OTTAWA – BlackBerry switched gears Monday, opening the doors on a new research centre dedicated to self-driving and connected vehicles.
The BlackBerry QNX Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Centre (AVIC), housed within the BlackBerry QNX facility in Ottawa, will develop production-ready software independently and in collaboration with partners in the private and public sector to accelerate the realization of connected and self-driving vehicles, the one-time smartphone maker said Monday.
BlackBerry, which recently received Ministry of Transportation of Ontario approval for a pilot program testing autonomous vehicles on Ontario roads, said that the centre will support this pilot as well as BlackBerry QNX's work with the University of Waterloo, PolySync, and Renesas Electronics to build an autonomous concept vehicle.
"Autonomous vehicles require software that is extremely sophisticated and highly secure," said BlackBerry executive chairman and CEO John Chen, in the news release. "Our innovation track record in mobile security and our demonstrated leadership in automotive software make us ideally suited to dominate the market for embedded intelligence in the cars of the future."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended Monday’s launch of the Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Centre.
"With the opening of its innovation centre in Ottawa, BlackBerry is helping to establish our country as the global leader in software and security for connected car and autonomous vehicle development," added the PM. "This centre will create great middle-class jobs for Canadians, new opportunities for recent university graduates, and further position Canada as a global hub for innovation."
More information on the BlackBerry QNX AVIC is available here.
