AVIN Waterloo Ventures at Communitech

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Communitech has supported founders using HD mapping technologies by helping them access up to $50,000 in grant support with a 1:1.5 match thanks to the Autonomous Vehicle Integration Network (AVIN).

Previous cohorts participants

AirMatrix Inc.

Waterloo Drone Traffic Navigation Pilot Project

In the same way city planners used grid systems to build surface laneways and traffic management systems, AirMatrix gives enterprises and governments a layered grid system by building millimetre precise highways in the sky. We specialize in the deployment of this software layer to facilitate and manage the flow of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) through municipalities safely and autonomously.

This project is a consortium effort led by AirMatrix and the Region of Waterloo, which encompasses rural and urban lite airspace, alongside multiple commercial and strategic partners to accelerate commercial drone operations - and technical innovation related to the Canadian RPAS industry, globally. This project will showcase interoperability of aircraft and services in complex airspace conducted safely and efficiently, using AirMatrix as an interface for a multitude of RTM services depending on the use case/operating environment.

ApoSys Technologies Inc.

Using auto industry grade LiDAR-based integrated system to construct HD Map

ApoSys Technologies Inc. (“ApoSys”) is a technology start-up company incorporated in Ontario, Canada in 2015. Aposys uses their technology to build precise, ruggedized, and affordable equipment as a cost-effective method to accommodate human accuracy limitations of measurements and the challenges of many industrial processes.

ApoSys endeavors to develop an affordable liDAR-based scanning system installed on AVs to construct HD maps. This technology will allow the crowdsourcing HD mapping platform to be realized. We will select the minimum number of inexpensive sensors: IMU, GNSS, ultrasound, and cameras, to achieve the required level of accuracy to update or create HD maps in a different challenging environment.

EATSLEEPRIDE MOBILE INC.

Real-Time Data Powered On-Demand Motorcycle Insurance

EatSleepRIDE® is the social, tracking, and safety platform for motorcycle riders. At ESR we're working at the intersection of telematics and AI with a focus on making motorcycling safer. Our mobile app and community platform is designed to elevate the motorcycle riding experience with feedback to improve skills, ride tracking, gamification, safety protection and more.

We are innovating mapping to visualize data on a map to enable the user to follow custom motorcycle roads and surfacing crowd-sourced safest roads for motorcycle riders. We are seeking to separate our mapping layer with our data layer to allow us to experiment with adding data interface layers to enable various visualizations without relying on integrating the mapping solution.

Ecosystem Informatics

Aerial Emissions Monitoring System Using Geospatial Analysis Tools for HD Maps

Ecosystem Informatics Inc. provides innovative and affordable, environment monitoring technologies, analysis, predictions, and consultation. Our comprehensive system is an end to end system ranging from the physical layer sensor units to the application layer with big data and its analytics.

Through the AVIN Waterloo Ventures program, Ecosystem Informatics Inc. (ESI) had an opportunity to develop, test and showcase an end-to-end system, integrated with a cross-platform GIS API, ready for deployment to multiple customers or use-cases.The data collected by the Canary was transformed with ESI’s GIS APIs to make feature layers, which were superimposed on maps to achieve complete visualization of ESI’s data.

Gatik Inc.

Robust semantics-aware localization using HD Maps under challenging perceptual conditions

Gatik’s fleet of Class 1-6 AVs moves goods from micro fulfillment centers or dark stores to pick-up points - retail stores, distribution centers and offices - known as the middle mile, helping customers meet consumer demand for real-time goods, increase road safety and meet an unprecedented expectation for contactless delivery.

This project will involve implementing a highly precise and robust localization algorithm to be used with the geometric and semantic map information provided by the OpenHDMaps platform. As part of the project, we will be validating the semantic information available in these HD maps using Gatik's on-board state-of-art 3D perception algorithms as well as in-house human-in-loop verification pipelines.

Geomate

Enhancement of AccessMate platform

GeoMate is a location-based tools, analysis, and software company, headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario. GeoMate provides two geospatial mobility assessment platforms- AccessMate (Walkways Accessibility Assessment) and InsureMate (Pedestrian Risk Assessment)- using different sources of data including LiDAR, satellite/street-level imagery, and open GIS data.

Our project with AVIN ventures will focus on the enhancement of two components of AccessMate: AI and Dashboard features enhancements. The project aims to enhance AccessMate's Enterprise Dashboard Features to ensure that the product is compliant with our clients' needs and is usable, accessible, and scalable.

IRIS R&D

irisGIS Map

Iris Research & Development is determined to bring together communities, spark creativity and foster innovation and collaboration in solving Smart City & municipal challenges.

This GIS platform provides municipalities actionable data points that can help them make data driven decisions, prioritize repair, monitor and maintain assets, and effectively deliver essential services to community stakeholders. We plan to disrupt sectors such as utilities, infrastructure, fleet management, public transportation, real estate, thru cost effective data collection by our ubiquitous iPORT and our visualization tool; irisGIS Map which will be the focus of this project.

Scaffold AI

3D semantic mapping of forests

At Scaffold, we are building the robotics infrastructure for the future of forestry. By upgrading machinery with advanced perception and navigation systems, we enable the forestry sector to map forests and operate autonomously.

In this project, we are interested in building 3D semantic maps of forest areas. At minimum, these maps will include the 3D location and orientation of the tree trunks, an estimate of their diameter and a species label. In order to get tree-level characteristics, we will develop a sensor package that will be mounted on an autonomous drone which will operate below the canopy and follow a comprehensive pattern path to survey the entire area. The sensor package will include an IMU, LIDAR, camera and GPS.

Zown

Virtual Drive-Thrus for safer access to businesses

Zown helps cities streamline on-demand mobility services by providing better location pins for pick-ups and drop-offs.Our Location-Pins-as-a-Service API marks the exact destination for a ride hailing or delivery driver, which we can move in real-time to provide the optimal route for every trip.

In a target city, Zown will provide local businesses a tool where they can designate a section of parking/curb space near their establishment to be used as a virtual drive-thru for order pick-ups. These locations will be made available for integration directly into the on-demand delivery driver app or customer ordering system to provide full transparency on the pick-up process from the establishment.

Thanks to our partners

The AVIN Waterloo Ventures Program is offered through the Ontario Centres of Innovation (OCI) RTDS partners: Communitech, University of Waterloo WatCAR and the Waterloo Economic Development Corporation.

Thanks to the Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Network (AVIN) for funding the Waterloo Regional Technology Development Site, delivered on behalf of the government of Ontario through Ontario Centres of Excellence.

Have questions?

Mauro Rossi is happy to help.

Director, Advanced Technology Platforms | Email Mauro Rossi or call +1 (519) 888-9944