Automated Vehicles for Road Testing launched today in Ontario.

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Transportation Minister, Steven Del Duca announced earlier that Ontario would become the first province to test automated vehicles on its roads.

The University of Waterloo, along with BlackBerry QNX and the Erwin Hymer Group in Kitchener-Waterloo, will carry out the pilot project. The vehicles will be tested in Kitchener-Waterloo.

Calling the technology "the future" of driving, the Transportation minister said that it will improve road safety and reduce congestion.

The University of Waterloo will be operating a Lincoln MKZ hybrid sedan, dubbed Autonomoose.

The Erwin Hymer Group, an international automaker with a research centre in Waterloo, will be testing a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Van at various levels of automation.

BlackBerry QNX will test a 2017 Lincoln and will be developing its software in association with the pilot project.

Earlier this year Ontario created a regulatory framework to test the new technology which uses global positioning coordinates and artificial intelligence

The project will run for ten years, only vehicles manufactured and equipped by the approved partners will be allowed to participate, a driver must remain in the driver’s seat of the vehicle at all times during operation, and participants must have insurance of at least $5-million.

During interim evaluations, the vehicles must demonstrate the potential to deliver environmental, economic, social and safety benefits, show decrease in emissions, driver error and show the potential to reduce traffic congestion.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers predicts by 2040, 75% of all vehicles on the road will be autonomous

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