– FCA US dedicates entirely new test center to autonomous driving, advanced driver assistance systems and safety technologies, as well as to researching external safety assessments. – The 600 square meter control center houses the communication between the vehicle and the infrastructure, the system control and monitoring as well as the support for the test vehicles.
FCA US today announced a $26 million investment at its Chelsea Proving Grounds in southeast Michigan to further develop and test autonomous vehicles and advanced safety technologies. The all-new facility, which will begin program testing shortly, features a high-speed autonomous track, a 14-acre safety testing area and a high-tech command center.
"The new facility at the Chelsea Proving Grounds will help successfully execute the company's five-year plan established earlier this year," said Mike Manley, chairman of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and COO of the NAFTA region. "Our ability to test autonomous and advanced safety technologies will enable us to offer our customers the features they want across our entire brand portfolio."
The facility will enable testing for the various levels of autonomy and also the evaluation of FCA vehicles using external test protocols such as those from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the US New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), the European New Car Assessment Program (EuroNCAP), as well as simulations for automatic electronic braking tests.
The high-speed rail for autonomous vehicles enables the development of systems in a variety of challenging environments such as obstacles, tunnels, different street lighting conditions and highway entrances and exits.
Covering more than 600 square meters, the control center houses, among other things, computer equipment for the GPS function and communication with the test vehicles.
The new test facility will test extended runs of automatic emergency braking and automatic parking technology on a new 14-hectare tarred test site.
The Chelsea Proving Ground (CPG)
The Chelsea Proving Ground opened in 1954. After numerous expansions, it covers an area of around 1.600 hectares, a total of 160 kilometers of road, as well as replicas of the legendary Rubicon Trail and other challenging off-road courses. The proving ground employs around 900 people and is in operation 365 days a year, all day.
CPG has one of the first wind tunnels owned by an automaker and has been the site of several speed records, including that of 327 miles per hour (1969 kilometers per hour) set by stock car racer Elzie Wylie "Buddy" Baker in a Dodge Charger Daytona. The 200 record was the first time a factory-built car crossed the 322 mph (XNUMX kilometers per hour) threshold.
About FCA US LLC
FCA US LLC is a North American automobile manufacturer based in Auburn Hills, Michigan and designs, manufactures and sells vehicles under the Chrysler, Jeep®, Dodge, Ram, FIAT, Alfa Romeo and SRT brands. The company also sells spare parts and accessories under the Alfa Romeo and Mopar® brands. FCA US builds on the historical foundations of Chrysler, the innovative American automobile manufacturer founded in 1925 by Walter P. Chrysler, and Fiat, founded in Italy in 1899 by pioneers such as Giovanni Agnelli. FCA US is part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA). (NYSE:FCAU/MTA:FCA)
FCA is an international automobile group listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “FCAU” and on the Mercato Telematico Azionario under the symbol “FCA”.
