Quebec company drives a billion miles to test the future

Their systems help the makers of everyday technologies ensure that travel by road or air will be safe and reliable for Canadians and others around the world.

When they were approached by a major car manufacturer to develop testing systems for autonomous vehicles, OPAL-RT turned to Mitacs to connect them to the top research talent for their needs.OPAL-RT Technologies

Computer co-pilot helps you navigate changing streets

Now, one Mitacs intern is searching for a solution. Arvind Srinivasan is researching an algorithm that will integrate real-time changes into existing mapping programs. The new algorithm allows the app to seamlessly adjust your route — without interrupting the navigation. Normally, unexpected changes to the map require more processing power to integrate. The resulting algorithm is slower and less useful as a navigation tool.

Wearable tech takes the heat off wildfire-fighting pilots

Now, a team of Mitacs researchers is working to understand the risks involved with aerial firefighting and is developing customized wearable and in-flight technologies that could improve pilot safety during wildfire seasons. Their goal: develop a system to monitor a pilot’s physical and cognitive conditions using the latest in wearable technologies to empower the pilot and flight operations to only deploy when it’s safe to fly.

Brewing up innovation

Barley production, however, has declined over the past 15 years, as Canadian farmers lose ground to international competitors. International beer producers have a thirst for new varieties but Canada’s adoption process is slower than competitor countries. Australia and Germany bring new varietals of barley to market in five to seven years. In Canada, the same two strains have dominated the market for the past 20 years. 

Mystery or romance? How Big Data can help you pick your next book

Kobo’s Big Data Director Darius Braziunas says he knew early on that to stay competitive in the e-book world Kobo would need to collaborate with university researchers to take their products to the next level.

New bone glue fuses success for Halifax start-up

This is the focus of Dartmouth Medical Research — a Canadian start-up based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who has a bone adhesive technology and is focused on developing and launching the product into market. The “glue” would provide a simple and fast method of fixing fractures, especially ones where there may be many small fragments that are difficult to fix by conventional means. The adhesive holds bones together while providing more comfort to patients and increasing recovery time.

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.

Kelowna company making noise with smartphone technology

While most smartphones are adept at capturing close-range speech, noisy environments like rock concerts pose a different challenge. Screaming crowds drown out the music, leading to poor playback quality on the phone.

LG turned to ESS to develop audio-amplifying microchips that can distinguish between the melody and “malarkey” in a concert venue.

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.

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