Innovative Projects Realized

Enabling services for naturally-occurring ageing in place

Canada’s rapidly ageing population has drawn attention to the housing and care needs of older adults.
Supporting older Canadians to age in the right place will require innovative housing models and infrastructure
that can support their independence, safety, health and social well- being. One such model is Naturally
Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs), which integrate health, social and physical supports directly
within the community. Working with our partners, the Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORC)
Innovation Centre at UHN and Bridgeable, experts in service design, the proposed research involves studying
the service model, outcomes, and requirements needed to support front-line staff in NORC contexts. This
research will be used to develop a beta version of an online portal to be used by staff to support residents in
these communities. This research and outcomes will directly benefit both partner organizations; first by providing
important social and technical assistance to NORC in developing this important online portal; second, by
exposing Bridgeable to a new context where service design can provide direct social impacts.

Ultra Casual – Investigation of game design with cognitive analysis in casual games

This project centers around what we refer to as “ultra casual” games with the goal of discovering more efficient ways to develop engaging casual video games. The industry partner Victory Square Games has partnered with Microsoft to develop 20 games for the Windows tablet to further expand their Windows 8 app library. The associated internship project seeks to advance the state of game design through the formation and application of new theories for greater user engagement and cognitive analysis, and adapt into an agile game development methodology.

Assessment of Markerless Motion Capture for Pediatric Populations with Difficulty Walking

A new artificial intelligence based markerless motion capture technology could improve care children with difficulty walking. Marker-based gait assessments are often used to help make decisions about treatments. We will explore if this new markerless approach works in kids and specifically if it works in kids with difficulty walking. We will determine if this approach gives similar results to the existing marker-based approach that requires more time, specific clothing and cooperation from children. We will also find out how much faster it is and if children like it more. Lastly, we will determine if we can do markerless assessments for kids who we cannot do marker-based assessments. This has the potential to make care more patient and family-centered and to increase the population of children with neuromotor impairments who can have a 3D gait assessment to guide their treatment.

Formulation et caractérisation d’enrobés municipaux contenant du plastique souple recyclé

Le recyclage des 4 millions de tonnes de déchets plastiques post-consommation produits chaque année est quasi-inexistant au Canada. Alors que les centres de traitement intermunicipaux sont capables de trier ces déchets, ils finissent en très grande partie enfouis faute de solution technique de recyclage mature et compétitive. L’ÉTS et ses partenaires souhaite créer un débouché important pour ces plastiques, en particulier les plastiques souples (emballages, stretch…), en tant qu’additifs bénéfiques dans les enrobés bitumineux utilisés pour revêtir nos chaussées (plus communément appelé « asphalte »). Le potentiel taux de recyclage est aussi important que les défis techniques que pose l’incorporation des plastiques recyclés dans l’enrobé. Le projet aura pour objectif d’établir et d’optimiser en laboratoire la formulation d’enrobé modifiés aux plastiques sur la base de performances mécaniques et environnementales. Ainsi, nos partenaires auront une référence pour produire et utiliser des additifs issus de plastiques recyclés localement.

Enhancing the 3-Prong Approach to Psychedelic-assisted Therapy (PAT) Learning System: Implementation of a Multi-Eyed Seeing Approach for Mentorship, Training, and Intercultural Knowledge Sharing

This research aims to enhance the 3-Prong Approach to Psychedelic-assisted Therapy (PAT) Learning System hosted between Vancouver Island University’s (VIU) and Roots to Thrive (RTT) PAT service delivery. The program consists of four parallel research programs, each led by one of the interns, that will benefit the partner organization to: 1) Design a quality system to improve mentorship and training for PATGC students completing their practicum, and for new team members in RTT; 2) Develop a culturally bridging mentorship program that facilitates the learning, engagement, and deepening of Indigenous ways of knowing and practicing within the framework of psychedelic-assisted therapy; 3) Enhance safety measures, foster best practices in research, and ensure consistent high-quality care with a patient-centered approach by bridging clinical research protocols to accreditation standards; 4) Establish a relational leadership model, multiple-eyed seeing research methods, and Indigenous Cultural Safety (ICS) ethical frameworks to foster intercultural collaboration between Indigenous and Western ways of knowing in PAT research, education, and practice.

Error correction for low-power ultra-wideband radios

Smart, battery-powered connected objects that communicate wirelessly are proliferating. Wireless communication can be challenging with multiple types of impairments that may cause errors in the exchanged messages, e.g., noise, interference, attenuation, and multipath propagation. Ultra-wideband (UWB) radios have emerged as a interesting choice for such operational context. Their distinctive attributes lead low power requisites and intrinsic resilience to multipath propagation, rendering them particularly suitable for these applications. Nevertheless, akin to all modern communications, an error-correction solution is mandatory to establish a reliable communication link. The UWB standards thus includes one, albeit, one that is showing its age.
This research project will explore the creation of an error-correction solution that is tailored towards UWB communications. This will be achieved by leveraging the recent progress in the field of error correction. The solution will be simulated first, and then field tested with radios developed by SPARK Microsystems.

Visuo-motor skills and baseball batting performance: assessment, association, and training protocols

Vision is the most important sense to execute sport skills. Research have shown that good visual performance is related to good batting performance in baseball and, that training protocols representing baseball game settings help with the improvement of batting skills. This study purposes to understand the relation between visual and batting performance and investigate the effect of training protocols in the improvement of baseball batting skills. For that, visual and batting performance evaluations will be associated and separated by skill level. Also, different training protocols will be compared to identify their contribution to the learning of batting skills. The results of this project will improve the selection and training of baseball players aiming high level of performance.

Efficient OLAP Queries on In-memory Databases with Frequent Updates

In this project, we will collaborate with Actenum our industry partner tackle the challenges of online analytics processing (OLAP) queries on in-memory databases that are updated frequently. Specifically, we will address the technical research issues about how to conduct effective and efficient OLAP on frequently updated data stored in a large in-memory database, and retain the query answering time within a millisecond scale. We will explore effective query syntax, informative query result presentation, and efficient query answering algorithms. The research outcome will benefit our industry partner immediately.

Satya social communication and partnerships

Indigenous business owners require access to a variety of contacts to grow their company and find peer support who understand the struggle of Indigenous entrepreneurs. Yet insufficient resources and community support exist for this group. The goal of this project is to build a network among Indigenous businesses in Canada/North America by utilizing social media approaches for collaboration and marketing initiatives. The platform would be developed through a community-led process that includes interviews with Indigenous business owners to determine their challenges with marketing and connecting with other indigenous businesses. The researcher will collect and analyze responses from Indigenous business owners through online forums and discussion groups, to identify challenges and opportunities, and to create conversations and meaningful connections within the Indigenous business community. The final product would be an online platform that brings together indigenous business owners, customers, and other stakeholders. The platform would utilize social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reels/TikTok, Youtube, and create a blog and website where Indigenous businesses could showcase their products and services to a wider audience, potentially reaching new customers and building their world.

Social Connectedness Among Marginalized Older Adults and Caregivers: Building Capacity within COSCO

The MITACS grant will provide initial steps in the identification of organizations in BC that either currently provide, or could potentially provide, services to older adults to foster social connectedness to reduce social isolation and loneliness. The student researcher will collaborate with the Council of Senior Citizens’ Organizations of BC (COSCO) to review and update their current list of member organizations (74) for the purpose of obtaining information about their mandates using website or paper-based information that is publicly available. The student intern will spend significant time to create a comprehensive spread sheet with additional information crucial to both the SSHRC study, and COSCO’s mission and thereby gain a much clearer picture of the taxonomy of seniors organizations in the province, a much needed step towards understanding how we can work with them to best meet the needs of an ever-expanding seniors population.

Protocol for soil conservation and management on construction sites in the Bow Valley (Canmore, Banff, and Bighorn)

Development of a user-friendly protocol for soil conservation and management on construction sites in the Bow Valley (Canmore, Banff and Bighorn). The protocol could be a reference for other provinces; the proposed practices could fit different types of actors in the construction industry, and the soil could be used for other valuable purposes.

Transforming the Future of Archaeological Research: ArchaeoSoft

According to research conducted in the International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews, technology has revolutionized the field of Archaeology across the world. Technology has allowed researchers to use computers, electronics, satellites, and programs for analysis and interpretation. This change has allowed for the field of Archaeology to become less disruptive to the environment although this technology has come at a cost for researchers across the world.
ArchaeoSoft is an organization founded by Dr. Cora Woolsey in New Brunswick. Dr. Cora is an archeologist, and throughout her career has struggled with the lack of data collecting technology available. Thus, she created STRATUM. STRATUM is a platform for tablets and phones to help document archaeological sites online and offline. The platform allows users to conduct mapping, drawing, and fillable forms to make data reliable and efficient.

This project will focus on business development and innovation. It will help grow the capabilities of ArchaeoSoft by (1) helping to expand marketing, (2) and to improve user experience through changing and innovating the current STRATUM software’s user interface and guidebook. Expanding ArchaeoSoft’s brand awareness will help broaden the clientele for the STRATUM software, and in return, help further the field of Archeology.