Innovative Projects Realized

Assessing the role of over-wintering marine sites in supporting declining Surf Scoters (Melanitta perspicillata) in the Salish Sea.

Many populations of marine birds in the Salish Sea are declining rapidly, yet the source of these declines remains unclear. This project focuses on assessing changes relative to historical surveys in diet, body condition, and prey availability of Surf Scoters in several nearshore marine areas. This study employs methods of DNA metabarcoding to assess diet which is an emerging non-lethal alternative to conventional methods of diet analysis for marine birds. Results of this study will resolve important gaps in our understanding of this species. Most importantly, the findings will be instrumental in improving restoration and management of nearshore habitats for this at-risk species.

Loon Foundation

With financial assistance from MITACS and the Loon Foundation, two students from the Capilano University Motion Picture Arts Program (MOPA) will create a documentary film under the supervision of the Program Instructor Mary M. Frymire and the Foundation’s Executive Director, Dr Michael Jackson.

The film will follow the foundations remarkably successful efforts over the past twenty years to help conserve biodiversity and foster environmental awareness on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. The documentary will focus primarily on their most ambitious project yet – a $30m aquatic research and performance arts facility called The Pender Harbour Ocean Discovery Station (or PODS).

The storyline will reflect on the origin, design and evolution of the unique PODS facility underpinned by the foundations’ philosophy ‘To ignite connections between people and the natural world and to foster and encourage responsible stewardship of our natural resources for future generations.’

PODS is endeavouring to create an exceptional meeting space where culture, science and the arts reach a confluence and where communication of ideas is founded on the First Nations principles of the power of storytelling. We will be inviting our partners and sponsors to join in the conversation and in particular to highlight First Nations involvement and collaboration and the educational potential of working with Capilano University.

Participation in this project will provide interns the opportunity to apply theory, creative concepts, tools, technical and creative skills in documentary filmmaking, learned throughout their Bachelor of Motion Picture Arts degree.

Nilex ECO 2 Calculator

Nilex has developed a tool to enable customers to evaluate sustainability of using geotextiles in road reinforcement. The calculator is designed to quantify the environmental and economic benefit of using geosynthetic materials in civil, resource and environmental construction projects. Focus of the existing calculator is on roadway construction and erosion control. The scope is to expand the use of the calculator to additional products and applications available from Nilex.

Camp Fircom Brand and Marketing Playbook Development

Located on Gambier Island, Camp Fircom has a unique strategic positioning of offering multiple outdoor camp and vacation experiences in a unique forest-meets-ocean setting but within close proximity to the Metro Vancouver area. Camp Fircom is interested in further tapping into this positioning by enhancing its brand voice to generate more registrations to its programs and attract more sponsors. Capilano University’s Centre for Tourism Research and Extension Services (CTRES) has taken the lead in the development of Camp Fircom’s brand and marketing playbook. It is expected that the implementation of this playbook would not only grow program registrations but also increase visitations from tourists, school groups, and other markets, as well as generate new sponsorships.

Identification de méthodologies innovantes relatives à la prestation de services sportifs municipaux

Dans le contexte socioéconomique actuel, notamment marqué par une plus grande décentralisation des services municipaux et par les exigences relatives à l’efficacité et à l’efficience des ressources allouées, la livraison de ces mêmes services est un enjeu d’importance. Par ailleurs, la plus grande considération faite des parties prenantes dans l’élaboration et dans la reddition des services municipaux est aujourd’hui incontournable.
Le présent projet vise à identifier des méthodes innovantes relatives au soutien et au développement de services sportifs en contexte municipal. Entre la livraison des services par une municipalité donnée et l’externalisation complète de ces mêmes services, une multitude de configurations mitoyennes peuvent être envisagées. Quelles sont les configurations qui permettent d’atteindre à la fois l’efficacité et l’efficience des ressources et des compétences engagées, de même que la satisfaction des clientèles visées? Ce projet voudra répondre à cette question d’importance.

Web Developer

Prima Technologies is a startup in New Brunswick, Canada that is working on improving certain processes in nursing homes, replacing traditional paper processes with new digital ones. The main challenges and opportunities are in software development. Nurses provide a lot of care in a day and building a tool for them that relieves their workload requires well-thought-out software development. By growing our software development team, we are giving ourselves a better chance of succeeding and this project is a step in that direction.

Development of an AI model to facilitate data extraction from forms

At Mely.ai, we are changing the supply chain and logistics landscape by providing AI-assisted tools to the industry. We want to give an unpreceded experience to our users with the latest technologies to serve their customer better.
We analyze paper documents frequently used in the transport and logistics industry such as commercial invoices, packing lists and certificates of analysis.
Mely.ai’s current value-add is to extract data from forms based on specific templates. We also have a method to extract data without a template, but it lacks precision.
The project is therefore to create a generic AI model that can better extract data from a form into structured data. Using computer vision techniques, we will be able to identify the tabular data as well as the available key values.

Characterization and optimisation of muscle oxygen extraction and performance in elite judo athletes

This project will investigate the determinants of performance in the sport of judo to optimize training and enhance performance development. Judokas must perform multiple high-intensity efforts that cause fatigue, and most of their training is devoted to mitigating the development of fatigue during matches. However, our knowledge of key metabolic responses and adaptations is still limited in this sport. The purpose of this project is to 1) characterize the muscle oxygenation response in varied muscles during judo-specific maneuvers in elite judo athletes using cutting-edge near-infrared spectroscopy, and 2) develop a judo-specific simulated altitude training program that would help coaches and athletes in their physical preparation for major international competitions.

Enhancing Tenantcube’s Data Ecosystem and Analytics Capability

This innovation project between Tenantcube Inc. and Brock University aims at enhancing Tenantcube’s data ecosystem and analytics capability. Tenantcube Inc. is a Property Management Software company that elevates the residential renting experience for the modern-day landlords and tenants in Canada and the USA. In the recent years, there has been an influx of international students and new immigrants who are in search of rental homes and are able to pay the quoted rent, but cannot find decent accommodation owing to their lack of credit history. To bridge this gap, Tenantcube intends to use data-driven insights, predictive systems and recommendation to identify qualified tenants so landlords can rent to new tenants with confidence. More specifically, the project will involve developing a data and analytics strategy framework to enhance Tenantcube’s current data ecosystem, exploring data-driven problem settings and formulating modelling and solution strategies.

Additive manufacturing of a nickel supper alloy: The micromechanics of plasticity and fracture.

To reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, significant efforts have been made to increase the efficiency of gas turbines. Likewise, the use of hydrogen is suggested to replace hydro-carbon-based fuels. To achieve these goals, it is mandatory to use advanced manufacturing techniques to produce the key components of turbines. Laser power bed fusion additive manufacturing (LPBF-AM) is one of those techniques that can be used for 3D printing of Inconel supperalloys, however, the development of microcracks reduce the lifetime of the components. The objectives of this project are to determine AM process parameter to reduce such cracks and understand their subsequent effects on the development of localized stress fields. An advanced numerical toolbox will be developed to simulate the propagation of microcracks. The outcome of the project will help provide a better estimation of components lifetimes which will eventually improve the economy of power production from gas turbines.

Fabrication of Smart Clothing: From Machine Learning Approach to Fashion Design Concepts

Nowadays, wearable devices attract a lot of attention, especially in the healthcare field. But translating all devices to wearable devices always comes with challenges. Some of the challenges are lack of knowledge about the application of different materials in smart textiles, limitation of developed smart textiles in practical application, no significant dedication in designing clothing by considering the limits, etc. So, this proposal is trying to address those gaps. In this proposal, a material selection algorithm will be developed based on the machine learning approach, and then the outcome will be used in designing a collection of clothing. This design will consider those limitations and the applicable functionality of smart textiles. In the end, well-looking clothing with selected materials and practical functionality will be showcased.

Smart forests: building community and ecological fire resilience using real-time monitoring of forest conditions through 5G and next-generation fuel models

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