Loblaw Companies Limited (LCL) supplies all fresh produce (FP) to South Western Ontario stores from Waterloo Distribution Center (DC). DC decides prices and quantities to meet FP demand. Timed fair priced orders minimize waste, bring prosperity to growers, consumers and FP trades. Factors affecting prices are highly uncertain due to environmental and socio-economic effects such as income, labor, trade, globalization and climate change which makes price prediction challenging.

Most Canadians prefer to remain in their own homes for as long as possible, or “age in place”. One important area of daily living is meal preparation. The opportunity to age in place is likely to be higher where kitchens allow for the changing functional ability of people as they age. Décor is a Canadian kitchen cabinet design and manufacturing company committed to innovation that means the products that their clients buy today, will function long into the future.

Solid-state nanopores—small holes in thin membranes comparable in size to individual molecules—are promising candidates as sensors with which to revolutionize DNA sequencing, personalized medicine, point-of-care diagnostics, and next-generation information storage methods. A method by which these nanopores can be fabricated on an industrial scale was recently invented, but challenges remain, particularly in quality-controlling source materials with which to make them and in analyzing and interpreting the signals generated.

We will work with Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT) to adapt retail practices to the post-pandemic world. Consumer behaviour has dramatically evolved due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Consumers are spending less time shopping and they aim to minimize physical contact. This shift in purchasing behaviour will generate unique data that may allow us to develop new ways to predict consumer demand. Looking at data before, during, and after the pandemic, we will investigate how to properly adapt some of the existing demand-forecasting methods and tailor these to the new, post-pandemic landscape.

This project aims to create protocol for custom-made dental implant manufacturing. Dental implant will be 3D printed based on patient scans. The project will connect newest laser manufacturing technology with existing implantation procedure research. In addition, the dental implant structure creation protocol will be suitable for implementation in additive manufacturing facilities. Project results will be integrated in the educational programs, will be published in international journals and will be presented in scientific conferences.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming one of the most critical aspects in both business and science, and an increasing number of leading technology companies in Canada are at the forefront of AI development and innovation. The proposed research project aims at developing AI algorithms that have the ability to accurately classify the sport practiced or the sporting equipment present in an image.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has forced governments and communities revisit the conceptions of sustainability and resilience. While many of the businesses in the retail, food services, and tourism and hospitality sectors experienced a drastic drop in sales during the COVID-19 pandemic, online shopping and delivery sectors are dealing with a dramatic increase in sales and orders. Demand of local and sustainable goods are increasing as the disruption of the supply chain has impacted the accessibility and affordability of goods.

In online shopping, search results often have inherent ambiguity. Two customers using the same term as search query might have completely different expectations of the displayed results. For example, when the users type in the query “headphone”, some of them might expect over-ear headphone with passive noise isolation, while others might expect in-ear headphone with better portability. This project aims to extract users’ interests or preferences and understand what they want.

ROKET GEAR is a Canadian start-up that has developed a wearable training system for hockey skating. The system consists of adding weights strategically placed on the leg so that skaters can actually strength train while skating. As a result, the training system allows athletes to increase their effort during skating and to build strength in their leg muscles. This project will help ROKET GEAR determine the appropriate amount of weight to add to their system to maximize the strength training effects without actually disturbing the proper skating technique.

This study aims to support existing and future grassroots cohousing communities in maneuvering systemic and cultural barriers in order to achieve an increase in cohousing communities constructed in Canada, and a proliferation of cohousing and/or cohousing-inspired affordable housing communities.