Invest Ottawa together with the government of Ontario and strategic partners have launched the Ottawa L5 connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) test facility in Canada.
With the fitup of the Ottawa L5 well underway, more than three dozen SMEs and firms are already using the public and private tracks to support CAV R&D, commercialization and testing.
Currently valued at more than US$11m, the Ottawa L5 leverages:
• US$5m in anchor provincial investment through the Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Network (AVIN), an initiative delivered by the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) on behalf of the Government of Ontario;
• More than US$6m in in-kind contributions from internationally recognized public and private partners. These include Accenture; Avanade; Blackberry QNX; the city of Ottawa; Ericsson; Juniper Networks; the National Capital Commission (NCC); Microsoft; and Nokia.
Companies will be able to test key elements of CAV operation at the new facility including safety and security; interoperability, data collection and analytics; and connectivity. They will also be able to do V2X testing in Ottawa’s four-season weather climate, with temperatures that range from +37°C to -38°C, and harsh winter conditions including heavy snow, sleet, and ice.
Comprising a public and private CAV test track, the Ottawa L5 is equipped with 5G, 4G/LTE, GPS (RTK), dedicated short-range communications, and wi-fi telecommunications and networking infrastructure.
“Our novel collaboration with the government of Ontario, and many strategic public and private partners, will enable Invest Ottawa, the Ottawa L5 and our collaborators to contribute directly to the development, commercialization and adoption of new CAV technologies, and the growth of CAV firms,” said Kelly Daize, connected and autonomous vehicle program director, Invest Ottawa.
“It will allow us to leverage Ottawa’s world-class V2X, telecommunications and cybersecurity expertise, and put it to work to benefit innovators, SMEs and multinational companies. This will help us to further establish Canada’s capital as an internationally recognized CAV center of excellence, innovation and talent.”