Innovative Projects Realized

Mouvement des accélérateurs d’innovation du Québec

Le Mouvement des accélérateurs d’innovation du Québec (MAIN) a été créé en 2015 afin de renforcer l’écosystème québécois d’accompagnement des entreprises à fort potentiel de croissance en permettant aux accélérateurs et incubateurs d’entreprises (AIE) de mettre leurs réseaux, ressources et pratiques en commun afin d’augmenter leur impact sur les jeunes entreprises innovantes du Québec.Le projet a pour objectif de définir la stratégie d’affaires MAIN pour les trois prochaines années.

CEO Law Business Strategy Internship

CEO Law operates a two-sided online marketplace platform that connects lawyers and clients. The platform has been tailored to fit both client and lawyer needs with the platform delivering equal benefits to both parties. The steady growth in the past three years show the success in the strategy of investing the feature that connect clients and lawyers. However, the current onboarding process for a new client is still all done manually by CEO Law’s sales teams. The lack of automation in this process has forced the sales team in a traditional role that does not align with the modern platform. The reliance on the sales team has provided a costly restraint on the scalability of the platform, something that is vital to long-term growth. The current front-end website of the CEO Law marketplace platform will be evaluated for improvements on scalability and automation. The objective of the project is to come up with the sprint requirements to implement automation into the onboarding of new clients to the platform and eliminate the need of the sales team in the project.

Model-Based Real-Time Application Development for BioresponsiveBuilding Envelopes

The adoption of Electroactive polymers as display systems in insulated glazing units increases

human performance, comfort and productivity while also contributing to the architectural fa((ade. We

are interested in examining the effect and performance of bioresponsive building envelopes in

providing human thermal and visual comfort. The Discrete-EVent System Specification (DEVS)

formal ism provides a formal foundation to M&S that proved to be successful in different complex

applications. DEVS is a formal M&S methodology, based on generic dynarnic systems, including welldefined

coupling of components, hierarchical, modular construction. Cell-DEVS was origina lly

introduced for modeling and simulation of spatial systems however, there has been no research on

adopting it for patterning the electropolymeric display units. The ru le-based nature of cellular model

behaviour definition in Cell-DEVS provides a platform for pixel-wise operation definition, leading to

easier and faster adoption and implementation of switch able patterns. The other advantage of this

method is its fast computing apparatus working asynchronously on the cellular grid…TOBECONT’D…

FutureVault + Business Strategy Internship

The launch of the digitization-as-a-service offering as part of the overall FutureVault Digital Vault Solution is fundamental to the success of the organization and is timely given the challenges organizations are facing due to COVID-19. The conceptualization, validation, prototyping, delivery, marketing, selling and scaling of a new product/service provides a unique opportunity for students to experience the end-to-end product development life cycle. Further, working with a small technology company provides a myriad of opportunities to learn different disciplines within the organization and directly contribute to the success of a Canadian firm on the global stage.

Development of ice-load simulator for offshore wind turbine towers

Ice load is a major design concerns for structures in the ice prone region especially for slender, monopole structures such as wind turbine towers where the dynamic load can induce severe vibrations. A careful assessment is essential to demonstrate the economic viability of such projects; however, the current design guidelines does not cover site-specific conditions for ice load and state-of-the-art knowledge on dynamic ice-structure interaction. In this project a simplified dynamic ice-structure interaction model will be developed based on fundamental ice mechanics observed in the laboratory experiments. The model will be incorporated in an ice load simulation tool where ice load can be estimated for different ice conditions to make informed design decisions. Through the Lab2Market program, the commercial potential of such a tool will be explored.

Investigating the Structural Behaviour of Hybrid FibreReinforced Concrete (HFRC) Plates

Failure of reinforced concrete plates is caused by the decrease in its stiffness as a result of
cracking. This leads to corrosion of the steel reinforcement. Conventional concrete mixtures
may not be sufficient to provide the tensile resistance required to minimize cracking. Using
fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) can be considered a practical and economical solution to
increase concrete tensile strength, and to protect the steel reinforcement against corrosion in
harsh environments. Both steel and synthetic fibres are now used together to enhance
concrete toughness with minimal impact on concrete workability and constructability; this is
referred to as hybrid fibre reinforced concrete (HFRC).
The proposed research project includes the assessment of existing research data available in
the literature to evaluate the effects of hybrid fibres on the behaviour of concrete members.
The proposed project involves development of the HFRC mixture and testing of eight HFRC
plates to evaluate the effects of the hybrid fibres on the ultimate load capacity and crack
propagation in…TOBECONT’D….L

Cost-Effective Computer Simulation for the Offshore and Marine Industry

Computer simulations have been widely used by the offshore and marine industry, but they typically use different software to simulate different components of a single operational scenario. For example, the tool can be used for the analysis of wave loads of a moored structure in ice infested areas, eliminating the need for analyzing wave load, mooring tension, and ice loads, separately. This project looks to examine how multi-physics, multi-phase simulation software can improve the safety of personnel and assets by simulating complex marine scenarios in an integrated approach that is currently not available.

Shipborne Sea Ice Classification Using Neural Networks

The purpose of this project is to take existing state-of-art machine learning techniques and implement them for ice classification in polar seas. Ice classification plays a critical role in any icebreaker voyage. An ice specialist onboard the icebreaker is required to classify all ice environments encountered. This process is tedious and time consuming. This project aims to automate this process. In using cutting edge neural networks, images taken from aboard icebreakers can be used to classify each pixel in an image giving overall context and information about the environment. These ice classifications would serve to generate important documentation for icebreakers as well as contribute to the formation of ice maps for the Canadian Ice Service.

Fiber Optic Hydrophone Array

The proposed work targets the development of a fiber optic hydrophone array for underwater acoustics detection and recognition, with the potential for applications in national defense. We propose a new concept of using a small-size low-cost fiber optic hydrophone that are nearly undetectable and can be deployed in a dense array across a wide area and depths. The new hydrophone technology will offer a real-time capability and the required dynamic range to detect and track underwater as well as surface vessels. Working closely with the partner organization would help guide the development to meet requirements of real-life applications. Furthermore, the partner organization would participate in marketing research and steps towards commercialization.

Évaluation de différents protocoles de mise en diapause pour Trichogramma brassicae

Le projet vise à déterminer le meilleur protocole de mise en diapause de Trichogramma brassicae. Cet insecte est un parasitoïde s’attaquant aux oeufs de la pyrale du maïs et est utilisé depuis plusieurs années au Québec pour lutter contre cette pyrale réduisant par ce fait la quantité de pesticide utilisé par les agriculteurs. La diapause est un arrêt de l’activité ou du développement chez les insectes lors de conditions défavorables. Dans le cas des trichogrammes, ceux-ci entre en diapause afin de passer l’hiver. Nous cherchons donc à utiliser cette caractéristique biologique afin de pouvoir entreposer les pupes de T. brassicae au froid pour de longue période. L’acquisition par Anatis Bioportection d’un protocole permettant l’entrée en diapause des trichogrammes lui assurera une production durant toute l’année l’aidant à être plus compétitive.

Examining the role for intimal cell communication in early atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is a disease defined by unresolved inflammation in the major arteries. High cholesterol is a major risk factor, resulting in fatty lesions developing silently for decades before causing heart attacks and strokes. Currently, no therapies exist that target the cells of the artery wall to suppress this disease. Myeloid cells (MCs) are white blood cells found in the inner artery wall, residing under a barrier of cells called endothelial cells (ECs). In the aorta, MCs are found only in areas where lesions grow. In mice with high cholesterol, arterial MCs engulf lipid and become “foam cells”. This is the first step in the formation of atherosclerosis. I believe that MCs and ECs communicate with each other within the artery wall and elevated cholesterol disrupts this communication. This work aims to target the cells within the artery, to restore proper cell communication, reduce inflammation, and ultimately decrease cardiovascular disease.

Ocean wind and wave parameter estimation using X-band marine radar images with rain mitigation

The real-time monitoring of sea surface wind and wave information are crucial to the safety, performance and efficiency of various weather-sensitive on- and offshore operations, such as oil & gas platform drilling, port operations and offshore wind farming. This project plans to propose an accurate and robust method to estimate sea surface wind and wave parameters (e.g., wind speed, wind direction, wave height, etc) using a type of sensor called X-band marine radar. Compared to other traditional sensors such as buoy, X-band marine radar is a “dry” sensor deployed above water, which is low on maintenance cost. Although various methods have been developed to wind and wave information using radar images generated by electromagnetic waves, the presence of rain will negatively affect the quality of the image, leading to low estimation accuracy. In order to solve this problem, this project aims to develop a novel method to mitigate the influence of rain on radar and further improve estimation accuracy based on machine learning techniques.