Clinton News Record, 2016-05-11, Page 1414 News Record • Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Scott Wishart/The Beacon
Herald
Guest speaker Grant
Courville of QNX
Software Systems
speaks to the
audience at the 2016
Business Excellence
Awards on Thursday
night at the Arden
Park Hotel.
In the driver's seat
Mike Beitz
Stratford Beacon Herald
STRATFORD -- Self -driv-
ing cars may still be more
than a decade down the
road, but Stratford will be in
the driver's seat when they
finally arrive.
Grant Courville, senior
director of product manage-
ment at QNX Software Sys-
tems, made that bold predic-
tion as he touched on
connected and fully autono-
mous vehicles, innovation
and the importance of the
technology-based infra-
structure Stratford has built.
"Quite frankly, you're the
connected capital of Can-
ada," Courville told the
crowd in his keynote speech
at the annual Stratford and
1-hiron
FACADE GRANT PROGRAM
The Municipality of Central Huron is pleased to announce their annual
Central Huron Facade Grant Program. The Program includes facade
improvements for properties in Central Huron that are assessed as
Commercial for taxation purposes. The Municipality has set aside
funds to assist property owners in the expansion or improvement of
the building facade or signage.
The proposed facade improvement must meet the specific property
criteria outlined in the "Facade Improvement Concept" and enhance
the "cosmetic" appeal of the structure from a streetscape viewpoint.
Deadline
Applications must be received by the undersigned by 4:00 p.m.
Friday, May 20, 2016. Questions or comments may be directed to the
Municipal office at 519-482-3997.
"Central Huron Facade Grant Program"
Attention: Brenda Maclsaac, Clerk
Municipality of Central Huron
P.O. Box 400, 23 Albert Street
Clinton, Ontario NOM 1L0
info@centralhuron.com Fax: (519) 482-9183
The Municipality reserves the right to fund projects
as deemed appropriate.
www.centralhuron.com
District Chamber of Com-
merce Business Excellence
Awards.
Local investments in fibre
optic and WiFi networks
have put the city "front and
centre on a global basis" in
terms of its connectivity, he
said.
And that connectivity is
critical when it comes to the
connected and self -driving
vehicles that will someday
cruise along city streets.
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one in Stratford, those cars
will be able to communicate
with each other, automati-
cally slow down when
approaching an intersection,
or accurately gauge when
the traffic light is about to
turn yellow.
One car can even warn
another of a pothole in the
road ahead.
It's not a matter of if, it's a
matter of when," said Cour-
ville of the fully autonomous
car, noting that technology
such as radar, lidar, cameras
and other built-in sensors
are already being used to
help guide modern vehicles.
Ottawa -based QNX, a
BlackBerry subsidiary, is
essentially working on the
operating system that co-
ordinates those things.
"The technology pieces are
there, it's bringing it all
together and making it work
reliably," Courville said.
"And having society accept
that, yes, they will go behind
the wheel, and let go of the
wheel."
Still, fully autonomous
cars are likely 15 years away,
he suggested.
"But you're going to see
the stepping stones, you're
going to see that evolution,"
he said, referring to a Tesla
vehicle with "on-ramp to off -
ramp" autopilot capabilities.
"So the technology that's
required, the innovation
that's required, the testing
that's required, that's exactly
what's going to happen
here."
And when autonomous
cars do arrive, they'll bring
benefits.
Safety will be the biggest
one, Courville noted, with an
expected 81 per cent reduc-
tion in collisions, not to
mention fewer emissions
and less congestion.
"At the end of the day,
we're going to save lives."
Courville congratulated
the city on its recent partner-
ship with the Auto Parts
Manufacturers Association
of Canada to possibly test
connected cars here in Strat-
ford, calling it a "big invest-
ment in innovation.
"What you're going to ena-
ble is exactly what is going to
lead to the transformation of
the auto industry going for-
ward," he said. "There's no
doubt about it."
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