Innovative Projects Realized

Designing a Kinect Camera-Based API to Detect Qualities of Movement toSupport Gestural Interaction

Despite enormous advances in technology, digital interfaces continue to rely on text and image based
communication, demonstrating a lack of support for full-body sensory engagement, and downplaying
the body’s role in communication and experience. This dependence on visual modes of input and
output relies heavily on an individual’s attention, presenting problems for people performing tasks
such as walking or driving. There is currently much work being done on gestural movement interaction
as an alternative input method with most research addressing functional or task-oriented movement.
These approaches, however, neglect the semantic and expressive qualities of movement which
constitute an alternative language for interaction. The proposed internship is part of an ongoing
investigation of the ways in which embodied meaning is attributed to photographic content through the
use of movement-based tagging. This internship will focus on the development of a photo tagging
application utilizing a Microsoft© Kinect Camera to capture users’ movements….

Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic challenges for families with children impacted by Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Citizen Advocacy Ottawa (CAO) is a non-profit organization supporting families with children impacted by Neurodevelopmental Disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many challenges to families already strained by the complexity of caregiving for these children. Many issues have been identified such as caregiver burnout, social isolation, mental health issues of all family members, and even increased violence in the home. CAO programs have modified service delivery to now offer virtual support to their clients (i.e., virtual support groups, family support and training). Caregivers’ needs will be assessed through an online survey and qualitative interviews will be conducted; impact of virtual training will be assessed through pre and post training evaluation. The organization will benefit from this study in having a better understanding of their clients’ needs and ways to adapt their service during this pandemic.

Smart Data Fusion for COVID-19 Patients

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, tech industry is racing to develop apps as well as wearable devices to help people to trace contacts, to self-assess, and to self-monitor the development of COVID-19 cases. However, these apps and devices work independently of each other, which leave it to users to connect pieces of information to determine risks and to assess possible COVID-19 infection as well as the severity of the condition. Moreover, the data is invaluable for healthcare providers to treat patients and also for COVID-19 research. In this project, we propose and develop BrightShare, a smart fusion solution to unleash the power of data. BrightShare turns patients’ COVID-19 and health data into actionable information by aggregating data from apps and devices, assessing data against early-warning indicators of COVID-19 infection, and enabling transparent data sharing. BrightShare unites patients, healthcare providers, and COVID-19 researchers to combat COVID-19 together.

Real-time context-aware recommender systems

Proposed Research: Existing recommender systems, even though very effective (like Amazon,
Netflix, Youtube etc) do not take into consideration any contextual information, such as time and
place. In recent times, context-aware recommender systems have attracted a lot of research and
industrial attention. In this project, we aim to address the unsolved challenges that comes with
incorporating contextual information in recommender systems.
Benefit to Namkis: Namkis enables users to review places and businesses around them, in terms of
smiles and scowls. Based on these reviews, relevant businesses are recommended to the users.
Improving the algorithms and inventing new techniques will aide namkis to provide better
recommendations to its users. This will result in higher engagement & greater virality of product.
Mitacs

Mieux Vieillir Chez Soi : Le Living Lab au cœur de l’innovation médicale et sociale de demain

Avec le « quartier des générations », l’organisme TechnoMontréal réalise une avancée avant-gardiste en ce qui concerne le bien-être de nos aînés. Avec pour mandat de développer un quartier à taille réelle, expérimentant un certain nombre de projets liés à la santé connectée, la présente recherche tâchera de déterminer les forces et failles du présent système et de lister un certain nombre de recommandations. Par santé connectée, on entend ici l’utilisation de nouvelles technologies dans le but de perfectionner le système de santé actuel ou d’améliorer la qualité de vie des individus. La plus-value liée à ce projet pour l’organisme partenaire apparaît comme indéniable, en raison de la rédaction d’un rapport final, faisant état de la situation spécifique du Quartier des générations, et de recommandations propres au projet en question, ce qui permettra à terme un recalibrage du projet pour le meilleur.

Participator Cities. Every one. Every day: Toronto

Participatory Cities: Every One. Every Day: Toronto seeks to strengthen neighbourhood communities in Regent Park and Alexandra Park in Toronto. This research internship contributes to the project by developing a comprehensive understanding of what supports social cohesion in these neighbourhoods, and what hinders it. In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic has caused new problems for neighbourhoods, making it harder for people to come together as a community. This research internship will be conducting its research with these issues at the forefront to provide solutions to this difficult situation. Because Participatory Cities: Every One. Every Day: Toronto is about involving residents directly in creating more cohesion this internship will also involve residents directly in the research processes, so they can be part of the project to get to know their neighbourhoods.

Smart Grid Control Algorithms for Clean Power Generation, Storageand Load Management for medium power applications

Today with the ever increasing price of fossil fuels and the growth of gas emissions, the
development of renewable energies has become a priority for almost all world government. In
this context, Ile Infinie wants to be an actor of this transition by installing green system of
energy production devices. The company works with other actors that provide them all
technical need to install those systems. The main objective of the internship will be to codevelop
those units by creating new high level algorithm that control each system separately
and command the overall system. These algorithms will have to increase the performance
and the quality of the system to make Ile Infinie and partners’ units more competitive. In order
to develop the algorithm the intern will begin by studying technical literature and existing
standards but also analyzing and testing systems on the field. Then the development testing
and validation of the algorithm will stand in ETS laboratory…

COVID-19: High-volume electrospinning of high-performance cellulose membranes required for N95-grade mask fabrication

In close collaboration with our industrial partners, we propose to exploit our understanding and control of polymer electrospinning, in order to produce high-performance polymer-based filter membranes deposited on medical-grade cellulose substrates. In turn, these high-performance filter membranes will be produced in high volumes by our industrial partners for the manufacturing of N95-grade protection masks essential in the context of the current pandemic. We propose to use medical grade cellulose substrates in order to deposit a biocompatible electrospun fiber layer. In order to achieve N95-grade specifications, the electrospun film will have to be fused into a denser self-sustaining membrane filter using one of four techniques readily accessible by our team. As such, the key research objective of this MITACS project will be to design, assemble and test a new process and system capable of producing small (research-grade) batches up-to 6 m2 of consolidated N95-grade membrane per hour.

Techniques of Aircraft Engine Vibration Analysis

The Master’s student will conduct the investigation of the state-of-the-art of the engine mount-damperaircraft
structure technology to reduce the aircraft structural vibration. He/she will establish the
framework for the modeling, based on the test and experiment procedures that are provided by P&WC.
The modeling will be planned so that the model results can be verified by the experiment (in future
work), and vice versa the changes in the model parameters can be easily implemented into test rig.
Therefore, the literature review will focus on both numerical and analytical methods used for studying
the dynamics of aircraft engine and its parts as well as state-of-the-art of the experiment methods, in
addition to what is provided by P&WC.

Élaboration d’un outil d’aide à la prise de décision pour le pilotage d’un portfolio de recherche et développement, pour la division EML d’ABB

Selon le Ministère de l’Économie, de la Science et de l’Innovation, la nouvelle réalité est que le cycle de vie moyen des produits est de trois à cinq ans selon les marchés. Les entreprises doivent constamment améliorer leurs produits et en créer des nouveaux pour maintenir leur position par rapport à la concurrence.

La recherche et développement, qui est l’élaboration et la mise en marché de produits et services qui adressent les nouvelles problématiques des clients, représente une force motrice des entreprises performantes. Les entreprises doivent faire des choix judicieux pour attribuer les ressources limitées aux projets choisis.

Le succès des projets en recherche et développement est assuré par une gestion de portfolio efficace.

L’objectif de la recherche est d’élaborer un outil qui va rendre plus efficace, le choix de bons projets lors de la gestion de portfolio.

Rapid deployment of AI-assisted COVID-19 detection for radiology

There is currently an abundance of research in the community in terms of capturing X-ray data around COVID-19 analysis to help diagnosis for radiologists. However, at the same time there are staffing shortages that lead either to long diagnosis wait times and potential misdiagnosis. Our research is focused around rapid deployment of AI and developing of a system to deploy AI technologies and algorithms using existing infrastructure within the hospital. Our proposed methodology uses existing hospital infrastructure while being able to take advantage of the AI models being developed to assist in COVID-19 diagnosis. For this purpose, we will develop advanced AI algorithms around COVID-19 detection for use with the system as well as X-ray image enhancing techniques that could potentially assist radiologists in making better decisions for diagnosis.

Optimisation de la politique de gestion des remplacements des employés absents

Merinio propose une solution de gestion des remplacements : leur logiciel permet à l’employeur de communiquer directement avec les employés pour leur proposer des opportunités de remplacements. De l’autre côté, les employés peuvent prévenir leur employeur de leurs absences (afin que l’employeur puisse savoir qui a besoin d’être remplacé) et de s’ils acceptent une des propositions de remplacements qui leur a été faite. Récemment, Merinio s’est mis à travailler avec des agences de placement d’agents de sécurité qui rencontre actuellement avec la crise du COVID une demande très importante pour leur service et un fort taux d’absentéisme. Leur solution permette de trouver des remplaçants plus rapidement afin de remplir le quart de travail à temps. Cependant, il reste beaucoup de place pour optimiser le processus de communication avec les employées afin d’accélérer les remplacements.