Grant: Alliance Grants

Urban population of Canada is over 80% and is constantly increasing. This rapidly intensifies the demand for people and good transportation, leading to congestion, traffic accidents, and emissions. Geared towards smart cities, our project aims to develop optimal solutions for the mobility of passengers and freight to alleviate the above challenges. Through collaboration between 5 researchers from Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) and University of Victoria (UVic), and 4 industry partners, CogniFrame, Teledyne, Quanser, and Quantuity Analytics, we will investigate the applications of quantum computing (QC) in solving the optimization problems in the three research themes: (1) on-demand public transit (ODT), (2) drone delivery planning, and (3) prognostics and prescriptive maintenance of transportation fleets to ensure their availability. We will train HQPs in cutting edge QC for optimization, and will work with industry partners to develop strategies for wider adoption of the proposed algorithms/methods in Canadian industries. It is expected that the use of quantum computing for ODT problems will greatly improve the quality of solutions, catapult the sustainable adoption of ODT in Canada, and help us develop solutions that not only account for cost, but further improve the equity and inclusivity of ODT systems. The use of quantum computing is expected to improve motion planning for a fleet of robots resulting in higher quality and more reliable drone delivery, which is a faster, environment-friendly solution compared with traditional modes of delivery. It is expected that the development of prognostics and optimization models for a fleet of vehicles using a hybrid quantum-classical approach will result in faster and more precise solutions which will improve fleet utilization, cost savings and resource efficiency, and enhance Canada's leadership in technological innovation by the adoption of quantum computing for real-world applications.