Michigan Government Cars to Help Map Roads

Michigan is launching a pilot program in conjunction with Continental AG that will use vehicles driven by government officials to develop updated and more precise maps of state roads.

The program initially will consist of two vehicles, one of which is the personal car of Michigan Dept. of Transportation Director Kirk Steudle. The fleet eventually is to be expanded to include everything from police cars and snowplows trucks to various other government vehicles.

The intent is to create a “hyper-accurate, high-definition map database” that could be used for future autonomous and connected vehicles. In addition to new roads, lanes and intersections, the vehicles could capture information about curves, inclines and road signs as well as potholes, deteriorating lane markings, construction zones and other changing conditions.

This level of detail is considered a key enabling technology for fully self-driving vehicles. Several carmakers, suppliers and tech companies also are creating crowd-sourced maps using vehicle-mounted lidar, radar and camera sensors.

The mapping program is part of the Michigan Council on Future Mobility’s second annual report presentation to Gov. Rick Snyder. The 21-member advisory council, which was appointed in 2016, also recommends adopting cybersecurity measures to protect against vehicle hacking/data thefts, and updating state liability and insurance laws to account for autonomous and connected vehicles.