Campus will be testing ground for tech products
Vidéotron, Ericsson among partners in ‘open air smart living laboratory’
Students at Quebec’s largest engineering school will be the guinea pigs in an experiment to help map out future directions in the usage and interconnection of technology and mobile devices.
The pilot project was unveiled in Montreal on Tuesday by its four partners: École de technologie supérieure (ETS), the Quartier de l’innovation, and communications companies Vidéotron and Ericsson.
The four have joined together to make the ETS campus on NotreDame St. W. a testing ground for new products, technological research and next-generation mobile networks.
One of the first initiatives, to begin in 2017, is a 100-room “smart dorm” outfitted with sensors and other devices that will monitor usage, manage resources optimally and collect data while preserving the anonymity of the occupants.
It’s described as “Canada’s first open-air smart living laboratory,” where “technological applications with the potential to improve and simplify Quebecers’ lives will be field-tested under real-life conditions.”
Professor Mohamed Cheriet, director of the ETS laboratory for multimedia communication, said the dorm students “will be actors participating actively in an intelligent management model.”
Graham Osborne, president of Ericsson Canada, described the lab as “a playing field” where entrepreneurs and students can prepare for the world of the future.
Manon Brouillette, chief executive officer at Vidéotron, said the interconnection of technological devices is a trend that will really hit home and transform daily life in five or six years, “so we have to get started now.”
“We are very proud to have initiated the creation of this vast smart living lab and to have brought such distinguished partners together around a common objective, the development of an innovation ecosystem in Montreal,” Brouillette said.
“For Vidéotron, this laboratory will be another tool for identifying the applications and services that can best improve and simply consumers’ daily lives, and those that can create the most value for businesses.”