Up to 20 driverless delivery vehicles are set to hit the streets of Toronto, one of the latest autonomous vehicle pilot projects introduced in Ontario in recent months.

Source: City of Toronto

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation has approved a testing application submitted by Canadian parts manufacturer Magna International Inc., allowing it to trial autonomous vehicles within specific areas of Toronto.

According to city officials, these vehicles feature a three-wheeled design, roughly the size of a cargo bike, with a height comparable to that of a standard sedan.

Citizens will spot these unmanned vehicles operating in the following area: north to Eglinton Avenue, south to College Street, east to Avenue Road, and west to Parkside Drive.

Source: City of Toronto

Deployment zones will also be expanded into the Junction neighborhood in Toronto in the future.

A report set to be submitted to the city's Infrastructure and Environment Committee states: "From the experience in the U.S., it is clear that there will be an increasing need to deploy various types of automated vehicles on Toronto's streets in the future."

"Testing an autonomous delivery vehicle under the framework of Ontario's Autonomous Vehicle (AV) Pilot project will provide a reference benchmark for future similar projects. These low-speed, small-scale pilots are critical opportunities for us to assess the maturity of this technology."

These vehicles are designed specifically for short-distance "last-mile" delivery services; their maximum speed is 32 kilometers per hour; each unmanned vehicle will be followed by a "chase vehicle" manned by supervisors who can intervene instantly; additionally, remote human operators will be available to take over control in complex scenarios.

This is not Ontario's first attempt at autonomous vehicle projects. As early as 2016, the provincial government launched similar initiatives, inviting companies to register and test autonomous vehicles.

In 2021, Ontario introduced the Whitby Autonomous Electric Shuttle Project; subsequently, a similar unmanned shuttle was piloted in the West Rouge neighborhood of Toronto. However, due to technological immaturity, officials eventually determined that the system was not suitable for complex urban mixed traffic environments.

Source: City of Toronto

The city emphasized that this project is not funded by the municipal government, and the city of Toronto has no regulatory authority over it. The project is entirely approved and managed by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.

Source link:

  • https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/article/driverless-delivery-cars-coming-to-some-toronto-neighbourhoods-as-part-of-new-pilot-project/

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7499294306746909195/

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