Monday, July 25, 2022

All-weather robot really delivers the goods

By Carol Truemner. This article was originally published on the Faculty of Engineering news site.

University of Waterloo students may soon be able to order pizza or a burger from a nearby plaza and have it brought to campus by Canada’s first all-weather autonomous delivery robot.

LoopX, a Waterloo Engineering startup company that is developing the technology to do just that, received a $30,000 funding boost recently when it took top prize in the 5G Transportation Challenge sponsored by Rogers and the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network.

As the challenge winner, LoopX is also benefiting from technical support from Rogers and its partners to develop a 5G Multi-access Edge Computing system (MEC) that gives software developers cloud-computing capabilities which are close to the end users.

LoopX customers will be sent a code to unlock the compartment containing their order.

Within the next three months, LoopX - also a recipient of funding from the Engineer of the Future Fund at Waterloo Engineering - plans to demonstrate its 5G MEC-based hybrid driving system in the David Johnson Research + Technology Park. 

The last stage of the transportation challenge included pitches by the top five of over 20 registered small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) groups in Ontario.

“While most of the companies competing have been in business for over 10 years, LoopX just launched last year,” says founder Chao Yu, a mechatronics engineering doctoral candidate. “There are a lot of factors that helped us be successful including all the autonomous vehicle expertise at the University. Most of the LoopX team members are involved in the University’s WATonoBus, the first all-weather 5G autonomous shuttle bus at a Canadian university.”

Although there are other autonomous delivery robots, Yu says his company is unique because its advanced chassis control techniques, cutting-edge autonomous driving algorithms and datasets gathered in harsh Canadian winters provide a reliable all-weather delivery service.

Its bright red, 1.2 m X .8 m X 1.2 m delivery vehicle is equipped with multiple safety features, such as an audible signal for pedestrian safety, and remote and on-board e-stops.

Members of LoopX pose for a group photo after winning $30,000 in the 5G Transportation Challenge.

Its autonomous driving features include two LiDARs, eight ultrasonic sensors, and eight monocular cameras, as well as a GNSS module that delivers 360-degree perception and centimetre-level positioning.

Yu, a member of the Mechatronic Vehicle Systems Lab led by Amir Khajepour, his PhD supervisor, expects the startup’s autonomous delivery robot to receive the necessary approvals to be commercialized sometime next year.

If all goes as planned, the service will be piloted in August with customers ordering food from a partner restaurant close to campus for delivery to the front of the Davis Centre.

Within 30 minutes, the robot would arrive with the food in one of its multiple compartments. The customer would unlock the compartment using a code messaged to them. 

The delivery fee will be a flat $2 - no tipping required. 

Start from where you are: you already have enough experience

By Megan Vander Woude and Michelle Benevides. This article was originally published in the Spring 2022 issue of Waterloo Magazine.

Holden Beggs (BASc ’20) and Jackson Mills (BCS ’21) want to make one thing clear: You can be an innovator and keep your day job.

Mills says the Zero programs, which he co-founded with Beggs, operate on the fundamental belief that everyone can be an innovator with the right support.

“It’s for people who want to do something awesome, but don’t know how to get started; people who want to be innovators but have no ideas. People want great jobs, but don’t know how to get them,” Mills says. “You know you’re supposed to be moving faster, but you’re stuck and can’t figure out why.”

The Zero Experience and Zero Work programs are for students, and increasingly alumni, who hear about global leaders and successful entrepreneurs, but don’t see how they can make a similar impact. Zero programs have exploded in popularity, with thousands of registrants every year. Both programs are funded by Velocity, Waterloo’s flagship incubator.

“Something that’s really important is people already have enough experience to get started,” Mills says. “It’s that idea of meeting people where they are, instead of assuming that they’re lost. Then, you can guide them on their path.”

Beggs adds, “We believe innovation should be reachable for everyone, so we codified the process. We made a recipe for how to solve problems, and we don’t accept the mentality that there’s only a few who can make a difference.”

Beginning from Zero

Beggs and Mills began working on the Zero Experience in March 2020, when the pandemic brought school, projects and jobs to a halt. They noticed that hundreds of their peers were struggling to get experience and find good jobs so they started tackling how students could become experienced problem solvers, fast.

The result was The Zero Experience: a weekly course where students find an urgent global problem and begin designing a solution. It’s a unique whirlwind of exploration and execution done individually and in teams.

“Months after the program ends, we like to ask people what they got out of The Zero Experience,” Beggs says. “We hear a lot of answers: they’re smarter problem solvers, understand the world more clearly, are better teammates and so on. But practically everyone says it gave them self-confidence. They say it feels like doors started opening to them, and they could make a real difference.”

By June 2021, they decided to expand their offerings with another program – one that played on individual exploration to help students build their perfect career, then make it real. Zero Work launched that summer, a hackathon-style weekend where students could find career options ahead of them, start networking from scratch and start job hunting properly.

Rather than providing the motivational push of The Zero Experience, Beggs describes Zero Work as “standing in the eye of a hurricane. You can look clearly, pick out the right path forward, take a deep breath, then step back into the storm.” Participants agree, with a sense of clarity and, again, self-confidence permeating their takeaways.

Grad student, faculty and alumni interest

Zero became a beloved part-time project for them, even after they graduated and started their own full-time careers. But they don’t seem ready to settle.

“Every time someone comes to me talking about how bored they are at school, or stressed they are about their future, or worried that they can’t stand out – it lights a fresh fire under me,” Mills says.

Beggs and Mills haven’t just been helping undergraduate students. Slowly but surely, graduate students, PhDs, post-docs, faculty and even alumni have registered for the Zero programs.

“These big questions Zero answers – ‘How can I make a difference? How can I be successful? How can I find opportunities?’ – aren’t just asked by students,” Mills says. “If anything, it’s the alumni out in the real world who want them answered most. We even want them answered. That’s why we teach them. People say teaching is the best way to learn, after all!”

In fact, Beggs and Mills are currently crafting new, alumni-exclusive Zero programs.

“They’re coming very soon,” Beggs says. “We schedule everything down to the minute, with as much meaning packed into every word as possible. That takes time to design, though we’re almost done.

“Maybe that’s a bit obsessive, but it seems like people appreciate this fast, no-fluff approach to learning. So, we’re going to keep doing it, until everyone knows that they can make an impact, and knows exactly how it works. That’s our goal.

"It’s for people who want to do something awesome, but don’t know how to get started; people who want to be innovators but have no ideas. People want great jobs, but don’t know how to get them. You know you’re supposed to be moving faster, but you’re stuck and can’t figure out why."

Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs seeks student input on programming

A message from Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA).

Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA) is inviting graduate students to share their perspectives on graduate student programming and potential areas of support through a short survey. The survey results will be used to understand graduate students’ needs and will inform future program delivery at GSPA.

To show our appreciation, those who submit a survey will have the opportunity to enter a draw for a chance to win one of six $50 gift cards to a retailer of their choosing from a list predetermined by GSPA. Please share with your network of graduate students.

Participants needed for visual acuity study

A message from the School of Optometry & Vision Science.

Researchers at the School of Optometry & Vision Science are currently seeking adults between 18 to <40 years of age to participate in a study on visual acuity (detailed vision). They have developed a new, more accurate, test of visual acuity designed for young infants called the Waterloo Differential Acuity Test (WatDAT) and are comparing the results of this new test with other clinical tests that are currently available.

So that they can see how good the new test is to identify people with reduced vision, they are recruiting people with reduced vision even with spectacles or contact lenses at this time. This study will include two in-person visits of about one hour.  Eligible participants will receive $20 per visit at each visit. For more information, please contact Victor Opoku-Yamoah, University of Waterloo at vopokuya@uwaterloo.ca.

This study has been reviewed and received ethics clearance through a University of Waterloo Research Ethics Committee.

Anton Mosunov wins WUSA teaching award

This article was originally published on the Faculty of Mathematics website.

The Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA) has announced the 2021 teaching award recipients, including Anton Mosunov from the Faculty of Mathematics. WUSA's teaching award winners are selected entirely by the undergraduate student population to celebrate professors who have displayed quality teaching, shown commitment to student success, and looked beyond the classroom. 

In addition to being a beloved and outstanding teacher, Anton Mosunov is a supporter of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in their fight for territorial sovereignty. Together with democratic activists from Toronto, he has organized a number of peace rallies and joined many rallies organized by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. He would like to take this opportunity to remind people to keep Ukraine in their hearts and donate here.

For more information on Anton Mosunov and the other award winners, read the article on the WUSA website.