Two second-year mechatronics students have developed a self-driving vehicle that is the first to travel on a Canadian road.
Michael
Skupien,
left, and
Alex
Rodrigues,
founders
of
Varden
Labs,
created
an
autonomous
shuttle
based
around
a
golf
cart's
chassis
during
an
Enterprise
Co-op
term.
Run
out
of
Waterloo
Engineering's
Conrad
School
of
Entrepreneurship
and
Business,
the
E
Co-op
program
assists
and
mentors
students
who
launch
businesses
while
earning
a
co-operative
education
credit.
Rodrigues, along with Feridun Hamdullahpur, University of Waterloo president and vice-chancellor, made history as passengers in the
Skupien explained that the ring road route was prerecorded using GSP coordinates.
“We figured out where we are in 3D space and projected forward onto the path about three metres and that became the path on which we look for obstacles,” he said. “It will progressively slow down and eventually stop for obstacles that are within about a metre and a half of the route in width.”
Built in six weeks
Rodrigues said it took approximately six weeks to develop the rough prototype, which, in his words "wasn't pretty."
“Technically it could drive itself within a month and a half,” said Rodrigues. “Since then we’ve added the seat for the laptop, along with the ability for it to slow down around corners and to stop and wait for people.”
In late July, Varden Labs won $25,000 at the University's Velocity Fund Finals event with a pitch that showed how autonomous shuttles will change the way people live and work in campus environments such as hospitals, university campuses, large-campus corporations and assisted living facilities.
Returning to the classroom in September, Skupien and Rodrigues plan to continue developing their technology.