Smart factories hail the next industrial revolution

We’re in the midst of another industrial revolution: Industry 4.0. Coined at the 2011 Hannover Fair in Germany, Industry 4.0 is a high-tech strategy that marries computerized manufacturing and the Internet of Things to create so-called “smart factories.”  In the Industry 4.0 age, factory robots communicate with each other and with humans using cyber-physical systems, internet-enabled communications, and cloud computing.

Star Trek-like glasses reveal new sights for the visually impaired

Developed by an Ontario company, eSight glasses have the potential to help hundreds of thousands of Canadians with severe vision impairment to see better in daily life. The glasses use a real-time camera-to-screen set-up and look much like today’s virtual reality headsets, except they do much more.

The science of decision-making

This is what McGill University PhD student researcher, Derek Albert, set to find out.

Humanitarian efforts aided by drones

Through a Mitacs Elevate fellowship with Humanitas Solutions, a Montreal start-up that partners with humanitarian organizations, David is working alongside a team of developers on an remotely piloted aircraft project that will one day play an important role in relief efforts for humanitarian organizations.

'Scan-to-skate' technology brings customized comfort to the ice

A new research project between Anne-Laure Ménard, a postdoctoral fellow based at Laboratoire d’Imagerie Orthopédique (LIO) at Hopital du Sacré-Coeur in Montreal, and sports equipment company CCM Hockey is integrating biomedical engineering and skate design to provide customized hockey skates. The project began when Anne-Laure started looking into industry opportunities as she was nearing the end of her PhD at Polytechnique Montréal. “I reached out to a professor at École de téchnologie supérieure who happened to be in contact with CCM Hockey,” she explains.

Biotechnology partnership transforms safety in blood donation processing

From there, new protocols for screening and handling blood products were enacted to prevent the spread of these diseases through blood donation programs.

Over 30 years later, infectious diseases such as Zika and West Nile virus pose new challenges for the safety of blood donation around the world; however, a partnership between a multidisciplinary team of researchers at Université Laval, Quebec-based Phytronix, and international biotechnology firm Waters Corporation could revolutionize screening technology for donated blood products.

Research into Quebec’s rivers aims to improve Atlantic salmon habitats

This summer, Globalink intern Piyush Rai is working alongside Dr. Normand Bergeron at Université INRS to better understand how improved culvert design can positively impact the migration and survival of Atlantic salmon.

Well-being of Indigenous youth enhanced by arts and culture activities

One approach to helping these issues that is gaining traction is participatory arts and culture activities made by and for members of Indigenous communities. By creating tools for storytelling and culture-sharing, researchers and community members are working together to empower Indigenous youth to explore their creative capacities and imagine possibilities for bright futures.

Smart technology advances safety and comfort in the home

Aymen Djebbi, a Mitacs Globalink research intern from Tunisia, thinks he has an answer.  In collaboration with researchers at the Université de Sherbrooke, Aymen is helping to develop smart home technology this summer.

From research to robots

“These people were my heroes,” he said. “I knew that I wanted to follow in their footsteps one day.”

And he did.  At the age of 20, he invented an electronic system to control lighting in luxury houses with the use of a remote. Shortly after, he created an electro-mechanical device that could be installed on the wheels of bikes and vehicles which emitted pulsating lights to increase safety and visibility at night and sold 3,000 units.

Pages