App lets you check wait times at stores
Local and international tech highlights for April 21 through 29
Andie.work, a free website that allows Canadians to check wait times for LCBO, grocery stores, pharmacies and even medical clinics, will launch its app on May 1. It is currently available online at Andie.work and includes wait times for Waterloo Region.
The Canadian Shield, a Kitchener-based manufacturer owned by Inksmith Education Technology, has been awarded a federal contract to make 10 million masks by August. The company said it will be doubling its staff from 150 to 300 in the following weeks.
In response to COVID-19, Bell Media is rolling out its new wireless home internet service across rural Canada. More than 137,000 households in rural areas of Ontario and Quebec, including 19,000 in Waterloo Region, will have access to reliable Internet.
Kitchener-based tech firm
Plasticity Labs has announced it is permanently closed.
University of Waterloo announced researchers have developed a new method that could accurately help speed up the identification and classification of COVID-19-like viruses. The news release said this method could also help with the quicker development of a vaccine.
A Ministry of Labour investigation resulted in no orders being issued for Cambridge’s Toyota plant after someone complained the plant was not taking proper precautions regarding COVID-19.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, which has locations in Cambridge and Woodstock, has released a statement saying it plans to continue production starting May 11 in compliance with provincial, federal and local regulations.
A group of University of Toronto professors launched an online platform called COVID PPE Help to connect suppliers with customers. The platform lists suppliers of masks, gowns and hand sanitizer and includes requests for that equipment from places such as long-term care homes and hospitals.
Foodora, a food delivery service that began as Torontobased startup Hurrier, has announced that it will be ceasing all operations in Canada as of May 11. In a press release, Foodora cited the highly competitive market as its reason for the closing.
International
Three hundred doctors at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles have been trained to test patients for symptoms or perform CPR through virtual reality. Cedars-Sinai has been using software from a virtual reality and artificial intelligence startup called Virti.
Google and Facebook have both announced their own free versions of popular video conferencing application, Zoom. Google’s new video communications tool will be called Meet and will officially launch in the next few weeks. Facebook’s video conferencing platform is called Messenger Rooms and can currently be accessed through the Messenger app or the main Facebook platform.
SpaceX, an aerospace company founded by Elon Musk, has gone forward with the launch of 60 Starlink internet satellites amid the COVID-19 economic crisis and is set to launch 60 more satellites next week.
NASA is urging space enthusiasts to not show up for the launch of Space X’s first crewed mission next month by broadcasting the event on May 27.
Popular grocery delivery app, Instacart, released a statement saying it has hired 300,000 workers in recent weeks and is looking to hire another 250,000 full-service shoppers. Instacart is offering its shoppers in-app wellness checks, extended pay, extended bonuses and safety kits.
Amazon has lost its appeal to reopen its France locations after a court ruling suspended deliveries in the country last week. The warehouses will remain closed until May 5.