Innovative Projects Realized

Novel Twisting String Actuation for Robotic Grippers

A twisting string actuation (TSA) transmission uses wire(s) to transmit power from a motor on one side to a load on the other side. When the motor rotates the wires are twisting themselves, and thus provide a pulling force on the load. The aim of the project is to add to an existing TSA unit previously designed in out lab some design refinements to improve performances. The first of which is a variable radius rod which changes the speed rate and the output force. The application will be to drive a two-finger robotic gripper.

Failure-Tolerand Connectivity Maintenance for Robot Swarms

In many real-world applications, robots need communication between each other to coordinate. For the information to propagate, robots need to be connected, i.e. there has to be a communication path between all the robots in a team. We have designed a decentralized connectivity-preserving algorithm and validated using the ARGoS multi-robot simulator. The connectivity-preserving algorithm has to be ported on to a fleet of Khepera IV (ground robots) and CrazyFlies (small indoor drones).

Multi-agent reinforcement learning for distributed edge caching

There is an exponential increase in the network traffic worldwide due to the growth of social networks, multimedia sharing web services, streaming of video-on-demand (VoD) contents. However, the bandwidth isn’t growing at the same rate as the demand, resulting in a loss of Quality of Service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE) for the users. Distributed edge caching provides an effective mechanism for mitigating the bandwidth requirements of the growing traffic demands by trading off bandwidth with storage. Storage owners (such as Ericsson) can leverage edge caching techniques to replicate the most popular content closer to the network edge rather than storing it in a central location to reduce the load at the core network, reduce performance bottlenecks, and provide differentiated services to end users of Content Providers (CPs).

UPnGO with ParticipACTION: Evaluating the evolution of a national workplace physical activity initiative – Part 2

In order to improve the health and work productivity of Canadians, ParticipACTION developed a rewards-based, PA tracking intervention called UPnGO with ParticipACTION. The UPnGO program aims to increase the amount of PA and decrease the amount of sedentary activities throughout the workday. This program was released to the public in Fall of 2017, however, program participation hasn’t been as successful as we would like, and participants are not getting the PA benefits the program is designed to achieve. We are working to redesign the program to address these issues. Following which, we will be evaluating and assessing the success of the new version of the UPnGO program to improve the health and work productivity of Canadian workers.

Development of Metallurgical Silicon Based Anode for High-Energy Lithium-ion Batteries

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are the dominant technology used to power today’s electric vehicles (EVs). However, current Li-ion batteries is reaching the bottleneck in the energy density, partially due to the limited capacity in the graphite anode (372 mAh g-1). In partnership with MGX Minerals Inc., Dr. Liu’s team at the University of British Columbia aims at developing a high-performance nanostructured Si anode for next-generation Li-ion batteries by using low-grade and large-abundant metallurgical Si as the starting material. The proposed project will develop a metal-assisted chemical etching to upgrade metallurgical Si into high-value nanostructured Si anode material, and innovate a hybrid organic-inorganic thin film by advanced molecular layer deposition technique to stabilize the solid-electrolyte interphase on Si anode The success of this project is expected to deliver nanostructured Si based anode with a specific capacity of 1,000 mAh g-1. This project will expand MGX’s business into Li-ion batteries, establish local supply chains for battery materials, and advance fundamental research in nanomaterials and surface/interface science.

Synthesis of Graphene Quantum Dots with Blue and Red Emissions from Albany Graphite

Among various types of graphitic nanomaterials, graphene quantum dots (GQDs) have ignited tremendous interest in the past few years owing to their small lateral size, quantum confinement, and large perimeter per mass. GQDs are categorized based on their emitting colors (e.g. blue, green, yellow, red and white). Among various emitting colors, GQDs with blue and red emission are of paramount importance and used in a wide array of applications, such as bioimaging, LEDs, transistors, waste-water treatment, solar cells, biosensors and drug delivery. Our industry partner, ZEN Graphene Solutions Ltd. (“ZEN”), has discovered a large and very rare igneous-related graphite deposit in Northern Ontario called the Albany Graphite Deposit [www.zengraphene.com]. This research project aims to generate the knowledge and expertise for ZEN to convert Albany graphite into high-value GQDs. This research project will be conducted by 2 HQP (1 PDF and 1 MASc) over one year with 7 major tasks.

Online Public Consultation in the Real Estate Development Market

Over the years, the methodology for public consultation has evolved to include public information

meetings and hearings, telephone polls and surveys, and most recently online engagement.

Increasingly, government is emphasizing evidence-based decision-making. They recognize that

existing methods are lacking in reaching a broad demographic. Internet communication technology

has made it possible to reach a broader spectrum of the public however until recently, that interaction

has been anonymous and anecdotal at best. The objective of the proposed research is to explore

the use of online public consultation technology to advance best practices within the real estate

development industry. The project aims to investigate the ways online consultation generally, and the

PlaceSpeak platform with location-based authentication in particular, can enrich public development

consultation bringing together current and traditional outreach methods.

Development of assays to detect biostasis activity in synthetic intrinsically disordered proteins

Tardigrades are among the hardiest organisms known, with some species being able to withstand high doses of radiation, desiccation, lack of nutrients, and extremes in both pressure and temperature. Humans, conversely, are extremely susceptible to such conditions. The tardigrade’s ability to readily survive for long periods in the harsh environment of space has been well documented in both scientific literature and popular sources. Tardigrade desiccation resistance is facilitated by a unique class of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), which essentially pause cellular processes until environmental conditions are again favorable. This phenomenon is currently being studied in Dr. Pamela Silver’s laboratory at Harvard University, as part of a larger project, as a means of preventing organ and tissue damage during traumatic injuries and transplants. Biostatic IDPs from tardigrades and other organisms are being studied to determine the structural patterns which confer activity. Advanced computer simulations are also being completed to design new synthetic IDPs, and are being screened for their ability to induce biostasis in various cultured human cells types with minimal endogenous inflammatory responses. The proposed project will aim to assist in both the design and development of assays for candidate biostasis IDPs.

Antigen Tracking of the DPX-R9F immunotherapy using MRI – Part 2

IMV Inc. is developing injectable cancer immune therapy using the company’s DPXTM technology. DPX is a patented formulation that displays excellent tumor control and provides a long lasting and specific effect. The way by which this therapy exerts its effect is unclear but the translational team at IMV is determined to discover its mechanism of action and why their proprietary DPX technology delivers superior responses in comparison to other forms of injectable therapies. This project will aim to figure out, using preclinical models, how the DPX components are being transported within the immune system and which cells are responsible for this transport. The components will be labeled so that it can be tracked using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the presence or absence of immune cells at the frontline of the immune system, like dendritic cells and macrophages. Figuring out where the components are going into the body and which cells are responsible for their transport will help decipher why DPX’s technology is so efficient. It will also help further develop IMV’s DPX and help Canadians through the development of good, efficient, cancer immune therapies.

Progressive Cybernetics Decentralized Autonomous Organization (PCDAO)

Digitization of assets is becoming a dominant form of business operations today; the Internet of Things and increased connectedness to consumers and citizens alike is creating a decentralized virtual marketplace for digital services and assets. The potential for sharing technology assets is high due to digitization (the new way of referring to digital transformation). Principles being applied in the general industry are now being adopted by civic and academic entities as a means of interacting directly with citizens, businesses and start-ups alike, fostering innovation and acceleration to market and commercialize digital assets. This opportunity is to research the potential of a Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAO) to facilitate crowdsourcing, pooling of objectives and resources based on shared desires across multi-disciplinary industries including civic, distance education and academic programs.

Determining the value of community based police teams

In an era where the costs of policing are constantly under scrutiny, the time has come for policing organizations to re-evaluate the services they provide. To do this, these organizations need to answer questions relating to the value these services create in the communities they serve and change the focus of the conversation from “what does this service cost?” to “what value does this service provide to key stakeholders?” In the summer of 2019, in response to pressure from the community, the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) decided to reintroduce community-oriented police (COP) teams back into three Ottawa neighborhoods. This decision gives us a unique opportunity to conduct research to determine the value COP programs create (if any) and for whom. We propose to work in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa and a variety of community groups and social service providers to undertake a longitudinal, multi-method case study to identify the value COP teams provide to a variety of key stakeholders.

Indirect effects of predator control: Examining predator habitat selection and competitive interactions following wolf control in northeastern Alberta

Global demand for natural resources is resulting in unprecedented landscape change. In northeastern Alberta, woodland caribou persistence is threatened by habitat loss associated with natural resource extraction, and increased predaiion by grey wolves as a result, due to their ability to capitalize upon landscape disturbance via increased movement on linear features. Wolf control via culling is a common wildlife management strategy to conserve woodland caribou. While previous research has sought to understand prey response to wolf control, indirect impacts on the ecological community have not been measured to the same extent, despite evidence to suggest that predator control has repercussions at multiple trophic levels. Using camera trap data collected discontinuously between 2011 and 2019, this project will examine the impacts ·of a government wolf control program beginning in 2016 on predator habitat selection and competitive interactions. This project will provide critical information to the partner organization on the community-wide effects of predator control in an increasingly
human-disturbed landscape, and help to inform woodland caribou recovery.