Alphabet subsidiary to work on road for autonomous cars in Michigan

The state of Michigan has hired a spin-off from Alphabet to work on a 40-mile road dedicated to autonomous cars. That road should connect downtown Detroit with Ann Arbor.

The Cavnue company, which is a subsidiary of Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners, will work with the state of Michigan on the road for self-driving cars. Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners is another subsidiary of Alphabet, the latter also being the parent company of Google. Within the collaboration, the feasibility of the project is first of all examined, in which form the road can best be built, and which technology is required for it.

The plan is to build a section of road about 40 miles (64 km) long, going from downtown Detroit to Ann Arbor. Cavnue will be given two years for the preparatory phase; only then can the construction of the road begin.

The project is collaborating with other companies that are also active in the field of self-driving cars. These include Ford, GM, BMW, Honda, Toyota and Waymo, the latter being a subsidiary of Alphabet. Waymo is engaged in the development of self-driving cars and has been testing on public roads for quite some time.