Jeff Peevy, I-CAR vice-president-technical products, programs and services, can’t be more excited about the expansion of I-CAR’s technical capacities.
Building upon the solid foundation of resources at I-Car’s Appleton, Wisconsin, Tech Center, Peevy is leading the development of an entirely new complementary resource – The Chicago Technical Center (CTC).
“This will be a first for our industry-there is nothing like this anywhere in the country,” he said. “This facility enables the future of educational programming and learning.”
Construction is fully underway, renovating a 48,000 square foot Vernon Hills, Ill., facility into a leading site to provide enhanced levels of accessibility for industry partners and learners, with dedicated areas for ADAS, telematics, and electric/hybrid vehicles, as well as research into rapidly growing and emerging educational technologies such as AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality).
The CTC represents a massive collaboration with Inter-Industry partners to support the industry as it continues to face massive changes in technology.
I-CAR’s Appleton Tech Center is also slated to receive renovations this year. Both the CTC and Appleton projects will share a consistent look and will reflect enhancements designed to improve the quality, safety and health of the environments for I-CAR staff and visitors.
“Our team has been working around the clock to reimagine the future of training amid one of the most profound eras in vehicle history,” Peevy continued. “For example, the CTC offers a ground-up design, with working training and research labs that will continue to evolve and change to meet learners of the future virtually and in-person.”
We’re dedicated to new learnings and innovations, and the CTC will underscore this philosophy in every nook and cranny with intentional, relevant and robust offerings.”
In addition to dedicated ADAS and EV labs, the CTC will offer a “Flex Lab” to accommodate customized industry needs. Six EV charging stations are also featured.
The Learning Design Studio, complete with digital walls, will be a CTC hallmark, showcasing the latest in learning technologies and innovations to improve the learner experience for educational programming. The site will contain controlled environment variations for performing ADAS calibrations to enable comprehensive research. The facility is being designed to provide the backdrop for future virtual reality opportunities. The new location will host industry workshops and live classes for technicians and vocational students as well, serving as a Chicagoland training site for I-CAR, within 30 minutes of O’Hare International Airport.
Originally published in I-CAR's Collision Reporter.
