Self-driving cars to be tested on Ontario roads

Ontario will be the first province in Canada to allow road tests of automated vehicles, according to OntarioTransportation MinisterSteven Del Duca.

"For Ontario, the benefits of being part of automated vehicle innovation are clear," said Del Duca in a speech at the University of Waterloo on Tuesday morning. "In order to compete, Ontario needs to be consistent with the approach of U.S. jursidictions."

The province will allow testing of self-driving cars, as well as related technologies,starting on Jan. 1 of the new year. The provincial government is also pledging an additional $500,000 to the Ontario Centres of Excellence Connected Vehicle/Automated Vehicle Program. That program pairs academic institutions with businesses to further transportation technology.

• Self-driving cars not as safe as human drivers yet

Del Ducawasjoined at the university by Brad Duguid, the province's minister of economic development, and local MPPsDaiene Vernile (Kitchener Centre) and Kathryn McGarry (Cambridge), as well asFeridunHamdullahpur, the university's president.

"We intend to be leaders in this disruptive technology," Duguid said.

In the U.S., Nevada, California and Michigan currently have laws thatallow for autonomous car testing on roads, while Virginia has designated just over 110 kilometres worthof roads in the northern part of the state for testing.

Rules vary from state to state. In California, for example, manufacturers must apply for a permit to test autonomous cars, and those cars must have a human test driver. Tencompanies, including Google, Tesla Motors, BMW and Nissan, have been approvedfor road testing in the state.

Waterloo students work on golf cart

It's likely the province picked the University of Waterloo as the site of the announcement because the school is home to WAVELab, the Waterloo Autonomous Vehicles Laboratory, headed by Prof. Steven Waslander.

WAVELab works on both aerial and ground autonomous vehicles, and has partnered with local robotics companies, including Aeryon Labs and Clearpath Robotics.

• Self-driving golf cart a first in Canada, say developers

In addition to WAVE, two Waterloo students started a company, Varden Labs, that focuses on self-driving vehicles.

Michael Skupien and Alex Rodriguessay they achieved a Canadian first in Augustwhen their autonomousgolf cart successfully drove itself for 10minutes along Ring Road, the road that circles the boundary of the University of Waterloo campus.