Current graduate students

Batteries with triple the range of those that currently power electric vehicles could be on the horizon after researchers at the University of Waterloo in central Ontario made a significant breakthrough in the technology.

A new process discovered there uses negative electrodes made of lithium metal, a material with the potential to dramatically increase battery storage capacity.

Researchers from Waterloo Engineering shared the spotlight yesterday as Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne officially announced Stratford as the home of a testing zone for the development of self-driving vehicles.

Wynne spoke with Professor Krzysztof Czarnecki and eight student researchers who were on hand with two highly automated cars – the Autonomoose and a similar Lincoln MKZ sedan that is being developed with Renasas Electronics – to show off the technology.

Computer algorithms developed by engineering researchers at the University of Waterloo can accurately determine when drivers are texting or engaged in other distracting activities.

The system uses cameras and artificial intelligence (AI) to detect hand movements that deviate from normal driving behaviour and grades or classifies them in terms of possible safety threats.

Steven Waslander looks forward to his drives becoming a lot easier.

“Driving on highways and in cities is dull, time-consuming, and can be very stressful,” says Waslander, director of the Waterloo Autonomous Vehicles Laboratory (WAVELab). “I would be just as happy gazing out the window while the car does the dirty work for me.”

From Waterloo Engineering News.

A state-of-the-art automotive research and testing facility that was five years in the making officially opened at the University of Waterloo today with a twist on the old ship-christening tradition.

From Waterloo Stories.

Matt Rose figures he learned more in high school as a member of the prize-winning electric car team than he did in a lot of his academic classes.

From General Motors

While the age of fully-autonomous cars is not yet upon us, the truth is humans have not actually been driving by themselves for years. From anti-lock braking in the 1970s to the advanced driver assist functions of today, cars have been giving drivers a hand, and helping keep them safe, for decades.