Movers & Shakers
LATITUDE
SMARTER AND SAFER ROADS PAVED WITH WELL-FUNDED RESEARCH It’s no secret: good communication makes everything easier. That certainly underlines the mandate of the ACTIVE-AURORA project team, spearheaded by Tony Qiu, P.Eng., PhD, as it logs hours researching and testing vehicles that talk with their surroundings to help ease gridlock, improve safety, and increase energy efficiency. We celebrated Dr. Qiu in the spring edition of The PEG . An associate professor with the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Engineering and the director of the university’s Centre for Smart Transportation, he had accepted nearly $1 million from Western Economic Diversification Canada in support of his pilot project’s
widespread,” says Dr. Qiu in a U of A story. “It is a critical component that will help us move one step closer to seeing more of this technology on public roads.” The ACTIVE-AURORA project is a collaboration of the governments of Canada, Alberta, and Edmonton, the University of British Columbia, and the U of A’s Centre for Smart Transportation. The project was launched in 2014, and Phase 2 is scheduled to run until 2020. Test areas are located in Edmonton— on 23rd Avenue, the west leg of the Whitemud, and the northwest corner of the Anthony Henday—and in Vancouver.
first phase. That initial phase tested various applications of car communication, such as notifying drivers of unsafe speeds and high- collision locations, recommending driving speeds based on traffic, and issuing warnings about pedestrians and whether the vehicle can make an upcoming green light. Now gearing up for the second phase of the project—namely, security—the team has been awarded a $500,000 grant from Transport Canada to incorporate a security system that will safeguard information. Breaches are a threat when vehicles send information to each other and traffic management centres. “Developing a security credential management system is an essential technical component to ensure that connected vehicles can securely function and communicate effectively as they become more
TALK AUTO TO ME The pictured demonstration app is part of the ACTIVE-AURORA project, now in its second phase. -photo by Aalyssa Atley
22 | PEG FALL 2018
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