Self-driving golf cart a first in Canada, says Ontario university

Two engineering students at the University of Waterloo (UoW) in southern Ontario have created what they call the first autonomous vehicle to drive on a Canadian road.

Michael Skupien and Alex Rodrigues, founders of Varden Labs, developed the self-driving golf cart during an e-co-op term, a program run through Waterloo’s Conrad Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology Centre, the UoW said in a press release earlier this week. In e-co-op, students launch businesses while earning a co-operative education credit.

Both Skupien and Rodrigues are second-year students in UoW’s Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering program.

Varden Labs’ website says that Skupien, the mechanical lead, boasts more than five years of building mobile robots, while Rodrigues, software lead, has been programming since he was 13 and was ranked as one of the top 20 programmers in Canada while in high school.

“The team members hope their technology will power fully autonomous electric shuttles that can be used on university campuses, corporate campuses and in retirement communities around the world,” the release said.

Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor of the UofW, was the first passenger in the milestone ride around campus on Tuesday. “Waterloo encourages this kind of innovative thinking and entrepreneurial spirit, and so it is thrilling for us when we can witness students like Alex and Michael embark on their own exciting journey,” Hamdullahpur said. “I liked riding in their vehicle so much that I wish I had one for facing traffic on the 401 to Toronto.”