Pierre Boucher
General Manager, Innovation ENCQOR

The ENCQOR 5G program (Evolution of Networked Services through a Corridor in Quebec and Ontario for Research and Innovation) is a transformative partnership between Canada, Quebec and Ontario, focused on research and innovation in the area of 5G disruptive technologies and their appropriation. Already, the establishment of this first pre-commercial 5G broadband digital wireless telecommunications infrastructure corridor in the country offers significant assistance to innovators participating in 5G projects in Quebec and Ontario, enabling them to turn their new ideas into reality or improve their products, making the digital economy a reality.

Led by five digital giants - Ciena, Ericsson, Thales Canada, CGI, and IBM Canada - projects using the ENCQOR 5G program today mobilize not only more than 400 SMEs, but also hundreds of students and researchers from several public research centres and universities in Ontario and Quebec.  Despite the pandemic, the projects continue and through them, we can begin to draw a portrait of the potential uses of 5G in various fields, including health, safety, and transportation.

A wide range of applications and fields

In health care, taking advantage of safer and faster transmission capabilities, ENCQOR 5G projects are examining, among other things, remote medical service, anonymous tracking of infection cases, real-time remote analysis of medical imaging using artificial intelligence, the use of remote medical devices, autonomous motorized wheelchairs, assistance to cognitively impaired patients, the use of drones to deliver health-related products, the use and real-time analysis of vital data to predict and prevent heart attacks, as well as very high definition or 3D video communication between a patient and his or her caregiver.

In security and financial technologies, ENCQOR 5G projects are examining the use of 5G and advanced encryption technologies for processing financial transactions, authentication of individuals through their facial characteristics, the use of rescue robots in hostile or hard-to-reach environments, the use of block chains with 5G and smart ledgers, and the transmission of 3D data in real time from the scene of an incident or disaster.

In transportation, ENCQOR 5G projects are looking at autonomous vehicles, remote UAV fleet management, information management for public transportation, real-time collision prevention systems, assistance in the management of seaports, real-time data collection and analysis of bicycles, competition cars, autonomous trucks, and the management of fleets of vehicles such as taxis, trucks, buses.

Many other projects are in progress, either with our main partners or with our SMEs.  This first post is the first of a series from ENCQOR 5G partners and participants that we will publish in the coming weeks.

Have a great summer!