Innovative Projects Realized

Using a dynamic moment of inertia to increase bat speed in baseball players using the “Pro-Impusle swing trainer”

The common method of training and warming-up in baseball is by using weighted disks that are added to the player’s baseball bats. The current scientific evidences showed that the use of these devices doesn’t improve the performances of the players and actually slows down their swing speed and batted ball speed. Our partner developed a new device that focuses on increasing the swing speed in rotational sports such as baseball. The prototype uses elastics to allow a variable resistance and some timing aspect to the player’s training. We therefore want to know if this new device is more effective than using the current weighted baseball bats.

Cretaceous Shallow Unconventional Shale Gas (SUSG), southwesternManitoba

Shale gas plays are becoming progressively more important in the energy market as gas production

from these reservoirs is increasing. With the advances in exploitation technology gas production from

shale has become more viable and economic. Based on previous studies southwestern Manitoba can be

a good candidate for extracting gas from shale formations at shallow depth. However there is need for

more studies in order to find the most productive shaly layers in the area and to design the proper

techniques for gas extraction. Researches on this area, as a shallow shale gas potential, have been

recently started. What has been done so far mostly includes surficial studies. All the subsurface

information should also be investigated in order to make legitimate judgment of the shale gas potential

in this area. This research integrates core, log and other subsurface data to provide a link between the

surface and subsurface where the gas reservoir really exists. Also, it will aid in………..TOBECONTINUED

Development of functionalized electrospun nanocomposite membrane using dendritic polymers

The availability of safe drinking water has emerged as one of the most serious problems facing the global economy in the twenty-first century. Removing heavy metals from drinking water, industrial waste and soil are important environmental engineering tasks to reduce pollution and water scarcity around the world. Biomimetic designs help engineers to produce new technologies and materials for optimum applications in above exemplified applications. In this MITACS project, a novel incorporation of dendritic polymers in electrospun nanocomposite membranes will allow improved efficiency for separation/adsorption wastewater, due to the distinctive features such as high porosity and large specific surface area. The word ‘dendritic’ comes from roots of tree. Similar to the tree roots adsorbing water, dendritic polymers can adsorb and entrap contaminant from wastewater. Next to membranes, application of the new targeted functionalized dendritics will also be explored in other areas e.g. to potentially enhance the resin processing properties during manufacturing.

Developing Foodways and Gardening Strategies for the L.M. Montgomery Museum & Literary Centre

This project will complete an urgently needed feasibility study linking researchers and graduate students from the University of Guelph with the Lucy Maud Montgomery Museum and Literary Centre (LMMMLC) in Norval. Together, this team of researchers and community partners will define current best practices in museum design to create a plan for the LMMMLC to use in developing an innovative educational facility in Ontario that will commemorate both Lucy Maud Montgomery’s legacy and celebrate the history of women in Canada. This feasibility study is the vital first step in the LMMMLC’s vision to develop the Norval site into a globally-recognised museum.

Development of a UV-LED disinfection system for ice-machines.

Contamination by microorganisms is a well-known problem for commercial ice machines. Frequent applications of sterilizing chemicals are necessary to keep the ice machines sanitary, a costly and time-consuming process. The sources of this contamination are microorganisms associated with the water used as the source for ice production, the incoming air to the ice machine, and the interior surfaces of the ice machine. Disinfection of contamination sources using ultraviolet (UV) radiation inactivates microbes prior to their establishment inside the ice machine. This research investigated the application of UV-based water treatment systems using a novel UV radiation source—UV light-emitting diode (UV-LED)—for efficient disinfection of ice machines. The findings of this research are very important for providing safe ice products cost-effectively by utilizing UV-LED systems.

Joint Perception and Motion Prediction System for Autonomous Vehicles

The project is concerned with delivering a real-world joint perception prediction and tracking system that outperforms the current system implemented in the Uber ATG software stack. This will be achieved by implementing a production version of a state-of-the-art academic paper developed by the research team, testing it against real world scenarios, and then modifying the neural network, inputs, architecture, and operations to obtain better within system results.

Transfer of nutrients and contaminants from wetlands to rivers by water boatmen

This research will explore how the annual migration of small insects known as water boatmen affect fish in rivers. It will first use natural fingerprints called stable isotope ratios that differ between wetlands and rivers, to trace how much of fish diet is made up of water boatmen after they arrive in rivers from wetlands in the fall. It will then test to see if water boatmen are bringing any toxic chemicals with them when they migrate. It will compare concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons between water boatmen and other prey items such as mayflies and dragonflies that live in the river year round. The results will help us better understand the importance of wetlands in supporting fish production.

Integration of Machine Learning with Distributed Temperature and Acoustic Sensing to Build Data-Driven Dynamic Reservoir Model

This project will develop practical workflows, algorithms and programming codes for inferring unknown reservoir properties from distributed temperature and acoustic sensing data. In-situ pressure and flow conditions can be interpreted from downhole fiber signals gathered in real time, which are used to estimate unknown heterogeneous reservoir parameters continuously. Machine learning methods will be incorporated to facilitate the handling of large amount of measured data and computations more efficiently. The project outcomes will help to advance the deployment of fiber-based instrumentation and optimize operations of inflow/outflow control devices for downhole monitoring and production diagnoses of oil and gas wells. One PhD student will be trained.

Evaluating the Impact of Robotics Education on Young Children’s Cognitive Development and Self-efficacy

Our project will be the first research in Canada that draws the techniques and resources from four disciplines – education, psychology, psychometrics and computer science – to investigate the effects of robotics education (RE) on child cognitive development, self-efficacy and enjoyment. Hence, our research findings will help Robokids School to understand the long-term effects of RE and to make a better decision on their investment. Robokids School will also receive a program evaluation report from this collaboration, which will help them to better understand the strengths and limitations of their RE program. The intern will have a variety of opportunities to receive interdisciplinary training from both academic and industry fields. The intern will mainly help with program evaluation and assist with some data collection (e.g., survey, eye-tracking, EEG). Additionally, the intern will work with the research team to develop one academic paper based on her/his work during the internship.

Predictive tools for membrane durability in fuel cell applications

Fuel cells are a clean energy technology that generates electricity without harmful emissions and uses hydrogen as the fuel in place of oil. As fuel cell electric vehicles are deployed globally on a significant scale, it is critical to ensure high levels of operational durability and reliability, equal to or exceeding that of incumbent engine technologies. The proposed project addresses the durability of the membrane, which is one of the key components of fuel cells. In this project, a unified chemical and mechanical modeling platform will be developed with the help of in-house experimental characterization of membrane material properties. The developed model can be applied for evaluating membrane durability in fuel cells as a function of fuel cell operating conditions.

Research on HTML5 security and solution

The web browser is arguably the most security-critical component in our information infrastructure.
Banking, social networking, shopping, navigation, and card payments – almost any activity you can
imagine now takes place within a browser window. HTML5 is a potential candidate for changing our
experience on the web and its sale on devices is forecasted to top one billion in 2013. Hence, at
Irdeto, HTML5 and its implementation on different platforms is seen as a profitable business.
On the other hand, HTML5 introduces new set of security vulnerabilities that cannot be easily
addressed by existing security technologies. The main objectives of this research project are to
identify and understand HTML5 security problems, investigate key security areas and develop
possible security solutions. This project is meant to help Irdeto have a better position on HTML5
security and maintain its first rank in the online market business.

Thermally Stable Bonding Materials for Flexible Displays

As technology continues to make smaller and more flexible devices possible manufacturers of these devices need ways to hold them together. Normal methods of bonding two thin pieces of metal together no longer meet all the depends placed on them by the relatively small size of the devices. In order to meet this challenge this research project will make a glue that is stable to high temperatures and can glue two thin metal pieces together, while remaining flexible and allowing electricity to pass through it. This will be achieved by making use of existing knowledge to make new materials that can act as glue. This allows manufacturers of small flexible devices to continue innovating.