Ottawa, Ontario – Ottawa’s AV (autonomous vehicle) industry is flush with cash following a $17 million government investment into their local testing facility.
With this joint investment between Invest Ottawa and the federal government through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), staking $10 million and $7 million respectively, the city will be supporting a number of companies who are leading the way in AV development, as well as the facility itself.
“The enhanced capabilities at Invest Ottawa’s Area X.O, made possible by support from FedDev Ontario, will support the next generation of digital infrastructure and help to grow our regional economy and create good local jobs,” said Minister of Infrastructure and Communities and Member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre Catherine McKenna.
The newly named Area X.O., formerly the Ottawa L5 Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Test Facility, will receive a new, fully-equipped 5G mobile command centre with drones capable of deploying a standalone and secure 5G network anywhere, thanks to the investment.
In addition, the facility will also be upgraded with new cybersecurity technology and an authentic railway crossing and mobile dummy test targets that enable precise and repeatable test scenarios between autonomous vehicles and vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.
The companies partnered with this investment include Accenture, BlackBerry QNX, the City of Ottawa, Ericsson, Hexagon AutonomouStuff, InDro Robotics, Kongsberg Geospatial, Microsoft, Nokia and TÜV SÜD.
