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North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is playing a critical role in the creation of Athena, a new artificial intelligence (AI) research center led by Duke University and including Yale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other prominent institutional partners. Funded by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Homeland Security, Athena is part of a $220 million investment in 11 AI research institutes engaging campuses in 40 states nationwide. Daniel Limbrick, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is the principal investigator for North Carolina A&T's sub-award from Duke University. Limbrick will contribute expertise in microprocessing and autonomous vehicles by creating small-scale testbeds of autonomous vehicle scenarios. The testbeds offer physical platforms to test and research the capabilities and limitations of edge computing and expand the research beyond computational modeling.

BMW and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles are seeking one more automaker to join their autonomous driving partnership. "The road is open by the end of the year, and we have some good discussions with different other OEMs," Elmar Frickenstein, senior vice president of autonomous driving for BMW Group, told Automotive News. "The confidence level is high that we will do it by the end of the year." In order to keep BMW's iNEXT project on track by 2021, a new partner is needed this year, Frickenstein said. BMW formed the partnership in 2016 with technology companies Intel and Mobileye.