Autonomous Vehicle testing and educational initiatives expanding in Jacksonville

Link to article https://www.whatsupjacksonville.com/index.php/autonomous-vehicle-testing-and-educational-initiatives-expanding-in-jacksonville/

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) and Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) have agreed to expand the JTA’s autonomous vehicle program through new testing and educational initiatives on FSCJ campuses.

The agreement includes:

• The expansion of the Ultimate Urban Circulator (U2C) Test & Learn Program to FSCJ’s Commercial Driver’s License Test Track on the school’s Cecil Center Campus;
• The development of an autonomous vehicle deployment or “Agile Plan” on an FSCJ campus;
• The development of curriculum and educational initiatives relative to autonomous vehicles, and related technology.

The JTA is currently developing the U2C program, an innovative and fully connected autonomous vehicle network planned for Downtown Jacksonville and eventually expanding to other key areas in Northeast Florida. Through four initial phases, the U2C will leverage the existing Skyway infrastructure and expand that network through ground-level connections and convert those structures to support autonomous vehicles. The first phase, the Bay Street Innovation Corridor is fully funded.

The memorandum of understanding sets the groundwork for the JTA to expand its current U2C Test & Learn Program to FSCJ’s Cecil Center, which houses the school’s Aviation and Commercial Vehicle Driving programs.