Canadian Manufacturing: CUTRIC launches research group for autonomous mass transit

WINDSOR, Ont. — The Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC), a researcher and developer of mobility and transportation technology, announced over $1.1 million in funding from its partners and the federal government to establish the National Academic Cluster for Smart Vehicles (NAC-SV).

CUTRIC and its members are contributing $797,900 in funding, with an additional $306,500 coming through the federally supported Mitacs Accelerate and Mitacs Career Connect programs, and through ECO Canada and BioTalent Canada.

CUTRIC says NAC-SV is designed to standardize technology associated with autonomous and connected vehicles for use in transit and mass-mobility, bringing together several manufacturers of small, autonomous transit vehicles known as shuttles. The goal is to allow manufacturers to coordinate short-range vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications, improve cybersecurity, develop software to manage digitized shuttle fleets, and use standardized charging systems.

“These shuttles service Canadians by filling a critical gap in our transit system and providing a much-needed service on routes that are too small to justify a bus route,” explained Josipa Petrunic, executive director and CEO of CUTRIC, in a prepared statement. “Smart electric shuttles can provide the flexibility and cost efficiency needed to get Canadians to a transit hub.”

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