Innovative Projects Realized

Development of Computer Vision-based Intelligent Control System for Drones

In recent years, the small-scale drones have gained a growing interest in industry and in academia since they are widely available and have many potential applications. The integration of intelligent camera into drone systems broadens the range of potential drone applications and enhances the performance of the drone. However, how to design and implement the computer vision-based control algorithms on the drone with limited computational resources is very challenging. In this project, the university team and the partner organization will work together to develop the computer vision-based control system for the drone system. The results of the project will fulfill the requirements from the company’s drone customer and further improve the competiveness of the company.

Sustainability Planning and Performance Assessment in the District of North Vancouver

The Centre for Sustainable Development at Simon Fraser University is a leader in sustainable development theory and practice. The Centre conducts sustainable development research in BC and worldwide; carries out sustainable development projects in partnership with communities and agencies, and facilitates effeicient use of university resources in responding to requests for assistance on sustainable development issues. The North Shore Community Foundation envisions a healthy and vital community with enhanced quality of life for all. The main objective of this project is to help achieve this vision by assessing the sustainability of the District of North Vancouver and assisting the Foundation, the District, and citizens in making decisions grounded in sustainability and long-range planning. The North Shore Community Foundation will be provided with a customized sustainability performance framework that will guide the community on its path toward sustainability.

Developing a microfluidic lung-on-a-chip model for accelerating the discovery of novel therapeutic targets for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an inflammatory disorder of the lung, and one that affects 2.6 million Canadians and 380 million people worldwide. The current therapies are very imprecise and none modifies disease progression or mortality. There is a pressing need to discover novel targets to enable precision health, promote new therapeutic discoveries, and ultimately improve the care and health outcomes of patients with COPD. However, this process is hindered by the use of outdated cell culture systems and animal models. Therefore, the overall objective of the proposed research project is to design and build a microfluidic-based lung-on-a-chip device that better mimics the human small airway. The proposed collaboration between the biomedical engineering intern and Providence Health Care (PHC) biologists and physicians will lead to a device that can be heavily used in the novel COPD therapeutic target discovery pipeline.

Development and Commercialization of a Novel Catalyst System for Advanced Electrochemical Oxidation of Industrial Wastewater Pollutants

The aim of this project is to develop a novel catalyst system for treatment of organic and nitrogen containing pollutants in wastewater generated by various industrial sectors. Development of such system is necessary as the discharge regulations are becoming increasingly restricted. The research focuses on electrode design and fabrication that treat toxic wastewater, with an emphasis on the catalyst material, i.e. platinum group metals (PGM) alloys, and mixed metal oxides (MMO). Design and manufacturing of Ultra High Surface Area (UHSA) materials, and improvements to fabrication method of the electrodes is a goal of this research. Development of advanced electrochemical oxidation catalyst into a 3D patterned electrode structure will provide substantial improvements to the removal rate of pollutants, as well as catalyst lifetime, which further lowers the operative costs and eliminates the need for additional secondary oxidants. TO BE CONT’D

Prototype de « chatbot » pour aider les jeunes face à l’anxiété occasionnelle

Les problèmes de santé mentale (anxiété, dépression, etc.) touchent aujourd’hui plus de 650 millions de personnes à travers le monde. Les premiers symptômes apparaissent habituellement entre 14 et 24 ans. Bien que les solutions humaines et technologiques existent, il est difficile de trouver la bonne solution au bon moment. Le projet est de proposer un agent conversationnel (chatbot) basé sur l’intelligence artificielle, disponible sur Facebook Messenger. Celui-ci aura pour but d’aider ces générations à faire face à leurs anxiétés et à trouver des voies vers une solution correspondant à leurs besoins.

Validating and improving predictive models using spectral reflectance measurements for the estimation of Methylene Blue Index of soft tailings

Annually, large number of tailings samples are collected by operators and sent to laboratories for measurement of Methylene Blue Index (MBI). This procedure is costly, time-consuming, and results are a function of the methods used and personnel expertise. In prior research we developed predictive models for the quick and consistent estimation of tailings MBI from hyperspectral measurements using a limited number of dry samples. The proposed research focuses on assessment of the robustness of the established models to tailings composition and adapting the spectral models to be applicable on saturated tailings. This would enable the industrial partners to quickly estimate MBI in a wide range of tailings observation conditions including on-site and in-situ on saturated samples and could significantly reduce the costs and inconsistencies associated with laboratory measurements.

Spatial and Temporal Variability of Primary and Secondary Production in the Salish Sea from a Coupled Model (SalishSeaCast with SMELT)

The Pacific Salmon Foundation is leading a multi-year project: Salish Sea Marine Survival Program (SSMSP) to determine what is affecting the survival of juvenile salmon and steelhead in the Salish Sea. There are three hypotheses to investigate. The impact of availability of food for the fish, the predation on the fish and other factors including habitat loss. In this project we will use a model of the Strait of Georgia to help evaluate availability of food. The model divides the Strait into little boxes (500 m x 500 m horizontal and 1 m vertical) and solves for the water movement, salinity, temperature and the water nutrients, phytoplankton (plant) growth and zooplankton (small animals eaten by fish). We will use the model to investigate the seasonal variations and year to year variations of phytoplankton and zooplankton.

Evaluation of the Ever Active Schools Physical Literacy Project

SHAPE will work alongside an initiative called Ever Active Schools, who is involved with promoting and supporting healthy and active school communities through a comprehensive school approach. One of the projects SHAPE and Ever Active Schools is working on is a professional mentoring opportunity named Physical Literacy in Residence that is being implemented in 72 in-need primary and secondary schools across Alberta. The proposed study is an evaluation of this Physical Literacy in Residence project. The research will be coordinated by an intern and will involve interviewing the teachers and evaluating survey results. The data collection will occur from September to April of the 2017/2018 school year. After the research is concluded, the findings will be published in an academic journal. The results will also be reported to SHAPE/ Ever Active Schools and the funder of the project, Jumpstart.

Création d’un algorithme dynamique pour raffiner le Plan d’expérience pour améliorer l’efficacité de la production de protéine de “Tenebrio Molitor”

Les plans d’expérience (PE) sont très importants pour améliorer le contrôle de la ligne de production parce qu’ils aident à décider quel facteur sont les plus influents pour obtenir le résultat finales par rapport les critères de souhaité. Cependant, les PE actuel ne sont pas capables d’accepter de nouvelles données d’entrée sans obliger le chercheur à faire un nouvelle PE. Notre problématique est donc développer un plan d’expérience dynamique qui soit capable de raffiner la fonction mathématique qui définit le comportement d’un processus dont le contrôle est souhaité en acceptant des nouvelles données d’entrée sans nous obliger à faire un nouvelle PE. En ce cas, résultat finales est l’efficacité de la productivité de protéine. TO BE CONT’D

Modelling transient flow in hydropower stations

Modelling the movement of water through a hydropower station is an important tool for understanding this very complex behaviour, where water is pushed and pulled through long tunnels and spinning turbines, resulting in a vast range of pressures and speeds. There are generally two types of models: 1-dimensional (1D) models, which are simple and cost-effective, but do not provide adequate detail for the more complex features in the power station. The second type is 3-dimensional (3D) models, which are very detailed but cost both time and money. The proposed research plans to use the strengths of these two types of models by applying them where they would be most beneficial, for instance 1D models are best suited for simple parts of the station such as long pipes. The final product will hopefully inform better decisions around the operation and management of these valuable public assets.

Risk minimizing hedging strategy of variable annuity guarantees under stochastic interestrates

A hedge is an investment position intended to offset potential losses, or in our case to pay off potential liabilities.

Interest rates play an important role in hedging strategies and risk management for variable annuities and other

long-term products. Financial institutions have an urgent need for practical and affordable dynamic hedging

strategies. We propose a realistic interest rates model and the so-called risk minimization hedging strategy. This

strategy uses the underlying stock and bond as hedging instruments and minimizes the ongoing costs

associated with variable annuity contracts for issuers. The payoff of the target products may have a flexible

form, such as single payment at maturity or a sequence of payments. The optimal portfolio will tell the issuers

how to construct the hedging portfolio such that they would be able to pay off all liabilities arising from the

contracts towards the policyholders. The performance of this risk minimizing strategy will be compared to other

dynamic hedging methods, such …

Aging and life prediction of Li-ion batteries

In this project, the effective life of advanced Li-ion batteries will be assessed using experimental tools and predictive modeling. Li-ion batteries have emerged as an alternative source of energy on-board cars, i.e., electric vehicles (EVs). Unlike internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, EVs suffer from performance degradation over driving and idle time posing limitations on their widespread deployment in the market. The life target for Li-ion batteries determined by the Department of Energy is in the range of 8 to 10 years of service with 80% of cell capacity being considered as the end of life. Examining battery performance degradation experimentally over such a long period of time is extremely costly and, even if doable, would fall behind in the examination of new technologies. As such, predictive modeling comes in use as a powerful approach to reduce cost and shorten the investigation time for a particular battery technology. TO BE CONT’D