About us.
Off-road vehicles are stuck in the past. We’re here to change that.
The era of software-defined vehicles is opening up new horizons in performance, efficiency, safety and driver enjoyment. But to get there, we must fundamentally rethink how vehicles perceive the world around them.
That’s where we come in. At Potential, we’re combining computer vision, AI models and software engineering to enable off-road vehicles to see, interpret and proactively prepare for complex terrain and surface conditions. The result? The next generation in ADAS, designed to keep drivers moving even when the going gets toughest – off-road and on it.
It all started when Sam Poirier and his friends saved a Subaru Impreza from the scrapyard and converted it into an electric vehicle.
“I wanted everyone and their grandparents to step in and be able to instantly drive like professional rally drivers. Software-defined vehicles allow you to build systems to make that happen.”
Potential was born in 2018 to unlock expert-level off-road driving abilities for everyone. How? By repurposing forward-facing on-vehicle sensors (such as cameras, radar and lidar) to enable vehicles to see and recognise terrain ahead, and autonomously and pre-emptively adjust vehicle settings based on data computed in real time, on vehicle, and without GPS or maps.
We unveiled our vision for the future of off-roading in 2022 in the shape of Adventure 1, a real-life design concept that showcased how our software technologies could work in production-type vehicle.
In 2023, we revealed our core on-vehicle perception and computation technology, called Terrain Intelligence, and our suite of automated driver aids and vehicle controls, known as Off-Road OS.
Today, we’re working with some of the world’s best-known companies across the automotive, powersports, defense and mining sectors, helping to make their vehicles and drivers more capable, more confident and safer in all conditions.
Who we are.
We’re an interdisciplinary team that includes engineers, data scientists, computer vision specialists, and experts in AI and machine learning. We split our time between our purpose-built off-road test track and our lab (in Fredericton, NB, Canada), and flexible working arrangements that let us live our best adventures.
What we believe.
We’re working towards a cleaner, more productive future. Our co-founder and CEO has seen first-hand how electrification and improved vehicle safety can change lives, economies and the environment, from his time living in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. We want to help preserve and protect our wonderful planet, while opening up sustainable adventuring for all.
Real-world testing.
Alongside leading-edge software modelling and simulation tools, we conduct extensive real-world development at our very own off-road test track, which we call The Sandbox. We’ve also built two sophisticated off-road test vehicles, which feature individual wheel motors, active suspension, and individually-selectable forward-facing sensors (including cameras, radar and lidar), allowing us to test virtually any hardware configuration for our customers.
Leadership
Sam Poirier, P. Eng
Mechatronics engineer with a background in EV conversions and M. Eng. Recognized as a Canada changemaker and Atlantic Canada 30/30.
My favorite off-road adventure: “Getting stuck – and unstuck – in Namibia, driving ATVs with my parents on some of the biggest sand dunes in the world.”
Founder and CEO
Bill Lamey
Expert software developer and leader with 20+ years developing navigation type systems at IBM, and Teledyne Caris.
My favorite off-road adventure: “Waterfall hunting along NB trails and back roads, on dirt bikes and ATVs. But the number of times I’ve been wrong about ‘How deep do you think that is?’ is staggering!”
CTO
Jay Nickerson
Collaboration leader with 10 years experience implementing new technology in Electric Vehicle R&D and supply chain.
Favorite off-road adventure: “Burying my trusty Suzuki Quadrunner in some deep mud on a sunny fall day in the NB woods, switching into 4WD and powering out just in time to sit back and watch some giant rigs get busy pulling each other out!”
VP Marketing and Business Development
Jessica McQuarrie
My favorite off-road adventure: “Driving out on side-by-sides to spend the week at a friend’s cottage on a secluded lake you can only access via trail.”
VP People and Operations
Our team
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Jeff Best
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Sheila Gonzalez Reyna
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Vinicius de Almeida Lima
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Mackenzie Savoy
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Morgan Blake
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Maxwell Wang
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Thomas Ryan
Our advisors
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Marcel Lebrun
Former CEO at Imagictv and Radian6, and former SVP at Salesforce
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Chris Newton
Co-founder and former CTO at Radian6, co-founder at Q1 labs
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Scott Kunselman
Former SVP of engineering for Jeep and Ram platforms at FCA
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Rob Williams
Former Chief Creative Officer at Rivian