City of Long Beach Partners with Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America and Xtelligent to Revolutionize Urban Mobility through Connected Vehicle Data

LONG BEACH, Calif., Sept. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The City of Long Beach has entered into a public-private partnership with Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America, with support from Mercedes-Benz USA Urban Mobility Solutions, and Xtelligent to develop transportation technology systems that will improve urban transportation management and enhance liveability and environmental sustainability in and around the city.

"This public-private partnership will keep Long Beach at the forefront of emerging transportation technologies," said Mayor Robert Garcia. "This project will showcase our city's skilled workforce, provide more STEM learning opportunities for students, and represents our city's continued commitment to building a technology focused ecosystem."

The public-private project will span a period of 10 months and will include:

• Testing an intelligent intersection control system to safely adapt traffic signal timing at select intersections
• Data analysis from connected test vehicle fleets and existing physical sensors around the city to provide information that may improve future transportation policy and traffic engineering decisions
• A community youth workshop for Long Beach residents and students

In alignment with the Long Beach Accelerator Program, the partnership supports the City's efforts to work with local businesses on leading edge technology and civic impact while also cultivating science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) opportunities for Long Beach students. Health and safety permitting, a community-based workshop will provide STEM education to local students, with an emphasis on under-resourced communities.

The project is also part of Long Beach's Smart City Initiative to leverage data and technology as strategic tools to solve challenges and improve the lives of Long Beach residents.

The public-private partnership with Mercedes-Benz and Xtelligent reflects Long Beach's vision to advance environmental sustainability and digital inclusion to ensure that everyone has equitable access and use of digital literacy training, the internet, technology devices and other digital inclusion resources. Solving transportation challenges is also a focus of Mercedes-Benz, and this unique partnership offers the ability to potentially solve very real issues — congestion and its associated emissions — in urban areas. 

"We are excited to partner with Xtelligent and the City of Long Beach to research solutions to urban transportation challenges. With our test vehicle fleet, we hope to provide key data to optimize traffic signal timing and reduce congestion," said Philipp Skogstad, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Research and Development North America.

Data protection is a top priority for Mercedes-Benz, Xtelligent and the City, and the parties are committed to using data responsibly. Mercedes-Benz and Xtelligent will only share test vehicle data with appropriate notices and consents, and any data that must be shared with third parties will be anonymized and aggregated. This project is a joint effort between the City's Technology and Innovation Department, Public Works Department and Economic Development Department.

"This partnership represents the best of what a forward-thinking city, leading automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and innovative venture can uniquely enable when collaborating towards a common, worthwhile goal," said Michael Lim, cofounder of Xtelligent. "We're excited to use our collective resources to develop and demonstrate how technology can improve the liveability, vitality, and sustainability of Long Beach."

Upon the pilot's conclusion, the team will evaluate results and explore opportunities to scale the effort.

About the City of Long Beach
Home to approximately 470,000 people, the multiple award-winning and innovative City of Long Beach offers all the world-class amenities of a large metropolitan city while maintaining a strong sense of individual and diverse neighborhoods nestled together along the California coast. As a full-service charter city, Long Beach is home to the Queen Mary, Aquarium of the Pacific, several museums and theaters, a highly-rated school district, Long Beach Airport, the Port of Long Beach, as well as many award-winning City departments such as Health and Human Services; Parks, Recreation and Marine; Development Services; Public Works and more. The City also has a highly respected university and city college, two historic ranchos, five hospitals, 12 libraries, five golf courses, 169 parks, miles of beaches, marinas, bike paths and a Bike Share program.

For more information about the City of Long Beach, visit longbeach.gov. Watch us on LBTV. Follow us on social to keep up with the latest news: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

About Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America
Envisioning, designing, engineering, testing and certifying the most desirable cars in North America. At Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America, we develop and certify cars for the US and the world in six locations. Our work ranges from EV battery research to hybrid powertrain calibration and certification, from telematics to autonomous driving software, and from advanced exterior design to UX. It's not just about cars, it's also about creating the latest and greatest software, cutting-edge technology, and groundbreaking innovation.

Mercedes-Benz Urban Mobility Solutions at a glance
The Urban Mobility Solutions division was launched to make cities more livable with safe, sustainable, efficient and accessible mobility products, bringing Mercedes-Benz' mobility expertise into cities to create shared value. In order to identify and address new challenges and trends at an early stage, the team works closely with city representatives, public transport agencies, cross-industry partners as well as experts from inside and outside Mercedes-Benz. The goal is to develop a world-leading portfolio of best-fit urban vehicles, data-driven mobility products and citizen-centric urban mobility systems for today´s and future generations.

About Xtelligent
Xtelligent is a U.S. government backed transportation infrastructure venture with founding team members originating from leading research groups at the University of Southern California, University of California, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. By integrating cutting-edge decentralized control algorithm research with innovative sensing and learning capabilities, Xtelligent significantly improves traffic signal network control for cities, and in the process enables a more cooperative, multimodal, and sustainable urban transportation system future. As an impact venture, Xtelligent is committed to deploying innovative technologies in an ethical, transparent, and accountable manner and in service of societal well-being.

Mercedes-Benz AG at a glance
Mercedes-Benz AG is responsible for the global business of Mercedes-Benz Cars and Mercedes-Benz Vans, with over 170,000 employees worldwide. Ola Källenius is Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz AG. The company focuses on the development, production and sales of passenger cars, vans and vehicle-related services. Furthermore, the company aspires to be the leader in the fields of electric mobility and vehicle software. The product portfolio comprises the Mercedes-Benz brand with the sub-brands of Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes-Maybach, Mercedes-EQ, G-Class and the smart brand. The Mercedes me brand offers access to the digital services from Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes-Benz AG is one of the world's largest manufacturers of luxury passenger cars. In 2020 it sold around 2.1 million passenger cars and nearly 375,000 vans. In its two business segments, Mercedes-Benz AG is continually expanding its worldwide production network with around 35 production sites on four continents, while gearing itself to meet the requirements of electric mobility. At the same time, the company is constructing and extending its global battery production network on three continents. As sustainability is the guiding principle of the Mercedes-Benz strategy and for the company itself, this means creating lasting value for all stakeholders: for customers, employees, investors, business partners and society as a whole. The basis for this is Daimler's sustainable business strategy. The company thus takes responsibility for the economic, ecological and social effects of its business activities and looks at the entire value chain.

SOURCE Daimler North America - Corporate Communications