Innovative Projects Realized

PHENOTYPIC AND MOLECULAR APPROACHES TO DECIPHER GENETIC CONTROL OF PLANT HEIGHT IN RYE

Capturing Learning in the Classroom (CLIC)

CLIC (Capturing Learning in the Classroom) is a Canadian-developed web-application designed to allow teachers to document observations of children’s learning experiences in the classroom. It streamlines the documentation process and automatically generates summaries for planning and communication of learning. CLIC enables teachers to link their observations to the expectations set out in the standardized curriculum document. The purpose of this internship is to undertake a research study to determine if and how CLIC is making a difference to the way teachers in Ontario Kindergartens document learning and the ways in which they use that information to plan further learning experiences that improve student learning outcomes. Pearson Canada will use the findings to inform what kind of professional development is needed to help educators learn how to use CLIC effectively to document their observations and plan future learning experiences. It will also inform the development of a new improved version of CLIC (V2) for Kindergarten and provide guidance on how to extend CLIC to higher-grade levels.

Design of a robust, low-power gateway for LoRa Mesh Networks

With the escalating demand for sustainability and climate monitoring, LoRa mesh networks have proven instrumental in large-scale environmental monitoring. Serving as the final link in a mesh network, gateways play a critical role by gathering measurements from each sensor and transmitting them to the internet. The performance of gateways is crucial to the efficacy of any LoRa mesh networks. However, existing literature has offered scant attention to the design and evaluation of gateways within the context of LoRa mesh networks.
This project seeks to develop a gateway capable of handling high-volume traffic from a minimum of 100 sensor nodes in a mesh network, ensuring scalability and reliability. Furthermore, the emphasis is placed on achieving a year-long battery life using only two AA batteries. The successful development of such a gateway holds the potential to significantly enhance the efficiency and scalability of LoRa mesh networks. This, in turn, will contribute to advancing sustainable practices and supporting long-term climate monitoring initiatives. The proposed timeline spans four months, encompassing literature review, design planning, hardware and firmware development, testing, and documentation. The project will use the CottonCandy protocol from recent literature as the underlying LoRa mesh network.

Transformation numérique des commerces de proximité et impact sur l’attractivité des villes

Les commerces de proximité sont un signe fort du dynamisme et de l’attractivité d’une ville. Les habitudes de consommation des citoyens ont fortement changé depuis les deux dernières décennies en lien avec l’introduction des technologies pour le commerce électronique et les plateformes de médias sociaux. Cela s’est accentué durant la période du COVID, il semble important de mener des études sur ces entreprises, notamment ceux de proximité pour les villes, pour lesquels les liens entre l’adoption des technologies et la performance financière des commerces de proximité. Toutefois, les facteurs de succès ou les liens entre l’usage de technologies et la réussite des commerces ne sont pas décelés dans ce contexte. Ce projet vise à investiguer des facteurs de succès des commerces de proximité, plus précisément, identifier les liens entre les dimensions technologiques, expériencielles et la réussite de ces commerces. Les résultats de ce projet contribueront à la recherche théorique et pratique en lien avec la transformation numérique des entreprises et notamment les commerces de proximité. Plus particulièrement, de mettre en lumière le niveau de maturité numérique des commerces de proximité de la région de Mégantic et de voir l’impact de l’expérience en magasin comme facteur différenciant.

Comparative Building Life-Cycle Performance of Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF) Vs. Wood-Frame Construction Phase I: Energy Performance

ICF construction is an alternative for wood-frame construction for residential buildings which potentially has higher energy performance compared. However, this potential advantage has to be measured and compared. This study compares the energy performance of residential buildings constructed with Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF) to those of conventional wood frame buildings in four cities in three different climate zones.

Lipid Phase Transitions in Living Systems

Degradation properties of self-assembled protein nanofibers and 2D networks as potential materials f

Effects of UV exposure on human dermal stem cell differentiation in melanoma genesis

Automated Fibre Placement for Thermoplastic Composite Manufacturing

Development of the energy efficiency algorithm

Sustainable access to energy requires a shift from carbon-intensive sources. Hence, this project aims to improve efficiency of national energy systems via informed decision-making. The holistic modelling framework will integrate individual aspects of energy production and consumption in buildings. Our platform will simulate and optimize the energy source composition to minimize emissions and economic impact. We will employ data preparation and development of a machine learning model to evaluate energy efficiency opportunities in buildings. The data will be gathered from public sources, from available APIs, and potentially utility companies to be usable in a machine learning model. This machine learning model will use weather, location, energy information, and appliances’ characteristics to evaluate the energy performance of a building in a portfolio. This can allow Canadian users to understand energy efficiency opportunities, lowering their carbon footprint and to expand the capability of energy audits in public and private sectors.

Advanced geometric calibration facility and methods

Three-dimensional (3D) reality capture is an umbrella term for imaging techniques used to create accurate models of real scenes. An important reality capture technology is lidar or laser scanner devices that collect three-dimensional measurements of objects they can see. Laser scanners can be deployed on aircraft, a surveying tripod or on a self-driving car. Regardless of the platform, laser scanner measurements are used to construct digital twin (DT) models. DTs find increasing use in many sectors including construction, transportation mining, energy, chemical processing and heritage preservation, to improve both the construction of and the effective management of capital assets. For all these applications, the accuracy of the DT is critically dependent on the geometric integrity of the collected laser scanner data. This requires an instrument calibration process. Current lidar calibration processes are inefficient, relying on manual processes performed by expert users. This project aims to develop new, more efficient accurate calibration processes for several lidar sensors. This will result in more efficient industry use of lidar sensors in Canada for the production of digital twins.

Séjour de recherche : Planification multi-projets avec affectation de ressources multi-compétentes

Le projet de recherche s’inscrit dans le cadre de la gestion des projets dans le domaine de la construction. L’attribution des projets aux chefs de projets est essentielle dans l’industrie de la construction moderne. Cette affectation doit être exécutée de manière structurée et tenir compte des besoins du projet et des compétences et disponibilités des chefs de projets. Dans de nombreuses organisations, nous constatons encore un manque d’intégration des processus conduisant à une prise de décision inefficace et générant de longs délais, des dépassements de coûts et une durée de projet plus longue. L’objectif de ce projet est de développer une méthode de prise de décision multicritère, rapide et applicable à des problèmes industriels réels, qui offrira la possibilité d’optimiser l’utilisation du temps des chefs de projets en tenant compte de la contrainte spécifique et des connaissances nécessaires aux projets.