Professor Xavier Fernando named Fulbright Canada Scholar.
Congratulations to engineering professor Xavier Fernando, who has been named the Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Computers, Science, and Engineering for 2025-2026. The Fulbright Scholar program, which champions collaboration between Canadian and American researchers, will enable professor Fernando to spend the next four months at Florida Polytechnic University (Florida Poly) working alongside Dr. Rawa Adla to improve highway safety for manual, semi- and fully-autonomous vehicles.
Auto manufacturers are increasingly integrating Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication systems into their vehicles to improve safety, help drivers navigate traffic congestion, avoid potential hazards, and enable autonomous driving capabilities. However, the incumbent V2X systems, such as Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC), are faced with dropped connections and low throughput in highly congested areas, such as busy highways and urban areas. To solve this evolving challenge, Fernando and Adla propose to combine DSRC with the new Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC) mode available in 5G cellular networks and Visible Light Communications (VLC).
"Congratulations to Professor Fernando on being named a Fulbright Scholar. At FEAS, we celebrate international collaboration and applaud the important work he's leading to make our vehicles and highways safer."
Finding a pragmatic combination of these technologies will be the focus of the team’s research. DSRC is a proven technology, but its performance deteriorates with higher vehicular density, whereas URLLC can deliver performance but is costly, requiring 5G network access. As studied in Dr. Fernando’s latest book Visible Light Communication (VLC) - Vehicular Applications (external link) , VLC can enhance the V2X capabilities by providing short-range wideband connectivity. As part of their investigation, the team plans to collect real data and validate solutions using the Suntrax Test Facility, a high-speed autonomous vehicle testing track available through Florida Poly.
“Gaining access to the innovative Suntrax facility and collaborating with American researchers will be a great learning experience for me,” said professor Fernando, who is a subject matter expert in aerial-terrestrial wireless communications for next-generation vehicles. “The Fulbright award is a blessing to further enhance my research. I’m excited to transfer this knowledge to Toronto Metropolitan University students and enrich their knowledge.”