A slew of federal government grants awarded to Ottawa organizations are looking to advance new technologies and reduce the carbon footprint of Canada’s transportation sector.
Transport Canada announced the recipients of more than $300,000 in grants at Carleton University on Wednesday.
Carleton itself will receive a sizeable chunk of funding. The local post-secondary institution will receive $50,000 to research how cities can best design infrastructure for the advent of connected and autonomous vehicles. Additionally, it could also get as much $50,000 through the clean rail academic grant program to study how new railcar designs and lightweight materials could reduce the industry’s carbon emissions.
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This isn’t the first time Carleton has staked its claim as a hub for autonomous vehicles research. BlackBerry QNX has partnered with the school’s researchers to develop ways of fending off cyber-attacks from connected cars, and Carleton has partnered with the Information and Communications Technology Council to place students in autonomous vehicles co-op opportunities.
The City of Ottawa will receive $140,000 to install smart traffic signals on local roads, which could have the dual effects of improving traffic flows and reducing vehicle emissions.
Ottawa-based Unmanned Systems Canada will host a competition to help students learn about automated vehicle systems with $50,000 in funding. Also on the education side, the Canadian Automobile Association will put $25,000 towards informing Canadians about these rapidly-changing vehicle technologies.