Hillwood announced July 7 it has executed an agreement with Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) as AllianceTexas’ official Mobility Innovation Zone (MIZ) research partner.
The partnership will leverage the experience and expertise of the transportation institute’s team of researchers with the MIZ’s capacity and capabilities.
With a growing presence in the DFW Metroplex, TTI will conduct research, manage strategic initiatives for the MIZ, and serve as a think tank for new opportunities in mobility at AllianceTexas.
The MIZ provides partner organizations the scale, infrastructure and environment for the commercialization of emerging technologies in air and surface mobility.
“As budding surface and air mobility technologies take off, our research partnership with Hillwood at the AllianceTexas MIZ reinforces TTI’s ongoing commitment to testing and scaling innovations that impact the way we live,” said Greg Winfree, agency director of TTI. “The location and capabilities that the MIZ offers provide an unparalleled sandbox for research and development of the technologies that will move business, goods and people forward.”
TTI is the largest higher-education-affiliated transportation research agency in the United States with expertise in engineering, planning, economics, policy, public engagement, landscape architecture, environmental sciences, data sciences, social sciences and more. Expanding upon the agency’s experience, the MIZ provides a one-of-a-kind backdrop offering mobility visionaries full access to an unparalleled testing ecosystem, resources and partnerships essential to comprehensively test, scale and commercialize the latest technologies.
“Our partnership with TTI is a natural pairing for the next phase of research and development at the MIZ, and we cannot wait to see where our partnership will take us in changing the mobility landscape of the region and nation,” said Ian Kinne, director of logistics innovation for Hillwood. “With unmatched expertise in its field, TTI ensures we have the research-backed results needed to not only set the standard for, but also make significant advancements in, budding mobility technology.”
Already taking advantage of the MIZ, technology pioneers such as Bell and TuSimple have established a presence at AllianceTexas. In February, Bell launched its Autonomous Pod Transport (APT) operations, becoming North Texas’ first point-to-point unmanned aircraft system package delivery demonstration, and TuSimple’s Alliance-based facility offers autonomous trucking operations that run throughout the “Texas Triangle” freight corridor.