Last week, CENGN took part in CAV Canada at the Brookstreet Hotel. CAV Canada is the premiere event for innovators and organizations who are invested in the safe development and implementation of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs). As more and more companies are entering the CAV space, it becomes more important for a forum like CAV Canada to exist as a day for collaboration and information transfer on the biggest challenges and most promising opportunities in the sector. Over the two days of the event, a wide variety of topics were discussed.  There were panels on the foundations of CAV technology and the status of testing, as well as some business and strategic subjects such as the future of regulations surrounding CAVs, and the possible socio-economic impact that CAVs will have on Canada. CAV Canada was hosted by the Kanata North Business Association and Invest Ottawa, in partnership with the OttawaL5 testbed and Cavcoe.

A highlight for us was hosting the CV technology-V2X panel, moderated by our President & CEO JC Fahmy. This panel focused on the importance of the connectivity between network infrastructures and connected vehicles, and how Canada’s future in networking is tied to the progression of CAV tech across the country. In order for connected cars to function properly, they will need communication links to traffic lights and other vehicles, and this kind of connectivity must be supported by a strong and versatile infrastructure.

JC’s panel featured representatives from CWTA and Klashwerks, as well as long-time CENGN member Nokia and Ontario ATP program organization ENCQOR. All the organizations represented on this panel have a hand in improving Canada’s network infrastructure in order to ensure easy implementation of CAVs.

As the future of CAVs are deeply connected to advancements being driven by networking technology, CENGN has a vested interest in the connected cars sector. CENGN’s vision is to advance global technology in order to benefit all Canadians. Among many other technologies reliant on advanced network technology is the connected and autonomous vehicles sector, which is set to have a hugely positive impact on our transportation systems, environmental footprint, safety, and way we live.

We drive advancement in tech by helping Canadian businesses commercialize their innovative networking solutions in the form of CENGN projects. These projects are imperative in pushing forward Canadian technology and innovation, as well as improving Canada’s networks so that our infrastructure can support the network intensive CAV technology.

For instance, our Internet of Things (IoT) projects are concerned with the connectivity of devices and sensors. In order for these devices and sensors to work with connected cars, they must be able to send and receive signals quickly, while also taking power usage, accuracy and scaling into account.

Beyond sensors, the networks and data centres connected cars are relying on must maintain data transfer reliability in a highly available way to ensure safety on the roads. This points to the importance of having CENGN’s infrastructure services and technical expertise to facilitate testing to validate any cloud and network data centre and SDN/NFV/SD-WAN solutions that are important to the future of CAVs.

Network security is another CENGN specialty and a big factor of enabling CAVs as well. A secure network means your connected car cannot be hacked, leading to improved road safety. CENGN’s security projects work to increase network security to a high level, which will be very important when letting CAVs on the roads.

CENGN’s commitment to establishing CAVs goes beyond commercialization projects. In fact, CENGN provides network support for Invest Ottawa’s autonomous vehicle L5 testbed and track. The L5 facilities offer infrastructure validation, testing and demonstration on their public and private test tracks. As the track is equipped with GPS, Wi-Fi, 4G/LTE, 5G and dedicated short range communications, it is the first integrated CAV test environment in North America.

CENGN was thrilled to have the opportunity to support such an innovative event. CAV Canada brought together people from the ICT sector to share the knowledge needed in order to drive Canadian innovation towards a brighter future. We are looking forward to what next year’s event has in store!

Missed us at this event? Don’t worry! Check out where we will be next!

About the Author

CENGN, Canada’s Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks, drives technology innovation and industry growth through our testbed, technical expertise, talent development, and partner ecosystem. Through our projects, CENGN enables small and medium Canadian Enterprises to test and validate promising technologies, removing barriers to product commercialization and accelerating market growth.

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