Honda, Ohio aim to make smart-mobility corridor even smarter with more connected-cars

Point out, county and municipal governing administration fleets in Ohio, as nicely as personal citizens who volunteer to take part, are expected to add hundreds extra related vehicles — specifically equipped to exam new state-of-the-art driver-support devices — together a 35-mile stretch of “sensible” highway in central Ohio called the 33 Wise Mobility Corridor.

Initiatives are underway to quadruple the range of exam vehicles interacting with every single other and with the infrastructure together U.S. Route 33, said Sue Bai, main engineer at the Honda Research Institute and project guide for the 33 Wise Mobility Corridor.

“We’re very thrilled to see extra automobiles coming on board,” she said in a cell phone interview. “With governing administration fleets coming online, we be expecting at least 600 extra related vehicles.”

Honda has extra than two hundred specifically equipped, related Honda and Acura vehicles deployed in the location, she said.

American Honda Motor Co. is a major partner and the most active automaker participating in the 33 Wise Mobility Corridor. Other members contain The Ohio Point out University, as nicely as other personal- and general public-sector entities.

Substantially of the corridor was initially funded with a federal grant, said Luke Stedke, a spokesman for DriveOhio. Launched in 2018, DriveOhio is the state’s clearinghouse for sensible mobility jobs, with assist from the point out Section of Transportation.