyclists, etc.) will be packaged into the SAE J3224 SDSM format, To the best of our knowledge, the Smart Intersection Project will be the world’s largest infrastructure-based cooperative driving automation testbed and will be operated in a 24/7 mode.

Center for Connected and Automated Transportation
In 2016, as part of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the University of Michigan, along with its partners, have created the Center for Connected and Automated Transportation (CCAT). CCAT aims to significantly advance the evolution of the U.S. next-generation transportation systems with emerging technologies on safety, mobility, cybersecurity, and equity. CCAT serves as the Region 5 University Transportation Center designated to address the field of comprehensive transportation safety, congestion, connected vehicles, connected infrastructure, and autonomous vehicles. In 2019 CCAT was designated by Congress as the UTC for focused research on connected and automated vehicles. In 2023, CCAT was renewed under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law/Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Located at the focal point of the U.S. auto industry, CCAT will play a unique regional role in promoting connected and automated transportation research, education, workforce development, and technology transfer activities, which are of critical importance to the future of the region’s economy. The CCAT team’s extensive and substantive collaborations with stakeholders such as the region’s state DOTs, local governments, and the CAV industry will ensure that its research translates to practical outcomes through prototypes, field tests, technology transfer, implementation, and policies.

The USDOT invests in the future of transportation through its University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program. The UTC Program advances the state-of-the-art in transportation research and technology and develops the next generation of transportation professionals. UTC awards and administers grants to consortia of colleges and universities across the United States.

U-M’s partners include the University of Akron, Central State University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Northwestern University, Purdue University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Washtenaw Community College.