Three new projects have been funded through British Columbia’s Integrated Marketplace, program supporter Innovate BC announced this week.
Delivered by Innovate BC, the program has been building a network of industry partners to identify challenges and implement technological solutions that help large-scale organizations increase competitiveness and improve health and safety.
As part of the StrongerBC Economic Plan, the Integrated Marketplace Initiative kicked off in 2022 with a pilot project linking Vancouver International Airport to B.C. clean-technology companies to help electrify operations and perhaps even become the world͛s greenest airport.
Last year, $10 million of funding through the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada was added to an initial investment of $11.5 million from the provincial government.
“Creating innovative ideas and solutions that reduce emissions, improve competitiveness, and support local companies is essential for creating a strong economy that moves British Columbians forward,” says Brenda Bailey, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development, and Innovation.
Two of the new projects seek to bolster operational capabilities at Vancouver International Airport through drone-based runway monitoring and an enhanced paging communication system in the terminal.
Working with Victoria-based Niricson, YVR is exploring drone technology to assess the condition of its runways.
Using such technology will create efficiencies for the airport, according to Innovate BC, as teams will better access to data that will help inform operations and maintenance decisions. Data will also be applied to a predictive model to project future needs in advance.
“We are excited to deploy our technology to enhance the condition assessment workflow of runways at YVR,” says Harsh Rathod, a cofounder of Niricson. “The idea is to build the deterioration model with technology driven datasets, to go from reactive maintenance to predictive maintenance.”
YVR is also working to enhance its mass paging system in the terminal. With the support of Surrey-based Hybrid Audio Visual, YVR aims to improve sound quality across thousands of speakers throughout the terminal.
Through a new paging interface, YVR will also be able to isolate specific areas of the terminal for certain announcements. Energy savings of up to 40% are also anticipated as a result of the use of newer technology.
“The benefits to the public and YVR will make a noticeable difference in intelligibility of announcements, reliability of the system, and cost savings in operations,” believes Stu Weight, cofounder of Hybrid AV. “This system will undoubtably be showcased to airports around the world and bring YVR to the forefront in public announcement technologies.”
YVR “provides an ideal environment for local innovators and clean-tech companies to develop and implement made-in-B.C. solutions that work at our airport and can likely be applied to other airports and industries,” believes Tamara Vrooman, CEO of the airport.
“We are very proud to be a testbed for innovation and to see solutions from this collaboration advance B.C. business, improve our operation, and benefit our community and the economy that supports it,” the chief added.
The third project will support the development of a diagnostics component for General Fusion’s Magnetized Target Fusion machine.
“This suite of projects perfectly represents what is possible through the program,” commented Peter Cowan, chief executive of Innovate BC.
“I look forward to seeing the contributions these . . . projects will make to people in B.C. and globally,” Bailey stated.
A Crown Agency of British Columbia, Innovate BC works to foster innovation across the province through delivering a range of programs that help companies scale, access talent, and develop commercial technology.
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