Innovative Projects Realized

A Graph Neural Network Approach to Short-Term Electric Load Forecasting

Short-term electric load forecasting for local areas is of interest to Hydro-Québec to efficiently respond to demand at the distribution level. Any significant forecasting error can result in reliability issues, loss of opportunity, or additional costs to the business. Improving short-term load forecasting can benefit both consumers and utility
companies to optimize resources and costs. With the deployment of its Advanced Measurement Infrastructure, Hydro-Québec now has a significant amount of new consumption data that can be used to refine load predictions. In this project, we plan to use recent progress in machine learning to improve the short-term load forecasting.
Specifically, we will use graph neural networks for short-term electric load forecasting at the distribution level to leverage uncovered similarities and latent dependencies between buildings and neighborhoods.

Development of a tele-health rehabilitation system to provide automatic assessment of patients’ performance, improve patients’ adherence and enable remote rehabilitation-Phase I

Poor physical recovery, especially in remote rehabilitation, is the problem that will be addressed in this project.
This project is Phase I of development of Fun-exercise module. Fun-exercise system uses gamification to boost patients’ adherence to their prescribed home-exercises. To achieve this goal, Fun-exercise will use mentally stimulating and customizable games paired with a set of wearable sensors to provide feedback to ensure activities are being done correctly. In phase I, patient study and conceptual design of the Fun-exercise module will be undertaken. Patient study determines and characterizes the target exercise and patient groups. This project will help the partner organizations to drive innovation and technology development in Canada. The work conducted by intern will inform the broader community about industry trends, the impact of different present and emerging technologies on various industries, as well as foster the growth of innovative technologies within the Canadian economy.

Favoriser la diversité dans les conseils d’administration : Évaluation d’un programme de sensibilisation et de formation auprès d’organisations sans but lucratif et de leaders de la diversité à Montréal

Face au manque de diversité dans les conseils d’administration, Concertation Montréal a mené un programme visant à promouvoir la diversité au sein de ces lieux de décision.
L’étude vise à évaluer les impacts et retombées de ce programme et porte sur deux volets principaux :
– la formation de 120 organisations de la région montréalaise en termes de diversité; et
– la promotion du rôle d’administratrice ou d’administrateur par des personnes issues de la diversité et déjà membres de conseils d’administration.
Pour Concertation Montréal, l’étude contribuera à :
– démontrer l’efficacité du programme en termes d’équité, de diversité et d’inclusion.
– bénéficier d’un outil d’évaluation pour permettre aux organisations participantes de suivre l’évolution de leurs politiques de diversité d’année en année.
– recevoir des pistes de recommandations pour le futur, afin de poursuivre les changements initiés à moyen et long terme.

Remote Supports as a Service Delivery Option for Individuals Accessing Community Living Services

Many services including health services are now offered remotely through live 2 way communication from the practitioner’s office to the patient’s home. Community Living Society, Inclusion Langley, Richmond Society for Community Living, and Spectrum Society for Community Living, plan to see how this model might work in our programs that support individuals who have a developmental disability to live independently in community. Our 3 year pilot will test if adding the option for remote support can improve the quality of life for individuals in the key domains of independence, social participation, and wellbeing. It will also test which types of support we offer are best suited to remote delivery and how we make sure that the privacy, health, and wellbeing of service users are protected. Finally, it will test if, offering some or all supports remotely can make it possible for more people with different levels of need to successfully live independently.

Quality Assessment of Montagui Shrimp

Nunavut Fisheries Association (NFU) is doing this study that evaluates quality, handling and processing methodologies for Pandalus montagui shrimp (striped shrimp) with the aim of improving quality and yield. Montagui shrimp is typically regarded as an inferior quality product to Pandalus borealis (Northern shrimp) and as such gets a lower price in the market.

Commande optimale de moteurs synchrones à aimants permanents pour applications de véhicules sport récréatifs électriques

Ce projet porte sur le développement de méthodes et stratégies de commande des entrainements électriques pour les véhicules sport récréatifs ou véhicules tout terrain VTT. Le projet cherche entre autres à améliorer les performances du système et à faciliter la transition des véhicules actuellement propulsés par moteurs à combustion interne (ICE) vers des systèmes complètement électriques. Le projet permettra au partenaire industriel Theron d’intégrer la technologie proposée dans les nouvelles versions de son modèle de véhicule tout terrain REEVER. Les résultats du projet bénéficieront la communauté canadienne sur le plan environnemental via la réduction des émissions, et sur le plan économique par le développement d’une technologie canadienne promue par une entreprise québécoise. Enfin, le projet permettra la formation de main-d’oeuvre hautement qualifiée en électronique de puissance et de commande, un domaine clé pour la transition énergétique.

Digital interventions to improve the mental wellbeing and quality of life of low-income community-dwelling older adults

Our previous research with Mitacs has found that financial burden is one of the biggest negative contributors to the mental health of community-dwelling seniors. We plan to continue to work with the West End Seniors Network (WESN), Vancouver’s second largest not-for-profit seniors’ center, to explore how technology can be utilized to provide mental health aids and services for low-income seniors. The intern will conduct focus groups with older adults to accomplish the research objectives. WESN and other community centers across Canada will be able to use the data obtained in this project to guide the development of future technology-based programs to help the mental health and quality of life of low-income older adults in their respective communities. The collaboration between the intern’s academic institution, WESN, and Mental Health Research Canada will build a foundation for future collaborative research and expanding knowledge mobilization strategies on the topic of mental health, under-represented older adult populations, and digital health across the country.

Thrombosis Service Research

This research project will help build the foundation of thrombosis research within Newfoundland and Labrador with a focus on the Thrombosis Service at Eastern Health. It will inform clinical practice within the province and beyond.

Semi passive treatment to remove Nitrate in cold climate at Minto Mine

Mining activities can lead to contaminants entering the environment. Various active technologies have been developed to prevent contaminants from entering water systems, however, these technologies are often costly in resources and labour, and incompatible with the conditions presented by cold climates. Therefore, there is a need to develop passive treatments that can operate in cold climates with minimal maintenance requirements. For this research project, Yukon University and INRS are collaborating with Minto Exploration Ltd., which operates a copper-gold mine in the Yukon. Using microbial populations native to the mine site, this project intends to develop a laboratory scale biological treatment system to treat the contaminants of concern at the Minto mine. After the system has been optimized in the laboratory, it will be scaled up to operate at a pilot scale on site at Minto. This Master’s degree project will take two years to complete and will support the development of Minto’s remediation plan and help protect the environment.

Circular Textiles – District of Squamish

The goal of this project is to identify opportunities for Squamish to develop a sustainable Textiles Circular Economy (TCE).

Objective 1: Research and report on global case studies as they relate to community-based TCE and then identify within those the what, why, how, who, and apply the four key drivers of the CE Framework.
Objective 2: Research and report on global case studies in industry-based TCE and then identify within those the what, why, how, who, and apply the core elements of the CE Framework.
Objective 3: Undertake a local TCE audit and readiness assessment.
Objective 4: Recommended actions and considerations for implementing TCE actions in Squamish

The deliverables will enable the District of Squamish to move forward with its TCE ambitions by identifying impactful opportunities for the District and other stakeholders to implement – including core elements and key drivers. Opportunities to support the foundations of a circular economy include the encouragement and support for product innovation, business ecosystem development, development of engaged stakeholder networks, consumer and business education. The report will highlight business development opportunities relating to; reviewing business models, product innovation and extensions, supply chain solutions, the treatment of waste product, and design principles, to name a few. Through regional and provincial collaboration we will contribute to the body of knowledge pertaining to Textiles Circular Economies, and in particular in the Canadian regional context.

Automated Domain Specific Essay Scoring

Automated essay scoring (AES) task involves using computer technology to grade written assessment and assigning a score based on its perceived quality. AES has been among the most significant Natural Language Processing (NLP) applications especially due to its educational and commercial value. Accordingly, AES is a well-studied topic with previous studies focusing on improving the performance via state-of-the-art deep learning and NLP methods to more accurately score the essays. The majority of these studies rely on publicly available corpora and limited datasets. However, domain-specific essay scoring tasks (e.g., law and accounting exams) would benefit from customized NLP methods for improved performance. In this research, we aim to develop domain-specific NLP methods for improved AES. Specifically, we will perform this analysis in 3 dimensions: domain-specific models, interpretable deep learning and weak supervision. At the end of the project, via our investigations in these three dimensions, a modern AES will be established

Optical characterization and signal quantification for onsite application in gold exploration

The mineral resource sector is one of the key industries in Canada and Canadian companies are major stakeholders in global mineral exploration and mining activities, including gold exploration. Prospecting takes time, resources, and substantial financial support. Currently, samples collected in the field are shipped to specialized laboratories for analysis. In addition to substantial costs, results are not received for several weeks. The intern will evaluate a novel instrument to analyze field samples by using changes in light signals. The portable instrument will deliver information at the mining site within 5 minutes and without the need for a highly trained person. This analysis will also provide information on how much gold is present in the sample as well as estimates of size and shape of the gold particles. Successful validation will allow the industry partners to expand into new applications in the mineral exploration sector.