The cost of labour makes up almost a third of the operating costs for greenhouse, nursery and floriculture operations. Many growers are seeking ways of automating labour intensive processes to reduce their exposure to increasing minimum wages and shortages of available labour. Planting flower bulbs is an example of one such process. The main barriers […]

This project aims to provide real-world, verifiable estimates of impacts to watersheds from usage of back-country logging and resource roads. fRI in partnership with the University of Alberta, MiTACS and Canfor is testing computer-based tools developed in the United States to apply them to watersheds in Alberta. Given the different geography, soil types, and relief […]

Amélioration des performances et du processus de mise-au-point d’agents virtuels (AV) selon une approche hybride combinant du traitement automatique de la langue ou TAL (natural language processing), de l’apprentissage statistique (machine learning) et du génie cognitif à base de règles (les outils et API de Coginov). Notamment, nous expérimenterons l’utilisation de synonymes en contexte et […]

Exposure to diagnostic imaging techniques such as X-ray and CT scan could cause DNA damage in our body leading to cancer. We wish to develop a unique antioxidant formula to avoid the risk of cancer. Apple peel has some unique and strong antioxidants called flavonoids. Our aim of this project is to examine whether apple […]

Cancer arises as a result of deleterious aberrations in the DNA, RNA and proteins of cells. The accumulation of genetic abnormalities, over lifetime, perturbs critical functions of cells, which may ultimately give rise to tumor. However, vast majority of these aberrations are not essential and only small fractions, known as “driver” genes, are critical for […]

This research will help Innovation Building Group to optomize design details for proposed net-zero energy buildings in Golden, BC. The focus of the research is on comparing the costs of envelope design details with the expected energy savings. This will allow the most economical decisions to be made, which will mean that the best building […]

The objective of this project is to design and build a new prototype device attachable to a smartphone camera employing a novel method of illumination to enable acquiring high quality images of the skin without surface contact. By replacing the precise optical and lighting components currently used in the company’s existing product MoleScope, this design […]

With the ongoing threat of anthropogenic climate warming, understanding how stakeholders in Ontario can accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) to maximize their environmental and economic benefits is of great importance. The large-scale adoption of EVs requires further research to understand consumer demand and social valuations. Ontario has over 5,000 EV drivers on the […]

As the multi-processing power of computers continues to grow, traditional methods of memory management become more and more problematic. The purpose of this project is to quantitatively analyze existing memory management tactics to determine whether they can be improved using techniques that take advantage of modern hardware, or instead, whether brand new methods for managing […]

There is an urgent need to develop and evaluate an affordable, reliable, real-time variable rate smart sprayer, using affordable sensors/cameras and controllers for spot-specific application of agrochemicals in the wild blueberry cropping system. The main objective of this project is to evaluate the performance of the developed smart sprayer for spot-applications of agrochemicals in wild […]

The demand for renewable and clean energy alternatives is steadily increasing due to the cost and environmental concerns of traditional fossil-based fuels. Wood pellet fuel is one such renewable alternate energy source, manufactured by Pacific Bioenergy, Prince George, BC. These wood pellets are transported via rail and subsequently loaded onto vessels for trans-ocean shipment. The […]

The chicken egg represents an excellent source of nutrients, and the composition of the egg yolk can further be enhanced through modifications to the laying hen diet. While enhanced shell eggs are primarily sold as specialty eggs, an opportunity exists to add further value through the use of novel extraction technologies. The proposed research project […]