Innovative Projects Realized

Effectives of Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) filtration for removal of organic carbon at Portage la Prairie water treatment plant

There are about 180 public water treatment plants in Manitoba relying on surface water with high organic content as their source of supply. Organic carbon reacts with disinfecting chlorine forming potentially carcinogenic disinfection byproducts. Portage la Prairie water treatment plant is an example of typical Manitoba lime/soda water treatment plants facing the challenge of removal of organic carbon. Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) filters are used at the plant to achieve this goal. The plant is experiencing frequent filter clogging. This research investigates the reasons of this clogging as well as possibility of modifying the operation of some unit processes at the plant to improve filtration. Extending the filter runs not only offers improvement in post filtered water quality but also significant water and energy savings for the water treatment plant.

How severe weather affects the auto insurance industry

In Canada, motorists are faced with a wide range of environmental conditions. Weather, in the form of rain, snow, other frozen precipitation, fog or strong winds, occurs 10 to 20 percent of the time, depending on the location and year. This project, which involves a three-way partnership between State Farm Insurance, the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction and the University of Waterloo, explores weather-related driving risks in the Province of Ontario, Canada, in order to better understand how risk is increased during inclement conditions. The analysis is unique from previous studies in its focus on major storms, on urban versus rural experiences of weather hazards, and in its exploration of accident characteristics and how they may differ during inclement conditions versus clear, dry conditions.

Visualization of High Frequency Financial Data Proposed period of internship

Cyborg Trading Systems (CTS) was founded by a group of successful traders, and highly skilled programmers. The CTS team is committed to continuous innovation in order to create dynamic, cutting edge software to meet the current and future needs of customers. CTS is currently working on designing „Market Studio‟ as a new product for analyzing high frequency financial data. In its commitment to providing cutting edge elegant designs for visualizing high frequency financial data within Market Studio, CTS has recruited the help of the Advanced Interface Design Lab (AIDL), who specializes in advanced techniques for developing highly usable interfaces. For this project, AIDL has proposed to undertake a four-phase concept generation approach starting by obtaining the required knowledge to deal with the financial market data, then developing brand new data visualization ideas for the Market Studio using digital media, while taking an in-depth look at the latest trends in interface design and visualization. This approach provide the intern and the CTS team with insights leading to a medium fidelity interface design prototype and usage scenarios that may enter the software design stages in the Spring of 2011.

Television programming as explicit learning environments: Dynamic Balancing of Educational and Entertainment Content for Young Children

Henning Software Solutions is a software development production house that includes a team of technology analysts, business analysts, marketing specialists, and design artists. The objective of this project is to evaluate Kidobi, Henning Software Solutions’ latest development, as an educational content delivery system and learning tool for preschoolers, and to examine how this tool can support parents in selecting appropriate programming for their children. This research project will document the ease with which both parents and children engage with the player and its settings, and more importantly the relevant factors in determining the ideal playlist, including the order of presentation of content, the ideal number of concepts per playlist, and the ideal balance of educational and entertainment content. The study will provided qualitative data regarding how users engage with educational programming promoting literacy, math, and science skills in conjunction with those containing soft skills development such as social and personal skills as well as entertainment content. This is extremely important documentation for Henning Software Solutions, as they have not to date examined how programming should be sorted to maximize learning impact, or indeed whether there is a learning outcome after users watch a playlist on their player. 

Toward fully automated electronic ancient acoustic musical instruments

Intraoperative Ultrasound Calibration for Prostate Cancer Brachytherapy

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in North American men. Brachytherapy, applied in about 55,000 cases annually in North America, entails the permanent implantation of radioactive sources into the prostate, under real-time ultrasound image guidance. Brachytherapy systems require careful calibration to ensure the correct spatial relationship between the implant needles and the ultrasound image. Incorrect calibration leads to faulty delivery of the radiation dose, which, reducing the efficacy of cancer control and directly contributing to negative side effects like rectal ulcers and incontinence. Calibration today is a costly, laborious and manual process, involving a great deal of subjective judgment by the operator. It is performed periodically, outside the operating room, with the assumption that calibration parameters remain valid over time. In reality, however, calibration parameters change during storage, transportation and setup of the equipment. Calibration errors are virtually impossible to detect during the procedure so the surgeon can never be certain  whether the system is functioning correctly. To improve contemporary practice, we calibrate the system in the operating room while the patient is being prepared for surgery. Our method is fast, fully automated and based on computations alone, eliminating subjectivity and human error. In this proposed research, we will create a fully functional brachytherapy calibration system, field test it, and bring it to readiness for commercial distribution. The resulting product will simultaneously reduce treatment costs, increase safety and improve on the accuracy of prostate cancer brachytherapy. The commercial partner for this is Precision Therapeutics Inc. (PTI), a medical device company based in Kingston, Ontario. PTI develops ultrasound image guided systems for the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. Through established strategic alliances, PTI has direct access to the prostate brachytherapy market in North America and worldwide. PTI owns, licenses or has access to all of the pieces of the proposed intellectual property portfolio, to operate freely and market the iCal products. 

Video Conferencing for the TX3 Touch series telephone entry panels

The TX3-Touch series telephone entry systems, designed by Mircom Technologies Ltd., provide primary resident/visitor access control for buildings. This system allows building residents to communicate with visitors and grant or deny entry to them into the complex. The communication is essentially based on voice telephony. The aim of this project is to design and develop a means of video conferencing for communication in this system. The video will be transmitted over an Ethernet LAN and the building residents will be able to see the guest in real-time while communicating with them. The residents will be able to see the video either on the in-suite stations located in the apartment or optionally they can download a software application that can run on their home PC/laptop to view the video. The key challenges involve reliable transmission of video data over wireless channels so as to minimize the delay and loss of data, as well as efficient use of available bandwidth of the Ethernet. This facility will enhance the security aspects of these TX3-Touch series systems.

Analysis and Evaluation of Heathwood Green Home

In order to meet the new 2012 Ontario Building Code (OBC) standard and further differentiate its leadership in the housing market, Heathwood Home has developed a pilot study to examine the cost-benefit of different energy efficiency upgrades and renewable energy technologies that could apply to low-rise residential dwellings. The overall project objectives of the proposed study will be three-folds. First, though building energy simulation and other life-cycle based method, cost-benefits of different potential upgrades will be determined. Second, though the detailed long-term monitoring of energy and water usage, real cost-benefits of the chosen upgrades will be assessed wit hand without the influence of occupants. Third, through building energy simulation, a refined passive solar optimized housing design will be developed for minimization of energy demand for both heating and cooling. The proposed internship is the first of the two expected internships for the overall project. The currently proposed internship will concentrate on the cost-benefits analysis of different upgrades using both simulation and collected non-occupied energy and water consumption data. A suitable monitoring protocol and data acquisition system will be identified as part of proposed internship. 

Characterizing the sensory properties of whole wheat pasta for use in macaroni and cheese

There are growing trends of companies producing foods that are made from whole wheat because of their abundance in B vitamins, dietary fibre, and essential fatty acids. They also possess polyphenols that reportedly have effect against cancer and cardiovascular diseases. A drawback to using whole wheat in breads and pastas is a change in appearance, flavour, and texture, which may decrease consumer acceptability. This research is crucial for food companies wishing to reformulate their products as they must ensure that the use of whole wheat in their formulations does not significantly alter the sensory properties of their product. The ensuing research will look at the sensory properties of macaroni in Kraft Dinner that is made from a variety of wheats. A trained panel will establish the sensory attributes of the whole wheat pasta, which will then be followed by the testing of products with a consumer panel.

Advanced building envelopes, Rating multi-criteria assemblies

The objective of this study is to rate various envelope typologies according to criteria of most consequence to the participants of the Sustainable Housing Foundation’s Envelope Challenge. The study will create a framework for rating envelopes in a multi-criteria format. Analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of a variety of advanced envelope assemblies in terms of thermal resistance, moisture transfer, durability, construction costs, environmental impact, air tightness and ease of construction will provide builders with guidance in developing durable, affordable and healthy housing. 

Qualification and Performance Analysis of 4.0 kV Motor Coils Subjected PWM Voltage

Evaluating the potential cardiovascular benefits of using the openPAW in persons with spinal cord injury.

In the spinal cord injured population, inactivity is wide-spread, and most causes of death in those with spinal cord injury can be improved by increasing physical activity.  Current electric wheel-chairs exacerbate inactivity in this population by performing all the work required for transportation. The new openPAW device uses bio and environmental feedback (ie. current arm strength, weight, slope) from the wheelchair to alter how much power is mechanically provided to the wheels on each arm crank. This system, on a crank-by-crank basis, supplements the force provided by the individual to attain a given programmable speed. The openPAW thereby allows people who could generate some force to wheel for transportation instead of relying completely on mechanical force. This system is designed to allow and encourage physical activity in those who can generate some or any arm force. Our research proposes to investigate how an innovative wheel-chair device influences the health of those with spinal cord injury. We plan to recruit 40 individuals with SCI to both measure how their musculoskeletal and cardiovascular health changes and also add valuable bio feedback to the device database allowing for more sophisticated crank by crank modulations to given situations. Through our lab’s expertise in spinal cord injury and cardiovascular/musculoskeletal physiology as well as SOC robotics innovative design, our partnership promises to succeed in the above goals.