Innovative Projects Realized

Gated and RGB Fusion for Robust Perception

Robust perception in all weather conditions is a critical requirement for autonomous vehicles. This project proposes fusing gated and conventional RGB camera images for robust scenes encoding, depth estimation and trajectory prediction. Conventional approaches using lidar and RGB camera fail to perform robustly in rain, fog and snow. By extending existing computer vision algorithms to Gated-RGB camera pair the fusion algorithms developed will utilize features that are robust in one sensor modality but not the other. The proposed projects will allow Algolux to evaluate different fusion algorithms and augment the existing captured dataset with simulated data that are useful for algorithm development and evaluation.

3D Visualization Pipeline and Methodology for Large-Scale Artifact Collections Management

This project will develop the protocols, standards and procedures to establish a digitized, virtual artifact repository, accessible online for research and public education, by establishing the processes for large scale digitization of the analyzable objects representing the full range of the compiled archaeological heritage from Ontario.

Constrained Batch Estimation for Train Positioning with Inertial Sensors

Similar to current efforts in the automotive industry, there is a substantial interest in developing fully autonomous trains. One of the key steps towards enabling autonomous operation is being able to accurately estimate train position and speed. In addition to this, better estimates will also increase safety and reduce distance between trains, allowing more frequent trains in peak hours. The current project deals with a method of estimating the velocity and position without using GPS measurements, which is the standard method. This is because GPS signal can be unreliable in urban environments and are unavailable underground in subway networks. Instead of using measurements one by one, the position and velocity are estimated by using batches of measurements and fitting them to the track, which the train always travels on. For Thales, this presents an alternative method of estimating velocity and position that does not require multiple sensors, adding reliability and thus safety to existing solutions.

Les enjeux contemporains de l’inclusion financière au Mexique. Étude des liens entre politique publique, organisations de microfinance et secteur des micro entreprises

L’objectif de cette recherche est d’identifier et de problématiser les facteurs qui influencent l’efficacité de la politique nationale d’inclusion financière. Cette politique publique a été récemment mise en œuvre par le gouvernement mexicain pour lutter contre les inégalités d’accès aux services financiers qui affectent les individus et les entreprises.
La recherche vise à établir le fonctionnement de cette politique publique en analysant le contexte politique et socio-économique de sa mise en œuvre et en identifiant le rôle des différents acteurs qui interagissent.
Afin d’accéder aux services financiers, les demandes des individus et plus spécifiquement des entreprises doivent d’abord être sélectionnées par les institutions financières. La recherche examinera les facteurs qui influencent ce processus de sélection, qui est la première étape vers l’inclusion financière. Ce travail vise à combler une lacune dans la littérature et fournira un cadre analytique innovant pour la recherche sur les politiques d’inclusion financière. Les résultats aboutiront à des suggestions pour renforcer l’inclusion financière et minimiser la marginalisation de certains acteurs de la société.

Systematic Conservation Planning in Tsay Keh Dene Territory: Incorporating Climate Change and Bridging Traditional Ecological Knowledge

Systematic Conservation Planning (SCP) is the idea that the practice of protecting lands should be examined on a broad scale and be holistic in nature. Available areas of land with conservation potential should be examined critically for whether they fit into a larger ecological network – either as a link between existing protected areas, or as an area that is ecologically significant on its own. This project is an application of SCP principles and tools for a specific geography – the Tsay Keh Dene Nation Territory in northcentral British Columbia, Canada. The research is being carried out in cooperation with the Nation and their wholly-owned environmental consulting company, Chu Cho Environmental. Study results should help immediately in the processing of project proposals within the territory since the Nation is often overwhelmed by the number received, as well as in the long-term with natural resource management and activities related to large-scale conservation goals.

Cutaneous T cells and disease severity in adult atopic dermatitis

Strong evidence for T cell activation in atopic dermatitis disease pathogenesis exists, as demonstrated by the clinical efficacy of therapeutic T cell cytokine blockade. The subsets of human T cells capable of contributing to pathology of this disease remain poorly defined, lending importance to the characterization of T cells and their cytokines within active skin lesions of patients with atopic dermatitis. We hypothesize that novel effector T cell subtypes resident in human skin contribute to disease activity, particularly in adults. Using our newly validated methods for immunophenotyping T cells from human skin biopsies, we have identified heterogeneous sub-types of skin T cells secreting the pathogenic cytokine IL-13 from the lesional skin of atopic patients. We propose to combine the world-class human clinical studies expertise at Innovaderm Research, Montreal with state-of-the-art immunophenotyping techniques at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center in order to identify the contribution of these different sub-types of T cells in the severity and chronicity of disease in adult atopic patients.

Experimental and Numerical Investigation on Effect of Manufacturing Defects on Propeller Cavitation and Efficiency Performance

The objective of the proposed research is to carry out numerical and experimental studies on the performance degradation of propeller blades in three different scales with leading-edge (LE) manufacturing tolerances. In the experimental studies, three single propeller blades in three scales (1:1, 1:2 and 3:4) will be tested in a cavitation tunnel. Flow velocities and pressures in the upstream and downstream will be measured. The evolution of cavitation will be recorded using a high-speed camera. Three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations will be performed for single propeller blades in three scales with base sections without defect (as designed) and sections with LE defects (as built). Focus will be on the effect of grid quality, resolution and turbulence modeling on numerical solutions. Validation studies will be carried out by comparing the CFD results with the experimental data. Scale effects will also be determined based on the experimental and numerical results.
After the validation studies, CFD simulations will be extended to KCS propellers with and without LE defects in three different scales. Conclusions will be drawn on the effect of LE defects on the performance of full-scale propellers.

Role of CD82 in the Pathophysiology of DMD

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disease that causes skeletal muscle degeneration. As the disease progresses, the affected individuals lose their ability to breathe and walk. Currently, there is no definitive cure for this disease. Previous research found CD82, a protein expressed on the surface of skeletal muscle cells, to be decreased by 2.5 times in muscle tissues from DMD patients. The purpose of this project is to test the hypothesis that a decrease in CD82 levels plays an aberrant role in DMD. CD82 will be delivered to the muscles of dystrophic mice and after 3 months, muscle biopsies will be taken from the treated mice to assess, through techniques such as immunostaining and Western blotting, how changes in CD82 levels alter muscle health. It is expected that the CD82-positive mice will have more intact muscle fibers with fewer tears and scarring compared to CD82-negative mice.

Defining the Transmission Season and Determining the Gastropod Intermediate Hosts of Crenosoma vulpis, the Fox Lungworm

Crenosoma vulpis (Fox Lungworm) is a metastrongyloid nematode parasite infecting the lungs of wild and domestic canids. It is a frequent cause of chronic respiratory disease in dogs in Atlantic Canada. Dogs and foxes acquire the infection from ingesting terrestrial gastropods which contain the infective third larval stage (L3) of the parasite. Nothing is known on which gastropod species serve as a source for natural infections. Determining the gastropod species involved in natural infections and defining the transmission season will further our understanding of the parasite epidemiology which is important in devising preventive control strategies.

Risk Attribution for Large Portfolios with Illiquid Assets

The key question addressed by this research project is: what sources of risk drive the volatility of the portfolio

held by the business partner? To answer this question, this project employs a set of recently proposed risk

management techniques. The business partner is a large institutional investment fund management company

with an investment portfOlio that includes assets from several countries and is composed by an array of diverse

investment vehicles (e.g., stocks and bonds, but also real estate, and private equity). Large and diversified

portfolios are vulnerable to several sources of risk, including (but not limited to) unexpected shocks to the

exchange rate, unexpected changes in monetary policy, or commodity price volatility. The aim of this project is

to attribute the overall portfolio riskiness to the different sources of risk. This means providing an answer to the

following, and similar, questions: “How much of the overall portfolio volatility is due to the shocks of monetary

TOBECONTINUED

Selenium remediation in contaminated soils using biochar amended phytoextraction

Selenium-contaminated Soil remediation could be achieved using a cost-effective technology using a combination of biochar and phytoextraction. Selenium will be uptaken from soil and accumulated in different plant species with the support of biochar amendments. The potential of phytoextraction of Salix sp. and Phleum sp. plant species in a selenium contaminated soil amended with biochar will be tested. Selenium levels and speciation in soil and plants will be assessed in order to identify the plant specie having the best selenium phytoextraction potential. The influence of Selenium chemical speciation on soil-plant transfer and phytoextraction will be assessed. Then, the efficiency of biochar in enhancing the Selenium phytoextraction from soil will be determined in order to identify the most efficient combination of plant phytoextraction amended with biochar which will later be considered for phytoremediation of Se-contaminated soils.

Her Own Boss! Entrepreneurial Opportunities for Newcomer Visible Minority Women

This community-based action research project seeks to support visible minority newcomer women in establishing and succeeding in entrepreneurship activities, while identifying the challenges and opportunities they face while trying to start their own businesses. The benefits that this research is expected to bring to the Women’s Economic Council are to better understand visible minority newcomer women wishing to be self-employed; the local self-employment services, including any gaps and barriers for visible minority newcomer women in accessing these services as well as the challenges faced by service providers in reaching out to these women; and the impact of the training sessions on all participants in achieving their economic goals.