ACM’s partners on the research task are the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) and cogniBIT GmbH
Media Contact: Barbara Fornasiero, EAFocus Communications; barbara@eafocus.com; 248.260.8466
Ypsilanti Township, Mich. ---October 19, 2026 --- The American Center for Mobility (ACM), a technology proving ground at the historic Willow Run site near Ann Arbor, Michigan, that supports the development, validation, and deployment of connected, automated, electric, and cyber-secure technologies across automotive, robotics, and other emerging sectors, has been awarded a research task under its National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to address the emerging challenge of "surprise" in automated driving systems, where unexpected events disrupt vehicle decision-making. ACM’s research partners for the research task, Characterization of Surprise in ADS Operations, are the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) and cogniBIT GmbH. ACM Vice President of Research & Development, Sushanta Das, Ph.D., will lead the research team.
“Human drivers experience disruptive events every day. Whether it is a pedestrian stepping into the road unexpectedly, a vehicle making an unusual maneuver, or rapidly changing traffic conditions. Automated Driving Systems (ADS) face similar challenges,” Das explained. “When confronted with unfamiliar or rare scenarios, ADS perception, prediction, and control systems may encounter increased uncertainty, particularly in situations where training data is limited.”
The research team of ACM, NLR and cogniBIT GmbH is comprised of experts in mobility innovation, data science, artificial intelligence, and human cognition, who will explore three critical questions:
- How can surprise be characterized in driving contexts?
- How is surprise experienced by ADS-equipped vehicles?
- How can surprising ADS behaviors be identified and analyzed?
This is the second of two recent research tasks awarded by NHTSA. The other is an NHTSA research task award to identify gaps in traditional collision detection methods to identify low-energy collisions, and to identify, evaluate, and formulate methods to validate new approaches capable of detecting all contact events (read the release). Research for the task award is being conducted jointly by ACM and Michigan Technological University’s APS LABS Research Center.
Paul Krutko, interim CEO of ACM and president and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK, notes the latest awards are a reflection of ACM’s standing in the national research community.
“The American Center for Mobility, just ten years after its groundbreaking, is now on the national stage when government and state agencies are seeking respected and trusted research partners for safe, sustainable and secure mobility insights and advances,” Krutko said. “With the ecosystem built through ACM, it’s gratifying to see that Michigan is taking the lead on some of the most vexing challenges in the mobility arena.”
About the American Center for Mobility
The American Center for Mobility is a nonprofit mobility and technology campus located at historic Willow Run in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan. ACM provides infrastructure, testing environments, event space, and convening power to help organizations advance safe, sustainable, and secure technologies across transportation and related industries. Learn more at acmwillowrun.org.
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