Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Vancouver to explore driverless vehicles with $386k in funding

Funds will help city figure out how to integrate autonomous vehicles into transportation network
A $386,000 commitment from Ottawa will go towards infrastructure and a pilot deployment planning pro
A $386,000 commitment from Ottawa will go towards infrastructure and a pilot deployment planning project for autonomous and Internet-connected vehicles. Photo iStock

Funding to explore the future of driverless vehicles in Vancouver is shifting into a higher gear following a $386,000 commitment from Ottawa.

The money, announced Aug. 10, comes from Transport Canada’s $2.9-million fund under its Program to Advance Connectivity and Automation in the Transportation System.

The commitment to the city will go to its infrastructure and pilot deployment planning project for autonomous and Internet-connected vehicles.

Transport Canada said the project will explore how connected and self-driving cars can integrate into the future transportation network.

Vancouver is home to tech startup Mojio, which specializes in connecting vehicles to the Internet.

Mojio has worked with hardware partners to develop a device that plugs into a car’s onboard diagnostic port and sends encrypted data to Mojio’s cloud over 4G LTE.

As of March, 500,000 cars that previously had no Internet connectivity are now online, while the company has collected nearly 10-billion kilometres of driving data.

Mojio has partnered with telecom carriers across the globe, including T-Mobile in the U.S., Deutsche Telekom in Europe, and Telus Corp., Rogers and Bell in Canada.

torton@biv.com

@reporton

Click here for original story.