A 32-acre, $6.5-million mini city at the University of Michigan looks like a film set, with building facades that mask empty interiors and vacant lots. But special attention is paid to the details of the infrastructure in this ghost town. Roadways and traffic signals look technologically advanced, with sensors and cameras that communicate with the cars on the streets. Upon closer inspection, the cars also are empty, whether stopping at a light or braking for a fake pedestrian. The city is a test bed to advance autonomous cars and smart infrastructure technology.
“The environment is a sandbox, and there are a few basic rules,” says Jim Sayer, deployment director at the University of Michigan's Mobility Transformation Center, nicknamed M-City, in Ann Arbor. “You can’t kick sand, but the sandbox is here, and it’s a safe environment.”