Three Hamilton Mountain intersections now part of ‘connected vehicle’ test site
Squint long enough at the newly installed cameras above three east Mountain intersections and you might see a Hamilton future that includes autonomous cars.
The Smart City" technology, now visible on three utility poles along Stone Church Road, is meant to collect data - via video, weather sensors, radio wave and laser-detection - in a real-world test environment for connected vehicle" research co-ordinated by the Centre for Integrated Transportation and Mobility.
The Hamilton research site is one of six in a provincially funded Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Network.
But to answer everyone's first question first: No, self-driving vehicles will not be passing you on Stone Church Road any time soon, said centre director Richard Dunda. Nobody anywhere in Canada is putting a totally autonomous vehicle on the road in Canada," he said. Not yet."
Hamilton's public road experiment - along with similar equipment at the McMaster Innovation Park - represents baby steps on the road to autonomous cars, allowing researchers and companies to test-drive connected vehicle" technology.
The technology above intersections at Upper Ottawa Street, Dartnall and Nebo Roads will collect data that can be analyzed and shared via a private cellular network and by connected vehicles. Some day, such networks could help make local self-driving cars a reality. Or delivery trucks. Or sidewalk robots.
But for now, the experiment is more about traffic management and collision avoidance technology, said Dunda. It helps the vehicle to see around the corner, long before a driver can," he said.
Hamilton already uses a low-tech camera network that allows humans to monitor traffic. The connected vehicle research is of interest to the city both as a Vision Zero" collision-cutting tool as well as a way to lure tech companies to Hamilton, said Cyrus Tehrani, the city's chief digital officer.
But for now, the test data will only be collected for research - and all personal details like faces and licence plates will be obscured, he stressed. Explanatory signs are posted near the cameras, but anyone with questions can check out the website at citm.ca/dtpr.
Matthew Van Dongen is a Hamilton-based reporter covering transportation for The Spectator. Reach him via email: mvandongen@thespec.com