Middlesex County :Supporting Business Growth through a Holistically Collaborative Ecosystem

Accelerating technology innovations cover almost all aspects of life, fundamentally creating a paradigm shift in society. This transformation calls for strategic partnerships between high-tech businesses and their surrounding communities, including the public and private sectors.

Nowhere does this ring truer than in the autonomous vehicle space, an industry where a holistically collaborative eco system, comprised of technology, production, and government organizations, supporting the fundamental growth and development of leading-edge technologies is pivotal.

Middlesex County, NJ, offers an innovative and forward thinking approach to business and technology. It is creating an environment that encourages the propagation of autonomous and connected vehicles. The County's overarching mission is to future-proof and elevate its autonomous vehicle businesses for emerging market demands across workforce development, investment opportunities, economic expansion, and regulatory obligations.

Middlesex County prioritizes finding cutting-edge ways to improve and go beyond its prior achievements in the life science, food innovation, and autonomous tech industries. It recognizes that creating a resource pool today to fulfill the demands of tomorrow requires prioritizing education and ensuring that academic entities are focused on verticals like autonomous and connected vehicle technology. This enables Middlesex County to provide a strong foundation for the industry to mobilize its operations and create sustainable talent pools.

"We believe that prioritizing innovation, education, and collaboration brings us to the forefront of the autonomous vehicle space and drives meaningful progress in the industry," says Khalid Anjum, Department Head of Transportation, Middlesex County, NJ.

This vision has enabled Middlesex County to invest in DataCity, a project in partnership with Rutgers University's Center for Advanced Infrastructure & Transportation (CAIT) in collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT).

DataCity, the nation's first living Smart Mobility Testing Ground (SMTG) covering a congested two-and-a-half-mile stretch of roadway, will be fully equipped with self-driving grade roadside sensors and computing devices to continuously collect vehicle, pedestrian, and infrastructure data from an urban corridor. Middlesex County is in the operational development phase of commissioning a dedicated laboratory to convert the collected data into digital twin models and high-resolution field datasets to support R&D in self-driving, connected, and autonomous vehicle technologies.

A similar corridor at a major thoroughfare is currently in development with simulations powered by real-time information gathered using radar, lidar, in-house 3D point cloud, and video. This data will be available for business initiatives, including testing equipment, vehicles, or related research. In addition, the datasets can be used to simulate various conditions, allowing startup R&D teams to advance their work without spending significant resources on data acquisition.

Anjum notes that the success of the autonomous vehicle industry largely depends on the ability to produce necessary resources and high-quality talent while continuously training the existing workforce to align with emerging trends and advanced technology developments. Middlesex County's diverse perspectives and strengths, powered by the union of arts, history, and culture, add value to this equation and enhance residents' overall quality of life.

As it strives to create transformational change, Middlesex County will continue to create conditions most advantageous to the autonomous vehicle industry, bringing together a spectrum of services, people, and institutions to work toward common goals.

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visit: www.discovermiddlesex.com/biz