Mobility for All competition enters second phase with nine semifinalist teams from across Wayne State University

The Wayne Mobility Initiative (WMI) has completed the first phase of the Mobility for All competition, selecting nine teams to move on to the next portion of the yearlong campus-wide event.

The competition was first announced in October 2020. After proposals were delivered in December, a select group of teams pitched their ideas to the WMI panel. Nine semifinal groups chosen in January are working to create solutions to a variety of mobility challenges - including food access, transportation and accessibility for people with disabilities - and vying for $5,000 prizes as well as the opportunity to become phase three finalists.

"We are very happy and proud to see how our students, faculty and alumni are working together with the regional community to address real-world mobility issues," said Weisong Shi, professor of computer science in the College of Engineering and chair of the WMI steering committee.

In the second phase, teams will be tasked with performing small scale testing and data collection for their proposed solutions, submitting a paper illustrating their initial findings. The pool will be narrowed to five teams that will present at the annual WMI meeting on April 15 and move on to the final portion of the competition that culminates Oct. 1.

Teams are primarily comprised of students, faculty and researchers from six schools and colleges across Wayne State University, demonstrating the WMI's objective of promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation in the area of mobility.

Visit mobilityforall.world to learn more about the competition and its nine semifinalists.