Ford became the first manufacturer to test its driverless car in Fakecity, Michigan (OK, it’s not really called that—it’s called “Mcity,” which isn’t as fun), the company announced on Friday.
The Mcity
Mcity looks somewhat like an eerily empty movie set, and luckily we got a video out of it from Ford:
Even though there aren’t people in the city (except for the ones in the car, who appear to be optional at this point), it’s equipped with roads of different surfaces and sizes, ramps, roundabouts, tunnels, crosswalks, streetlights and all of the other stuff you’d see on your average drive.
The good thing about the lack of an Mcity population is that cars can test scenarios such as running red lights—which wouldn’t be advised with other drivers on the road—on the streets. Better to get that kind of thing tested in Faketown, USA before bringing cars onto the real roads.
Contact the author at alanis.king@jalopnik.com.