Warm weather will allow the NAIAS to use autonomous vehicles to ferry visitors from Detroit Metro Airport.
With the help of technology companies, the organizers of the 2020 North American International Auto Show are planning to have automated vehicles ready to carry visitors from Detroit Metropolitan Airport to the show venues in downtown Detroit, a distance of about 20 miles.
Amanda Roraff, technology activations director for PlanetM, which is part of the Michigan Economic Development Corp., said deploying the automated vehicles will be part of the effort to show off the technical knowhow available in the Detroit area.
“We want to demonstrate what vehicle automation actually means,” she said during a panel discussion hosted by the Automotive Press Association about the upcoming show and its shift from January to June.
(Detroit Auto Show Moving to June in 2020, Adding Major New Features)
A number of companies have submitted proposals for the shuttle service and PlanetM expects to make announcement about the shuttle service before the Thanksgiving holiday. The airport shuttle service will tie in with other automated shuttles that will move visitors around the downtown area during the 2020 auto shows two-week run next June.
The systems will be connected with an app designed specifically for the NAIAS.
MEDC officials said the airport shuttle will be a “Level Four” vehicle with a driver/concierge on board. But will also operate at Level Two and Level Three for certain stretches of road. Level Three means a driver is necessary but is now required to monitor the environment but must be ready to take control of the vehicle at all times with notice, according to SAE.
The Detroit Auto Show plans to use autonomous vehicles to shuttle people to various events during the show in 2020.
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In an bid to attract more interest and visitors, the North American International Auto Show is moving from its traditional dates in January to June when the weather allows for more test drives and outdoor displays, noted Doug North, the local dealer who is serving as the chairman of the 2020 show.
The 2020 NAIAS will have more than 2 million-square feet of space in the TCF Convention Center, formerly Cobo Center, and along the Detroit River and in Hart Plaza, North said.
The NAIAS also announced that it had recruited Beth Chappell, the former president of the Detroit Economic Club, to bring in speakers and to help expand the show’s programing for AutoMobili-D, which will run concurrent to show’s press days.
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“With her decades of experience, Beth will help the show attract the top minds and industry disrupters to Detroit in June. Our speakers and symposiums will be heard by thousands of media and industry members from around the world and Beth will help draw the best of the best,” said Rod Alberts, NAIAS executive director.