Smart devices can allow active individuals to monitor their training workload in order to reduce injuries and improve performance. However, many devices are geared towards a single activity, which limits their impact. Kinetyx recently developed an insole with multiple sensors that can be worn within a shoe while performing many activities. Using this insole, we will develop algorithms that identify different activities and provide feedback on the workload from those activities.

The progression of bacterial antimicrobials resistance (AMR) has led us to an era that urgently requires alternative antimicrobial therapies. Metal-based antimicrobials (MBA) are increasingly seen as part of the solution. Several metals are already extensively used to prevent and treatment of infections. Silver/copper ionizers are presently used to control pathogens in Canadian hospital water distributions systems.

Focused Ultrasound (FUS) is a therapeutic modality that can concentrate mechanical energy far from its source in just a few cubic millimetres. There is a significant number of studies investigating the use of FUS as a therapeutic option for multiples diseases, with an emphasis on oncology and brain disorders. While machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) are becoming compelling research tools in many areas, the use of ML+AI has remained elusive for FUS research.

This project will use contaminated soils from two types of contaminated sites and combine them, resulting in the soils “treating” each other. The first type of soil used is sulphur contaminated soils, which are created near sulphur stockpiles on industrial oil and gas sites. The second type of soil being treated is cement and concrete contaminated soil, which is created on sites where large amount of concrete are produced and stored over long timeframes. One of the primary concerns with concrete contaminated soils is high pH, which can be lowered by sulphur.

The research project will focus on identifying thermal characteristics of COVID-19 in humans and applying the characteristics identified to detect COVID-19 in humans using non-invasive methodologies.

For this project, the thermal characteristics of viruses in humans, specifically COVID-19 will be studied.

Netflix recently released an interactive movie that brings the concept of interactive media from video games into movie form. In contrast to the passive viewing experience with conventional movies, the interaction brings viewers into the movie scenes for an immersive experience. However, existing interactive movies are still scripted. Though there have been proposals towards freeform conversational for games and agent-directed interaction, viewers are still not in control of the story development.

Focused ultrasound (FUS) is a clinical approach that aim at non-invasive treatment of brain disorders. There are however technical barriers for its adoption, in particular for clinical applications that require selective stimulation of brain areas for therapy. This is particularly critical when validating these applications preclinically, where the size of the effect should compatible with small animals. Our group recently patented a method for better focusing the effect of ultrasound transducers.

The proposed research will involve studying the carbon footprint (i.e. the carbon emissions) involved in the preparation of magnesium oxychloride (MOC) cement materials. MOC cement has been proposed as a more environmentally friendly alternative to traditionally used Portland cement (PC), however many discrepancies arise as there is no work directly comparing their carbon footprints. In addition, the work will determine the lifecycle assessment of MOC cement and PC.

To ensure oil and gas pipelines operate safely, instrumented inspections and assessments are completed on a recurring frequency. A common and valuable inspection method is In-line inspection (ILI). This form of inspection uses a measurement device (ILI tool) that is propelled through the pipeline by product flow and the tool identifies and sizes anomalous conditions along the inside and outside walls of the pipeline that could affect the pipes ability to contain the product.

Recent tailings dam failures occurring in past years have highlighted a need for innovative approaches to monitoring these structures. This research proposes to explore advances in the development of a novel type of distributed fiber-optic sensing technology known as Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS), and evaluate its performance in monitoring a tailings dam. Ambient noise interferometry will be applied to the collected data to measure changes in the shear wave velocity of the tailings dam structure.