Innovative Projects Realized

L2M Launch / Qc Fall 2025 / Autonomous lawn care for precise, sustainable upkeep with minimal labor on large or restricted lands

EdgeStar AI is building an all-in-one autonomous lawn care robot designed to handle every major task needed to maintain large residential and commercial lawns. Unlike current robotic mowers that only cut grass, our robot can mow, weed, edge, and manage the full lawn maintenance process without any human involvement. It is fully electric, uses AI for intelligent decision-making, and is built to handle large properties where manual maintenance is time-consuming and expensive.

The goal of this project is to further develop and refine the prototype so it’s ready for real-world deployment. Our current pilot has proven the system works, and we are now adding new features like dynamic obstacle avoidance and smart path planning. During this project, we’ll continue testing and improving the robot’s reliability, safety, and performance.

The benefit to our partner organization is early access to groundbreaking technology that will lower landscaping costs, reduce reliance on labor, and support a more sustainable, eco-friendly approach to lawn care. It will also allow them to differentiate themselves by adopting automation and clean technology early. Through this collaboration, they’ll have the chance to provide real-world feedback that shapes the final product before its full commercial launch.

In the long term, this innovation has the potential to transform how large lawns are managed across Canada and beyond, making lawn care smarter, greener, and far more efficient.

L2M – AutoSAR: Autonomous UAV Search and Rescue Using Deep Learning for Emergency Response in Remote and Infrastructure-Free Regions.

In remote and rural regions, where communication infrastructure is sparse and GPS is unreliable, emergency Search and Rescue (SAR) operations should be fast, reliable, and cost-effective. Existing technologies, such as thermal imaging and mobile-based systems like Cellular Airborne Sensor for Search and Rescue (CASSAR), depend on costly sensors, human interpretation, or the presence of a mobile device, which limits their effectiveness in many real-world scenarios. The AutoSAR solution is designed to fill this critical gap. AutoSAR is an autonomous UAV-based search and rescue system for emergency response in infrastructure-free regions. The UAV emits and receives its own signals to detect and localize individuals in distress, eliminating reliance on GPS, networks, or external sensors. By leveraging deep learning, AutoSAR estimates position and velocity from reflected signals in real time, enabling rapid, intelligent rescue missions in rural areas such as mining sites, wilderness trails, and northern communities. This technology addresses a national public safety need by offering a scalable, cost-effective, infrastructure-independent SAR solution.

Anthropology, social media management, analysis and the development of strategy

This project uses approaches from anthropology, such as corporate ethnography, to guide the development of strategies for corporate social media management and analysis. Durable strategies and processes can be leveraged by Treefrog to help build a social media management and analysis department, increasing research and development capacity and sales. Through close collaboration with the programming team at Treefrog, the results of this research will be built into a novel and comprehensive business software platform called Mergini. Mergini is a vanguard management tool that incorporates internal (time tracking, project management, wikis, company news and insights, and information on internal processes) and external (Basecamp, Salesforce, social media insights and management,
and search engine optimization insights about the corporate website) into one dashboard. Treefrog aims to revolutionize business management with Mergini and the current project will be integral.

Designing Social Games to Maximize Engagement and Healthy

IgnitePlay is developing a social media package which will make healthier living more fun and easier. An

important component of this package is a social game and reward system that encourages users to make

changes in their lifestyle. This project will involve the development of a game design (in terms of a

prototype or series of prototypes) which will help:

1. attract and engage users,

2. promote virality (spread to other users),

3. promote stickiness (ability to sustain users),

4. provide incentives for people to engage in healthier behaviours, and

5. foster a sense of community

This design will be validated through user feedback. The outcome will be a design document for the final

production of the game that will be developed and published by IgnitePlay.

L2M – MaaTRx

MaaTRx is a real-time decision support platform for drug shortages: it allows users to proactively assess risks, collaborate across the supply chain, and plan strategic responses. With a 15% rise in Canadian drug shortages and over 3,000 reported shortages, MaaTRx is built to close this gap. Backed by decades of research, national grants and technical founders with expertise in drug policy and health systems, we are an early-warning platform for health leaders. Our platform integrates a predictive model built on a multi-source data with a clinician-scored triage system to prioritize drugs at highest shortage risk and clinical importance. We are expanding this core engine with new products: a supply matchmaker for inventory coordination, an AI-powered response generator and a collaborative hub for supply chain decision-making. Our value proposition is clear: drug shortages are recognized as a national security concern in countries like the US, highlighting the urgency of our solution.

L2M – Betavoltaic Power Sources: Early Market Adopters

Betavoltaic power sources harvest the energy of radioisotopes to generate electricity. These devices offer a solution to the limitations of traditional lithium-ion batteries. They can provide uninterrupted and long-lasting power for critical systems such as subcutaneous medical implants, remote sensors for water supply lines, and monitoring systems for defence. Betavoltaic batteries transform recycled radioactive waste into clean, long-lasting energy to power critical modern technologies.

Development of a Socioeconomic Index to Assess Social Impact at Restoration Sites

This project, in partnership with Veritree, aims to develop a standardized socioeconomic index to assess the social impact of ecological restoration projects in regions such as East Africa, Brazil, and Senegal. While environmental outcomes of restoration are well-documented, the social benefits, such as improvements in wellbeing, livelihoods, and community resilience, are often harder to measure. Using frameworks like Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and international standards such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the Global Flourishing Study (GFS), the project will design and test a survey-based index to quantify community-level impacts. The resulting index will support Veritree and its partners to better understand and communicate how restoration efforts contribute to human flourishing alongside ecosystem recovery.

L2M Validation / Qc Automne 2025 / AuthoMate

Les organisations canadiennes des secteurs financier, santé et cloud subissent d’énormes pertes économiques dues aux limitations des systèmes de contrôle d’accès actuels qui présentent des insuffisances majeures : incapacité à gérer simultanément les contraintes temporelles, historiques et contextuelles, vulnérabilités aux erreurs de configuration causant des violations de données (coûtant 6,32 M$ CAD par incident), et complexités opérationnelles retardant le déploiement de politiques de sécurité. AuthoMate révolutionne la sécurité par une approche fondée sur des automates paramétriques, garantissant la cohérence et l’absence de conflits entre politiques de sécurité, éliminant les failles par vérification formelle avant déploiement, et facilitant l’adoption grâce à un langage dédié intuitif avec intégration transparente Apache. L’objectif principal consiste à réaliser une étude de marché approfondie dans les secteurs cibles pour valider le potentiel commercial d’AuthoMate. Guidé par la méthodologie Lab2Market sur 4 mois, je mènerai des entretiens avec les responsables sécurité, quantifiera la volonté de payer, identifiera les freins à l’adoption, et développerai un modèle d’affaires viable incluant la définition des segments clients prioritaires et l’établissement de lettres d’intérêt pour des pilotes. Cette validation marché contribuera à renforcer la souveraineté numérique canadienne en réduisant la dépendance aux solutions américaines établies, positionnant le Canada parmi les leaders mondiaux en cybersécurité basée sur les méthodes formelles, tout en créant un écosystème d’innovation favorisant l’embauche de personnel hautement qualifié spécialisé en cybersécurité et générant des retombées économiques durables pour l’économie canadienne.

Emerging Technologies, Grey Zone Conflicts and Navigating Global Uncertainty

New and emerging technologies – most notably lethal autonomous weapons and the weaponization of outer space – are not only transforming how warfare is or could be conducted in the future, but pose a profound threat to international peace and security. Indeed, the technological arms race has become a defining feature of the growing rivalry among the world’s great powers. How – or whether – humanity governs these technologies has tremendous implications for both the protection of civilians and the future of a rules-based international order.

Project Ploughshares is seeking two Mitacs interns to support the organization’s work in two key areas of research: 1) Security, Environment, and Public Awareness: Engaging Canadians in the Grey Zone; and 2) Canada’s Leadership in a Complex World: Navigating Global Uncertainty with the Rise of Emerging Technologies. The key objectives are (1) a detailed understanding of the rapidly changing nature of conflict as a result of technological innovations, and their impacts on civilians; and (2) identify opportunities for Canada and other middle powers to lead in international arms control fora.

The project is a continuation of the previous project “Emerging Military Technologies and Outer Space Governance” that was funded in 2024 (IT42846).

L2M Validation / Qc Automne 2025 / Développement de panneau composite à base de chènevotte

L’objectif principal de ce projet est que le stagiaire réalise une étude de marché approfondie dans le(s) secteur des matériaux de construction durable pour les applications potentielles de panneaux de construction biosourcé à base de chènevotte. Grâce à ce projet, le stagiaire interagira avec les principaux acteurs de l’industrie pour évaluer le potentiel du marché. Les informations recueillies lors de cet exercice seront utilisées pour présenter un modèle d’affaire potentiel et une analyse de marché approfondie afin de déterminer la voie à suivre pour le développement commercial du projet.

L2M Launch / Qc Fall 2025 / Spheralis Biolabs

We are developing a new class of antibiotics to treat udder infections in dairy cows caused by Staphylococcus aureus, a particularly difficult and costly problem for farmers. While udder infections in general cost the Canadian dairy industry over $800?million each year, those caused by S. aureus are especially challenging to treat, often leading to milk losses, animal culling, and long-term herd impacts. Our solution is a targeted, animal-compatible antibiotic designed to reach the bacteria inside udder cells—something current treatments struggle to do. Through the L2M Launch program, we aim to refine our market entry strategy, outline our product development plan, and explore funding and partnership models. The program will benefit by helping transform a high-potential university innovation into a real-world solution that improves animal health, reduces on-farm losses, and builds entrepreneurial skills for the next generation of research-driven leaders.

L2M: Development of LuzCornea platform for treating corneal disorders

The goal of this project will be to facilitate the commercializations of LuzCornea, a material to help repair corneas for people with poor vision. To do this, a way to make large volumes of LuzCornea material must be developed in order to help as many people as possible with poor vision and to reduce the price of the final product. LuzCornea material is light activated meaning it transforms into a gel upon exposure to blue light. As a result, a light device that can deliver blue light to the cornea at a certain intensity that is safe for the eye should be developed. Another goal is to develop a regulatory strategy to be used for LuzCornea. We need to determine which countries we will apply for regulatory approval and what tests we need to do to show the reviewers our product is safe. Lastly, we need to develop a clear financing plan so that we can have enough money to pay for future experiments.