Innovative Projects Realized

Near Real-Time Multi-Sensor Geospatial Data Processing Using Quantum Machine Learning for Forest Fire Hazard Mitigation

Forest fire hazard mitigation is crucial for Canada due to its vast and diverse forests, which are highly prone to wildfires. These fires threaten human lives, property, and wildlife, and can cause serious economic and environmental damage. Effective strategies can reduce the frequency, intensity, and spread of wildfires, protecting communities, preserving valuable timber, and maintaining biodiversity. This project aims to improve fire hazard mitigation by using advanced multi-sensor data and quantum machine learning (QML) to detect, monitor, and predict fires more accurately. Additionally, this project will enhance the understanding of the potential of QML to improve fire hazard mitigation and its applications to other remote sensing uses for students and faculty members of the University of New Brunswick, Canada and Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, India. These proactive measures are essential for safeguarding Canada’s natural heritage and ensuring the safety and well-being of its residents.

Multivariable Industrial Alarm Monitoring and Management

This project aims to develop, evaluate, and apply advanced solutions and techniques for assisting industrial plant operators in decision-making during abnormal situations, thereby improving plant safety and reliability. Currently, plant operators receive too many alarms, making it difficult to respond effectively. In industrial facilities, developing strategies for sustainable Environmental, Health, and Safety (EH&S) performance and corporate social responsibility is increasingly important. Achieving EH&S targets can yield significant economic benefits by preventing costly unplanned shutdowns, equipment damage, and operation failures. To ensure quality, efficiency, and EH&S performance, it is crucial that operators are promptly informed of faults and abnormal situations via the alarm system, allowing for timely and appropriate responses. Our goal is to analyze the alarm data and develop advanced solutions to reduce unnecessary alarms and improve the overall alarm system performance. By using data from existing systems, we will identify patterns and causes of alarm floods and create tools to help operators manage these situations better. This project will involve close collaboration with industry experts and use real industrial data to ensure practical and effective results. Ultimately, the improved alarm systems will enhance plant safety, reliability, and environmental compliance, benefiting the partner organization and the wider Canadian industrial sector

Using Historical Aerial Photography to Identify River Changes as related to Forestry Practices in Musgamagw Dzawada’enuxw Territory

The decline of Pacific salmon on the south and central coast of British Columbia has resulted in well-recognized economic, ecological, and cultural impacts. Numerous factors are considered to have contributed, including marine conditions, climate change, and changes to freshwater habitats. Forest harvesting is often considered to have altered freshwater habitats where salmon spawn and rear via changes to temperature, flow regimes, erosion, and sedimentation. This project will use historical aerial photography and records to identify changes to salmon-bearing rivers over time, and qualitatively relate these to forest harvesting history data. As iconic populations with unique cultural, economic, and environmental impacts in western Canada, wild salmon have many Canadian groups who are highly motivated to help protect their health and long-term viability. These groups include First Nations, government, industry, environmental NGOs, and academics. This project, in partnership with environmental NGO Salmon Coast Society, will engage and collaborate with such groups, including Musgamagw Dzawada’enuxw Fisheries Group Society, Pacific Salmon Foundation, Ecofish Research Ltd, and the Universities of Victoria and Toronto.

Investigating Arctic Ringed Seal (Pusa hispida) Haul-Out Behaviours Through Acoustic and Photo Analysis

This research project focuses on understanding how ringed seals communicate during haul-out events in the Northwest Territories. Ringed seals are vital to Arctic ecosystems but face threats from climate change and increased shipping. By analyzing acoustic and photo data provided by our partner organization, we aim to discover if these seals change their vocalizations when they haul out onto sea ice. This study will help us better understand this species’ behaviour since their vocalizations haven’t been directly linked to specific behaviours like hauling out. These results will in-turn help us gain an improved understanding of how environmental factors affect seal behaviour and communication. The findings will assist the partner organization in developing conservation strategies tailored to protect ringed seals and their habitats amidst changing Arctic conditions, ensuring their long-term survival in the region.

Global Country Risk Assessment and Selection

This project will involve the calculation of a global country risk measure for each of the 45 countries included in MSCI All Country World Index. Two alternative approaches will be used to develop our measures. The first is based on market segmentation and will use, for each country, the GICS industry group data consisting of earnings yield, book yield and gross profit. The second approach develops the risk measure based on the country’s susceptibility to extreme risks in local and global markets. These two methods will be constructed from a bottom-up approach which means from individual firms to country level. Once calculated each of these measures will be examined both through time and across countries and the two measures will be compared and contrasted in the hope of finding an optimal country risk measure. This research will give guidance to Highstreet when investing in global markets.

Upgraded: Strategic Innovations in B2B Communication

The proposed project aims to create and implement new strategies for business-to-business (B2B) outreach. By developing innovative approaches to engage with other businesses, the project seeks to enhance communication, build stronger partnerships, and drive growth. The expected benefit to the partner organization includes increased reach, more effective lead generation, and higher revenue through targeted B2B interactions.

Connected and enhanced mobile application for menstrual pain device

The project aims to enhance the connected pain management application complementing Juno Technologies Inc.’s innovative medical device designed to relieve menstrual pain quickly and effectively.

Improving Tennis Canada’s Sustainability Initiatives for the National Bank Open

The project aims to enhance the sustainability of the National Bank Open (NBO), a premier tennis tournament hosted by Tennis Canada. Tennis Canada, as a national non-profit entity, is dedicated to Canadian communities. To address the environmental concerns currently faced by our communities and throughout the world, Tennis Canada has set ambitious sustainability goals—specifically achieving zero-waste and carbon neutrality by 2030.

The project will focus on two key objectives: 1. Reduce landfill waste from the NBO, and 2. Amplify awareness of the NBO’s sustainability efforts, utilizing insights from effective marketing frameworks. To address the current waste management at the NBO, research will include an analysis of the NBO’s current environmental footprint, a best-practices assessment of waste management strategies of other professional tennis events, and the administration of online surveys – employing Community Based Social Marketing techniques – to assess spectator attitudes, motivations, and barriers surrounding the NBO’s current sustainability initiatives. This information will be instrumental in identifying effective waste reducing initiatives and enhancing communication strategies for engaging attendees. This information will be synthesized and an analysis of the effectiveness of the NBO’s current sustainability initiatives will be conducted based on the gathered data to inform recommendations for improving the sustainability of future NBO’s. The findings will be presented in the NBO’s final sustainability report.

The project’s findings will not only serve Tennis Canada in achieving its sustainability benchmarks but also contribute to broader socio-environmental dialogues surrounding the impact of mass gatherings on waste generation and environmental sustainability.

Studica Limited Full-Stack Robotics Control & Programming Application BSI Fall 2024

Create and maintain a powerful full-stack, user-friendly, multi-platform application that enables Studica customers to configure and manage various robotics hardware including, sensors and controller products. This project will help Studica contribute to the advancement of robotics in education and industry, and bridges the gap between Studica’s cutting-edge robotics products and educators worldwide, promoting STEM education and advancing the adoption of Studica’s innovative Robotics solutions.
This project helps to bridge the gap between Studica’s cutting-edge robotics products and educators worldwide, promoting STEM education and advancing the adoption of Studica’s innovative Robotics solutions. It also has significant implications for the Global STEM and Robotics in Education Marketplace, as well, the commercialization of Studica’s unique Robotics products

MD Progress: Co-development and Go-To-Market Strategy for AI-based Continuing Medical Education Product

MD Progress aims to simplify the process of maintenance of certification for physicians, addressing a significant pain point in the healthcare industry. Physicians are required to demonstrate ongoing learning to remain accredited, a process that is often cumbersome and time-consuming. Our platform automates the logging of educational activities, making it easier for physicians to manage their certification requirements. Additionally, it tailors educational content to individual physicians based on their practice interests and learning goals, providing multiple-choice questions that directly enhance clinical practice. This project focuses on the development of the Minimum Viable Product (MVP), beta testing with end users, and creating a comprehensive go-to-market strategy to ensure the product meets market demands and provides real value.

Epigenetic modulators as targets in recurrent glioblastoma

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common brain cancer in adults. Despite undergoing extensive treatment, patients with GBM typically have a dismal survival rate of only 12-16 months. Furthermore, many patients eventually experience tumor relapse. Proteins such as epigenetic modulators function to change how genes are activated in DNA without altering the genetic code. Inhibiting such epigenetic enzymes through chemical compounds has been shown to have anti-cancerous effect. The aim of this project is to find new compounds targeting epigenetic proteins effective against recurrent GBM and to identify how they work using lab-based methods. This project will address the urgent need of new treatment approaches for recurrent glioblastoma.

AI Integration in Immigration Services: Enhancing Public Service with Data Pipelines, Data Lakes, LLMs, and Prompt Engineering

The primary objective of this project is to utilize artificial intelligence to support individuals intending to immigrate to Canada by providing real-time, accurate information, personalized assistance, and comprehensive guidance throughout their immigration journey. The project aims to ensure that prospective immigrants have their questions answered promptly and are well-informed about the necessary steps to meet all immigration requirements, thereby facilitating a smooth and safe transition to their new lives in Canada. This involves creating an AI-driven system that can efficiently manage and process vast amounts of data, offering up-to-date insights and tailored advice to users