Ryerson University has signed an agreement with Mississauga, Ont.-based technology firm Soti to help develop autonomous drones through the firm’s new aerospace division. Soti is allocating $20 million to start the venture, with additional funding for Ryerson.
The group is targeting early adopters in the medical industry and in the search-and-rescue space. The initiative comes as the federal government encourages more drone R&D in Canada, and as the Toronto-based university increasingly leans on private-sector partnerships to fund its research.