Skip to main content

Automated vehicles coming to Ontario roads

Ontario, Canada, is supporting innovation in the transportation sector by launching the first automated vehicle (AV) pilot program in Canada, led by the University of Waterloo, the Erwin Hymer Group and BlackBerry QNX. The pilot brings together a range of expertise from the research, manufacturing and technology sectors to advance innovation and capability in Ontario's AV sector. The WATCar Project at the University of Waterloo's Centre for Automotive Research will monitor a Lincoln MKZ for performan
November 29, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Ontario, Canada, is supporting innovation in the transportation sector by launching the first automated vehicle (AV) pilot program in Canada, led by the University of Waterloo, the Erwin Hymer Group and BlackBerry QNX.

The pilot brings together a range of expertise from the research, manufacturing and technology sectors to advance innovation and capability in Ontario's AV sector.

The WATCar Project at the University of Waterloo's Centre for Automotive Research will monitor a Lincoln MKZ for performance and test it on-road at different levels of automation.

Auto manufacturer The Erwin Hymer Group will test and monitor a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van at different levels of automation.

Canadian software development specialist BlackBerry QNX will test a 2017 Lincoln with automated features.

In January 2016, Ontario became the first province in Canada to create a pilot regulatory framework to test automated vehicles on its roads. The pilot aims to help attract and enable research and development in Ontario in this emerging industry, positioning the province as a global leader in the AV market.

Related Content

  • Texas A&M offer free campus transport testing
    October 27, 2016
    Free evaluation and testing of transportation systems and products might seem too good to be true - but it isn’t. Colin Sowman reports. Texas A&M University is offering to host transport technology demonstrations and research projects free of charge at its Main and newly-renamed Rellis campuses. The initiative’s aim is to encourage those with technologies that could improve transportation to bring their products, systems and ideas to Texas A&M’s campus where they can be evaluated, tested and demonstrated.
  • MGI Acquires high-tech component printer Ceradrop
    October 29, 2013
    Plastic card printer MGI Digital Graphic Technology has acquired Ceradrop, a high-tech inkjet printing component designer and manufacturer serving the printed electronics industry, in a move that positions MGI to enter emerging, high-growth markets for printed electronics. Limoges-based Ceradrop, founded in 2006, was originally a spin-off from the world-renowned CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) laboratory, a leader in the French market for inkjet equipment for printed electronics as wel
  • Continental and IBM collaborate on connected vehicles
    September 11, 2013
    Continental and IBM are to collaborate on the joint development of fully-connected mobile vehicle solutions for the world’s car manufacturers. Central to the agreement is development of a highly scalable cloud platform that will enable automotive manufacturers to deliver a range of new mobile in-car services. Software updates and vehicle control device functionality will be delivered over the internet, removing costly and inconvenient workshop visits. The companies feel the solution may equally prove be
  • Automatic signal control to prevent emergency vehicle collisions?
    March 14, 2012
    Field trials under way in Arizona promise eradication of accidents between emergency vehicles at intersections – as part of a national focus on ‘intelligent signal’ infrastructure. Collisions between police cars, ambulances and fire crews as they reach intersections at the same time, with equal priority given by all signals set on red, are as serious as they sound absurd. For emergency teams and those in need of their help, the consequences are dire. The solution could come from application of connected veh