MIT AgeLab Celebrates Decade of Academic-Industry Collaboration Advancing Vehicle Technology

Cambridge, MA – The MIT AgeLab’s Advanced Vehicle Technology (AVT) Consortium, a part of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, marked its 10th anniversary on May 6, celebrating a decade of fostering collaboration between academia and the automotive industry. The AVT Consortium was established to generate data-driven insights into how drivers interact with advanced vehicle technologies, including assistive and automated driving systems, thereby accelerating the development and design of safer and more efficient vehicles.

The anniversary event convened industry stakeholders for keynote speeches and panel discussions centered on crucial topics shaping the future of the automotive sector. These included artificial intelligence, automotive technology, collision repair, consumer behavior, sustainability, vehicle safety policy, and global competitiveness.

Bryan Reimer, founder and co-director of the AVT Consortium, highlighted the consortium’s significant achievements over the past decade, including the collection of hundreds of terabytes of data, collaboration with over 25 member organizations, support for strategic and policy initiatives, and the establishment of AVT as a global influencer in the automotive industry. He emphasized the current challenges facing the industry, such as distracted driving, consumer skepticism regarding assistive and automated driving features, and high consumer expectations for vehicle technology, safety, and affordability.

John Bozzella, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, and Mark Rosekind, former chief safety innovation officer of Zoox and former administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, advocated for a more strategic, data-driven, and collaborative approach to vehicle safety regulation. They argued that regulations should evolve in tandem with innovation and cited the success of voluntary commitments on automatic emergency braking as a model for future progress. Bozzella stated, “That’s a way to do something important and impactful ahead of regulation.” Rosekind emphasized the urgency of addressing the 40,000 annual road fatalities, calling for a shift from tactical fixes to a systemic safety strategy: “Safety delayed is safety denied. Tell me how you’re going to improve safety. Let’s be explicit.”

Kathy Abbott, chief scientific and technical advisor for the Federal Aviation Administration, drew parallels between aviation’s exemplary safety record and the automotive industry’s challenges. She pointed to aviation’s culture of rigorous regulation, continuous improvement, and cross-sectoral data sharing as a model. Abbott stressed that technological ability alone is not sufficient justification for deployment and that a robust safety culture must guide the auto industry forward.

Pete Bigelow of Automotive News provided insights into the industry’s current focus on Level 2 and 3 technologies (assisted and automated driving), noting that consumer confusion persists regarding the differences between these levels and their respective safety benefits. He quoted Bryan Reimer: “Level 3 systems are an engineer’s dream and a plaintiff attorney’s next yacht,” underscoring the legal and design complexities of systems requiring handoffs between machine and human.

Mauricio Muñoz, senior research engineer at AI Sweden, cautioned against relying solely on general AI trends to solve automotive-specific challenges. He emphasized the need for domain expertise, data sovereignty, and targeted collaboration to overcome limitations such as energy constraints and the high costs of AI infrastructure.

A collision repair panel featuring Richard Billyeald from Thatcham Research, Hami Ebrahimi from Caliber Collision, and Mike Nelson from Nelson Law addressed the rising repair costs, labor shortages, and lack of repairability standards associated with advanced vehicle technology. Panelists called for greater standardization, consumer education, and repair-friendly design.

Looking to the future, Ryan Harty of Honda highlighted the company’s commitment to sustainability and safety, aiming for zero environmental impact and zero traffic fatalities. Honda plans to be 100% electric by 2040 and is investing in charging infrastructure, grid-aware battery usage, and green hydrogen storage.

A panel including Laura Chace of ITS America, Jon Demerly of Qualcomm, Brad Stertz of Audi/VW Group, and Anant Thaker of Aptiv discussed the future of vehicle technology, emphasizing the need for alignment between consumer expectations, infrastructure investment, and regulatory modernization. Panelists stressed the importance of designing systems for proactive safety rather than reactive response.

Reimer concluded the event by urging industry leaders to prioritize the consumer in all discussions, from affordability to maintenance and repair. He called for global collaboration, standardization, and transparent innovation to rebuild trust and reshape industry economics, emphasizing that global competitiveness and public safety depend on partnerships between industry, academia, and government.