Solving old mobility problems with new research and policy

 

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The University of Melbourne hosted guests from Michigan, USA to share latest advances in mobility policy and research. The event highlighted how collaborations between academia and government can bring connected and automated vehicles on our roads.

“Transport problems are quite old and we have now an important opportunity to tackle them and in particular enhance transport safety using connected vehicle and infrastructure,” said University of Melbourne transport engineering Professor Majid Sarvi.

The mobility sector has grappled with traffic congestion, emissions and road fatalities for decades. In Australia, solutions are still desperately needed.

A University of Melbourne event showcased how technological innovation and collaborations between industry, academia and government can make our transport ecosystems smarter, safer and more sustainable in Australia and Michigan, USA.

Better road safety and mobility efficiency with autonomous vehicles

Autonomous vehicles could improve the safety and efficiency of roads in Michigan and Australia. But drivers’ trust in these vehicles is a problem – as are driving laws.

Current road rules in Australia place the responsibility with the driver, said Mike Makin. Makin is the Assistant Secretary, Transport Market Reform and Technology at the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts.

The Australian law for the safe operation of automated vehicles will instead place responsibility on corporations and automated driving system entities, he said.

Majid Sarvi, Founder and Director of the Australian Integrated Multimodal Ecosystem (AIMES) gives a presentation in front of an attentive audience. He is a middle-aged brown-skinned man. With him on the stage are two older white men and one younger white woman, all dressed in neat suits.
Image by Michael Pham

The development of this law is the first time the Commonwealth has taken a role in road management, said Michael Hopkins. Hopkins is the CEO and Commissioner of the National Transport Commission. He leads work on the Automated Vehicle Safety Law.

Our state and territory road rules vary. For human drivers, this isn’t a huge problem – but for autonomous vehicles it could mean a software update when crossing state or territory borders. Australia needs one unified national law.

Hopkins said that consultation on the law revealed that Australians were increasingly distrustful of automated vehicles. More than two in three drivers were afraid of autonomous vehicles in 2023, up from 2017.

Researchers in Michigan were also aware of this distrust. Professor Karen Thole, Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan, described the university’s test facility for autonomous vehicles: Mcity. The test facility recently made an open-source digital twin available to researchers around the world for testing autonomous vehicles.

Researchers are using these facilities to develop a safety assessment for autonomous vehicles – like a driver’s license test – to help increase drivers’ trust in the vehicles.

Interim Dean of the College of Engineering at Michigan State University, Professor John Papapolymerou, agreed that the interface between a human and an autonomous vehicle needed work to improve adoption.

Researchers use the Michigan State University campus as a testing facility for autonomous vehicles and systems. Immensely popular university sporting events provide an opportunity to test latency in communication, for example.

Michigan State University also holds the world record for the fastest autonomous race car.

Connected mobility systems for better transport access and safety

Another way to increase the efficiency and safety of our mobility systems in Australia and Michigan is through Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (CITS).

The Department of Infrastructure is working on a road map for national CITS harmonisation, Makin said. Work in progress builds on trials including the Australian Integrated Multimodal EcoSystem, Melbourne’s living mobility laboratory led by Professor Sarvi.

The Melbourne CITS trial has 60 connected vehicles interacting with 90 devices across 30 intersections along 8 km of road, said Anna Hardie, Director of Engagement and Assurance in the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning.

Brad Wieferich, Director of the Michigan Department of Transport, who is a middle-aged white man, gives a presentation at the Michigan Mobility Showcase. With him on the stage are a younger Black woman, an older white woman and another middle-aged white man, all wearing neat suits.
Image by Michael Pham

Transport decisions like whether a pedestrian is safe or how fast an ambulance can pass through an intersection often depend on seconds. CITS could give drivers the ability to respond before problems escalate.

In Michigan, connected vehicles are helping combat distracted driving-related accidents in work zones, said Brad Wieferich, Director of the Michigan Department of Transportation. Drivers who don’t comply with handsfree laws create dangerous situations at work zones. Advance notice of work zones ahead may help reduce accidents.

Professor Thole agreed that vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications could prevent up to 80 per cent of unimpaired crashes. She said the University of Michigan Multidisciplinary Transport Research Institute has been working with industry partners to equip around 75 intersections in Ann Arbour with cellular ‘vehicle-to-everything’ and roadside perception technology.

Connected vehicles can solve everyday problems for people. Justine Johnson, Chief Mobility Officer of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, said a 16-year-old Michigan high schooler turned his frustration for finding parking at hockey games into a sensor-based smart parking app through Michigan Mobility Funding Platform grant funding.

Johnson said the funding is available to researchers and companies around the world. The only requirement is that developed technology must be deployed in the state of Michigan.

Autonomous vehicles and connected mobility systems bring us closer to systems that are less congested, produce fewer emissions and are safer for all. In Australia and in Michigan, advancements in these technologies and their integration onto our roads has been made possible by close collaboration between government, university researchers and industry.

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First published on 3 July 2025.

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