Ushr Announces Four-Year Sponsorship of SAE International’s AutoDrive Challenge™ II

DETROIT (April 14, 2021) — Ushr Inc., the leading HD map company for hands-free driver assistance and autonomous driving, today announced a four-year sponsorship of SAE International’s AutoDrive Challenge™ II. Participating university teams will develop and demonstrate an autonomous vehicle (AV) that can navigate urban driving courses as described by SAE J3016™ Standard Level 4 automation. Over the four-year university competition, Ushr will provide HD Maps of each team’s local course and the Mcity Test Facility, located on the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor campus.

“Ushr is proud to provide its HD maps to the university teams selected by SAE for the upcoming AutoDrive Challenge II competition,” said Chris Thibodeau, CEO and President of Ushr. “This four-year competition draws bright and passionate students representing ten of the top automotive engineering programs in the US and Canada. We are honored to have the opportunity to share our HD maps and experience with these amazing students.”

SAE AutoDrive Challenge II is a top competition amongst US and Canadian universities, each university worked hard to apply and be selected. Throughout the four-year competition, participants are required to meet yearly benchmarks for the design and development of their AV systems, while continuing their education through SAE professional development courses.

“We are delighted to have the experienced Ushr team as our HD maps partner for AutoDrive Challenge II,” said Chris Ciuca, vice president of programs at SAE International. “We know that Ushr’s highly accurate HD Maps enable precise vehicle localization and we really look forward to enriching the educational experience through our partnership.”

Each of the competing universities have committed to provide relevant curriculum, vehicle test facilities, undergraduate participation, and faculty and graduate student leadership, for student teams to develop prototype applications relevant to AV implementation.

To learn more information about AutoDrive Challenge II, please visit: http://www.autodrivechallenge.com or https://www.facebook.com/SAEAutoDriveChallenge, or follow along on social media using the hashtag: #AutoDriveChallenge.

About Ushr Inc.

Ushr is the leading geospatial measurement and mapping company supplying HD maps and software for today’s advanced driver assistance systems and tomorrow’s autonomous vehicles. Since 2017, Ushr’s precise HD maps have enabled hands-free driver assistance that is uniquely safe and confident. Ushr is headquartered in Livonia, Michigan, maintains map operations in Lompoc, California, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dynamic Map Platform, Japan’s foremost HD map producer.

For more information, please visit www.ushrauto.com.

Media Contact

Molly Merluzzi | pr@ushrauto.com