Kitchener partners with local startup to lay groundwork for autonomous shuttles

CBC

2 days ago

The City of Kitchener has partnered with a local startup to prepare for the potential use of autonomous shuttles in the city's downtown.
GeoMate Inc., which is located in downtown Kitchener, creates high-definition maps that are used by autonomous vehicles. The tech company approached the city to create an AI-driven map to provide up-to-date information about on-going construction projects, road closures and future infrastructure projects to autonomous vehicles.
"We are kind of taking mapping to the next level with the city and we're mapping all of the key infrastructure that will be needed for autonomous vehicles in the future," said Robert MacGregor, director of partnerships at GeoMate inc.
The project is funded by the provincial government through the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network.
The goal is for Kitchener to one day have autonomous shuttles downtown that will better connect residents to the LRT and public spaces.
Brian Bennett is the manager of business development for the city and says the partnership with GeoMate will see city staff provide data and in-kind services in exchange for the mapping.
He says the project gives the city "an opportunity to be at the forefront around new innovation, especially with respect to autonomous vehicles. It allows us and gives us an opportunity to be a test bed for autonomous vehicles by automotive manufacturers going forward."
How the maps are made
The process for creating a map begins with GeoMate Inc. taking aerial photos of the city. The photos are then processed through the company's in-house AI that has been trained to identify key features in transportation networks.
These include things like crosswalks, sidewalks, bike lanes, lane changes and traffic lights. Factors like weather events can be added in real-time as they occur.
Kitchener will provide the data about locations of road closures and construction projects that will then be added to the map.
MacGregor says GeoMate started as a company that looked at how accessible sidewalks were for people in wheelchairs and with other mobility devices.
Now, the company collects data that covers factors like how pedestrian and bike-friendly a part of the city is as well as how accessible a sidewalk is.
This is done through a system MacGregor calls a "walking score" which is a rating from zero to 100 that indicates how pedestrian-friendly a location is, based on how close it is to places like grocery stores, schools, parks and restaurants.
Testing site and shuttle services
MacGregor hopes this project will bring autonomous vehicle testing to Kitchener.
"The end goal is to make Kitchener the premier spot for automotive testing. We do a lot of work with automotive companies and a lot of that work happens in countries that aren't Canada," he said.
MacGregor says the reason Kitchener is such an ideal spot for testing is because of its large tech hub, tight urban core, proximity to different types of infrastructure and the fact that it gets all four seasons.
"For companies looking to test their solutions in the winter, for companies looking to, you know, test it in that slushy fall, spring season, Kitchener offers a really good place to do that," he said.
Bennett says they see other practical uses, including shuttles that could move people from LRT and bus stops to other destinations.
"We're looking at it from an opportunity to [have] autonomous shuttles downtown between our various structured parking facilities to businesses within the downtown or from the Borden Street LRT station to The Aud during events that are taking place," he said.
The city is intrigued by autonomous shuttles, he added because they allow for "more flexibility and more frequency" than a traditional bus or shuttle.
MacGregor adds that the maps have applications beyond autonomous vehicles.
"These maps are also good for things like robot delivery. They are also just really good at identifying transportation barriers," MacGregor said.
Full-fledged autonomy still years away
The map is expected to be completed sometime next year. As for when autonomous vehicles will start being used in Kitchener, MacGregor says that the answer is complicated.
With the Ontario government and the federal government, there are certain restrictions in place around autonomous driving," he said.
MacGregor added that the regulations still allow for new technology to be developed while keeping people safe.
"We're not just saying, 'Hey, put your autonomous vehicles on the road and let's see how it goes.' like some other places in North America might be," he said.
Bennett says there's no timeline from the city's perspective but their hope is that automotive manufacturers see what they're doing and start planning their future research and development in Kitchener, growing the local economy.
He noted before any testing were to take place in the city, though, there would be public consultations.
"We want to ensure the safety and security of both the users of the vehicles as well as the general public going forward. So we would ensure that the appropriate safety measures are implemented and in place before this launches," Bennett said.
Cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco already allow the autonomous ride-haling service Waymo to operate on their roads.
MacGregor says he is more focused on testing in the near future.
"For Ontario, I think we're a couple years away from full-fledged autonomy on the road. But we will see people start to test these vehicles sooner than later," he said.