People generally understand how crash tests work. Many people consider them one of the last steps before a car hits the market, or when karma finally catches up with Rob Lowe’s character near the end of “Tommy Boy” (1995).
With advancing technology making cars smarter, the industry needs more than a test ground. It requires a test city. That’s where cities like Peachtree Corners, Georgia, play a crucial role in the automotive industry.
Peachtree Corners is gaining prominence in the collision repair industry, notably through a recent Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA) webinar. The city showcased its potential to serve the collision industry.
Seth Yurman, assistant city manager for Peachtree Corners, presented the information.
“The main goal of the presentation to the collision repair industry is to reach people working with ADAS, the vulnerable road user, or V2X technology and explore applications and opportunities for collaboration at the lab,” Yurman said in an email to FenderBender. “We have been working lately with some OEMs and want to get more involved in that space.”
Curiosity Lab and Peachtree Corners
Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners is a cutting-edge, 5G-enabled autonomous vehicle and smart city living laboratory. It’s also publicly funded.
The lab features a three-mile autonomous vehicle test track and smart city infrastructure within a 500-acre technology park. This unique environment allows thousands of people and vehicles to interact daily with the test track and smart city technology.
Curiosity Lab serves as a proving ground for emerging technologies in the Internet of Things (IoT), mobility, and smart city sectors. It provides resources and infrastructure for both startups and established companies. The lab’s centerpiece is its public autonomous vehicle roadway, which leverages cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) technologies. This setup enables companies to test, demonstrate, and deploy new concepts in a real-world environment.
The Smart City’s Old History
Peachtree Corners, Georgia, has an interesting history that began as a rural community called Turkey Gizzard in the early 1800s and then later known as Pinckneyville. The city’s modern transformation started in the late 1960s with the vision of businessman Paul Duke, who aimed to create a planned community that combined residential, commercial, and recreational spaces.
Incorporated on July 1, 2012, Peachtree Corners is the newest and largest city in Gwinnett County, with over 45,000 residents. The city’s incorporation was driven by the desire for local control over zoning and development decisions, as well as to provide better services to the community.
“We’re kind of technology-agnostic,” Yurman said in an August CIECA webinar. “We’re not saying we have a specific problem we want to solve. We’re saying anybody who wants to play in our sandbox is welcome to come. We’ve created an ecosystem of different technology, whether it’s dug into the ground or hung on light poles.”
Curiosity Lab is designed to advance next-generation intelligent mobility and smart city technology. It offers a unique testing ground for companies to develop and refine their innovations in a real-world setting. The lab’s infrastructure includes smart city technology, such as connected traffic signals, streetlights, and pedestrian crossings, all of which interact with the autonomous vehicles on the test track.
The lab has attracted partnerships with major companies and institutions, including UPS, T-Mobile, Georgia Tech, and others to fuel 5G innovation and explore new possibilities in autonomous vehicle technology. This collaboration aims to create a hub for cutting-edge research and development, positioning Peachtree Corners as a leader in smart city technology.
A Stepping Stone
Brodmann17, an Israeli-based company specializing in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), joined the 5G Open Innovation Lab (5GOILab) after successfully testing its technology in Peachtree Corners, according to a 2022 press release.
The 5G Open Innovation Lab (5GOILab) is a global ecosystem that brings together developers, startups, enterprises, academia, and government institutions to foster innovation in 5G and 5G-enabled technologies. It aims to fuel the development of new capabilities and market categories that will transform various industries. The lab, founded in early 2020 with initial partners including Intel, NASA, and T-Mobile, operates as a collaborative platform. It provides resources, mentorship, and advanced access to technology for startups to develop, test, and bring new 5G applications to market.
The company tested its software-only perception technology, which saves 95% of computing power, using Curiosity Lab’s Level 3 autonomous test vehicle.
V2X
In 2023, Peachtree Corners collaborated with Audi of America Inc. to advance the deployment of cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) technology. This partnership aimed to enhance communication between vehicles and city-owned infrastructure, such as streets, traffic signals, and crosswalks, as well as with vulnerable road users (VRUs).
Audi received a waiver from the Federal Communications Commission to deploy this advanced technology, and both parties plan to refine strategies to improve roadway safety and traffic efficiency.
“We are honored that Audi selected us to define how automakers and cities can together unlock the future in the world’s most unique smart city environment,” said Brian Johnson, city manager of Peachtree Corners.
Since 2020, Audi has been working with various partners to improve C-V2X technologies and protect VRUs. The automaker has collaborated with public authorities to enhance the safety of construction workers and with companies to connect cars with school buses for improved child safety.
“Peachtree Corners’ smart city leadership makes it the perfect environment for us to confirm how the public and private sectors can work together for the safety and other advantages that ready-to-deploy C-V2X technology can deliver,” said Brad Stertz, director of Audi Government Affairs.
Later Plans
Peachtree Corners continues its campaign to attract more attention from the collision repair industry.
In fact, Yurman might have given us a sneak peek of what the city and CIECA have in store for industry members next year.
“I have been working with CIECA on a webinar and potentially bringing the 2025 conference to Peachtree Corners,” Yurman said.
