Auxon and University of Ottawa Announce Research Partnership To Advance Autonomous Systems Safety and Security
OTTAWA, April 26, 2021 -- Auxon Technologies, a Canadian subsidiary of Auxon Corporation, and the University of Ottawa, Canada, today have announced a research partnership in pursuit of realizing the goals of "Assured Autonomy" for autonomous cyber-physical systems (CPS).
Cyber-physical systems use is growing across many safety-critical industry sectors such as energy, transportation, logistics, and healthcare. Increasingly these cyber-physical systems are autonomous (e.g. autopilot navigation, visual perception, etc.) and rely on AI and machine learning (ML) models. The probabilistic and opaque nature of machine learning raises new challenges for testing these already complex systems, making it increasingly difficult to ensure they are deployed safely and securely.
A major goal of the partnership is to transfer scientific results into practical techniques and infrastructure to help make this new generation of cyber-physical systems perform predictably and safely in the real world, particularly as failure can have severe consequences for the environment and human lives.
The research collaboration will use and build upon Auxon’s Modality platform which enables automated experimentation and analysis of cyber-physical system runtime behavior. “We’re very excited to work with Nanda Labs and the University of Ottawa,” said Nathan Aschbacher, CEO, Auxon. “Dr. Briand and his team have a spectacular track record of industry partnerships that have fostered new innovations. This critical research will help enable us to integrate deep analysis of the AI 'brain' into our Modality platform.”
“Auxon is a highly innovative company and this partnership underscores our strong commitment to cutting-edge research in the test and verification of cyber-physical systems,” said Dr. Lionel Briand, Canada Research Chair and professor, University of Ottawa. “It’s galvanizing to find a company like Auxon that shares our mission to make these revolutionary systems safe and predictable to deploy.” The University of Ottawa is known for its research in domains such as cyber-security, autonomous vehicles, applied AI, telecommunications, and photonics and has similar research partnerships with companies such as IBM, General Motors, Blackberry, CAE, Ciena, and Cisco.
Founded in 2018, Auxon Corporation is the maker of Modality, a test platform which provides automated root-cause and risk analysis for cyber-physical systems. The company’s mission is to provide engineers with automation to help them deliver complex software systems on predictable timelines with predictable results. Auxon serves organizations in the transportation, robotics, and defense industries. For more information about Auxon, visit its website at https://www.auxon.io
The University of Ottawa is a comprehensive university, and a leader in Canada in research intensity, interdisciplinary activities and innovation, notably in the fields of computer science, software engineering and electrical engineering; It is located in the heart of Canada’s capital, with ready access to major Canadian institutions. Ranked among the top 10 research-intensive universities in the country, uOttawa is committed to academic and research excellence, and values cultural diversity, equity and inclusion.
Press Contact: David Sosnow, david@auxon.io
