April 2018

AV Update + Supplemental

From the Editors

CAVCOE is pleased to make two personnel announcements:

Jeff McNamee has joined the company as a Senior Associate. Jeff is a veteran of the tech industry in Ottawa at senior levels. Most recently, he was the acting Executive Director of the Kanata North Business Association and was very involved in organizing the Ottawa AV Summit.

Ahmad Radmanesh, Senior Associate at CAVCOE, has taken over the responsibility of being the Editor-in-Chief of AV Update. Depending on the articles each month, Ahmad will be supported by various members of the CAVCOE team.

We wish both Ahmad and Jeff best wishes in their new roles.

You will notice that the title shows that supplemental information has come to light since the initial APRIL AV Update. That information has been incorporated.



The Ottawa AV Summit
331 people signed up for the third annual Ottawa AV Summit held on April 4th. The event attracted Canadian and international companies and representatives from all levels of government. Many different aspects of AVs were on the agenda. The panels addressed four topics: charting AV/CV technology opportunities and challenges; urban planning and emerging mobility trends; creating policies for a new AV world; and the evolution of Ottawa as Canada’s AV capital.


A new player to the Canadian market introduced its vehicle. The British AV manufacturer RDM presented its vehicle, the Pod Zero (see photo).

RDM also announced that it is opening an office in Ottawa that will operate under the new corporate name
Aurrigo.


                                         

Another presentation described the new private AV test-track in Ottawa – see the photo above. This secure, gated facility is located on land in the south-west of Ottawa. The test-track supports testing in a closed environment with 16 kms of roads and multiple intersections and buildings. The test-bed will provide the opportunity to test not only automated vehicles but also various connected vehicle technologies.

Mark Laroche of the Ottawa International Airport Authority described an autonomous vehicle pilot project that will transport passenger between the P4 parking lot and the terminal. More details on the project should be announced as it evolves.

The AV Summit was presented by the Kanata North Business Association and Invest Ottawa in partnership with CAVCOE and was a resounding success. It was a wonderful opportunity for stakeholders to network and see that the opportunities and challenges associated with new forms of mobility that are shared by all
Canadian cities. This Summit clearly enhanced Ottawa, Ontario and Canada’s standings in the worldwide AV/CV ecosystem.

The presentations are now on-line here and then click on "2018 Presentations". All the presentations that we have permission to publish are there.

AV Study by KPMG

KPMG has released a 60 page report on the ‘AV readiness’ of 20 countries.  This report was also the subject of one of the presentations at the AV Summit.
 
Countries were assessed on the following criteria:
  • Policy & legislation
  • Technology & innovation
  • Infrastructure
  • Consumer acceptance
Canada is ranked 7th overall.
 
The chart on the right summarizes the findings of the report. The full report can be downloaded from KPMG’s website.

Other AV News
Unmanned Systems Canada (USC), the Canadian not-for-profit association representing the interests of the unmanned vehicle systems community, is preparing for Unmanned Canada 2018, its annual conference and trade show being held this year in Vancouver. Unmanned Systems Canada has issued both a call for abstracts (details here) and a sponsorship proposal (details here).

Unmanned Systems Canada will also be holding an Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) Student Competition. The student teams will develop the UGVs during the 2018-19 academic year and the actual competition will be held in Ottawa in Spring 2019. More details on the competition will be announced soon. For more information, please contact Barrie Kirk -- although there is little more to announce at this time.

 
At the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show 2018, John Krafcik of Waymo revealed some interesting details about their partnership with Honda “in a move that will test the company’s ability to compete in the $164 billion delivery and logistics market.” As reported by Bloomberg: Krafcik said not to expect the new service to take the form of a “traditional car driven on roads.” His comments suggest Waymo is ready to try co-creating a vehicle from scratch with an automaker rather than modifying existing models, as it has done with Jaguar and Fiat Chrysler. The Honda model may move people and goods, Krafcik hinted; it might be smaller than a truck and could come without a steering wheel or pedals. A Honda spokesman said the companies are “continuing to explore” the relationship.”


A blog post titled ‘China OKs Self-Driving Tests on Public Roads’ explains that China will introduce new legislation on May 1st that will allow self-driving cars to be tested on public roads nationwide.

 
As reported by Reuters, California has signaled that it will allow AV developers to transport passengers without a backup driver in the vehicle, just as the industry faces heightened scrutiny over safety concerns. “The proposed California rules require that companies hold an autonomous vehicle testing permit from the DMV for at least 90 days before picking up passengers. The service must be free - companies are not allowed to accept payment from passengers – and passengers must be 18 years or older and no airport trips are allowed.”

 
On April 4, 2018, Groupe ADP in collaboration with Navya and Keolis  launched an autonomous electric shuttle service with 3 stops at Charles de Gaulle airport, the first such service at a French airport.  This service operates Monday to Friday from 07:30 to 20:00 and transports employees and visitors of this company between the RER rapid transit station and the Groupe ADP headquarters. This last mile service is open to the public as well. A short YouTube video is at this link. ‘Groupe ADP’ is the owner/operator of Paris area airports and other airports.

 
The New Zealand company Ohmio Automotion (a subsidiary of the HMI Group) has signed an agreement to supply 150 Ohmio autonomous shuttles to Southwest Coast Enterprise City Development Co  of Korea. This is the largest order for autonomous shuttles to date.


Autonomy is not confined to land vehicles, it extends to air and sea too.  Autonomous ocean-going vessels are being developed for both military and civilian applications. Companies such as Rolls Royce, Maersk, ABB, Fraunhofer and others are active in this area. An Autonomous Ship Technology Symposium  will be held at RAI Amsterdam June 27-29, 2018 by companies active in this field. There is more information here.

 
We continue to be surprised at the wide range of impacts that AVs will have on our lives, communities and the country. A few weeks ago, Barrie Kirk was interviewed by Cottage Life magazine for an article on The Future of Cottaging – in an AV era, of course. The resulting article is here.


Upcoming AV-Related Events

May 14-17, 2018   The Connected and Autonomous Vehicles 2018 Santa Clara, California 

May 30 - June 1, 2018  MOVIN'ON: World Summit on Sustainable Mobility; Montreal

 
June 4-7, 2018  ITS America annual conference - Detroit, Michigan

June 5-7, 2018 
Autonomous Vehicle Technology World Expo 2018; Stuttgart, Germany

June 6-7, 2018 
Automated Vehicles 2018: Planning for Urban and Rural Transitions; Conference Board of Canada, Edmonton, Alberta

June 17-21, 2018 
ITS Canada Annual Conference and General Meeting; Niagara Falls, Ontario.

June 19-20, 2018:
The Future of Transportation World Conference; Cologne, Germany.

Sep. 17-21, 2018 
ITS World Congress; Copenhagen, Denmark.

Sep. 17, 2018 ‘Canadian Automobile Insurance Rate Regulators’ -  Calgary, Alberta
 
Oct. 9-11, 2018 ADAS to Automated Driving Symposium by SAE - Detroit, Michigan 
 
Oct. 23-25, 2018   Autonomous Vehicle Safety Regulation World Congress - Novi, Michigan
 
Oct. 23-25, 2018  Autonomous Vehicle Test & Development Symposium - Novi, Michigan 

Oct. 30 – Nov. 1, 2018
 Unmanned Canada 2018 – Conference & Trade Show, Unmanned Systems Canada; Vancouver BC
 
Nov. 14-16, 2018  Tech.AD, Detroit, Michigan
 
AV Update is a free, monthly roundup of news and analysis in the world of automated vehicles, particularly from a Canadian perspective.
Editor-in-Chief: Ahmad Radmanesh
Contributors to this issue: Barrie Kirk, Paul Godsmark, Keith Fagan, Marie-France Laurin
To subscribe, click here.      To unsubscribe, click here.
We welcome all comments; please send them here

CAVCOE provides advice to public and private sector stakeholders on planning for the arrival of autonomous vehicles.


© Canadian Automated Vehicles Centre of Excellence (CAVCOE) 2018


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