On May 9th, a few dozen members of UC Berkeley’s Innovation & Entrepreneurship (I&E) Council and the Executive Directors Working Group took a full tour of the Richmond Field Station (RFS). Led by Justin Wiley from the Institute of Transportation Studies and Professor Tarek Zohdi, Faculty Director of RFS, the group explored the unique blend of wild land, high-tech infrastructure, and hands-on research that defines the station.
The tour highlighted some of the site’s most compelling features:
- A fully operational traffic signal tucked inside a eucalyptus grove, part of the autonomous vehicle testing zone
- FAA-cleared airspace for drone testing and aerial mobility research
- A robotic dog demonstration showcasing real-world robotics applications
- A massive earthquake simulation machine operated by PEER (Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center)
- A decommissioned BART car awaiting its next role in mobility prototyping
- More than 700 students from engineering clubs regularly using the site to design rockets, electric vehicles, and next-gen transportation systems
UC Berkeley’s innovation ecosystem isn’t confined to its urban campus — it stretches into this advanced testbed in Richmond, where applied research meets real-world validation. RFS is quickly becoming a proving ground for the future of transportation, deep tech, robotics, and more.
Learn more about the I&E Council at iande.berkeley.edu.