Ocean technology companies get financial boost
Clearer views, more accessible emergency response training among the projects
A project led by St. John’s company Virtual Marine is developing technology that will deliver training to mariners on their home computers.
Teaming up with Survival Systems Training Ltd. of Halifax, and Memorial University, MST (Marine Safety Training) Online Project will develop customized training for emergency response workers in ocean industries like oil and gas and defence.
The project, valued at $1.8 million, is getting $700,000 in funding from Canada’s Ocean Supercluster (OSC).
At a virtual news conference Ashley Patterson, managing director of training with Virtual Marine, said it currently costs a lot of time and money to deliver operational and safety training to marine workers.
“Eighty per cent of all costs for training are related to travel to get hands-on, specialty training.”
The Virtual Marine system will bring emergency response training components online, allowing marine workers to upgrade their skills with a web-based training model.
Dr. Randy Billard, president and CEO of Virtual Marine, said the program will allow people to train remotely on the use of fast response craft, lifeboat and other systems. The program will include live instruction as well as team training modules.
“One of the biggest benefits we see from this project is the ability to keep people prepared and ready and confident for when they have to perform their job in a real emergency.”
Dan Latremouille, Training and Operations Manager with Survival Systems Training Ltd., said the company is excited to be part of this project.
“Using the combined knowledge and expertise of our collective partnership to create digital training programs means you have a Canadian partnership that can be competitive on a global scale,” he said.
The MST Online Project was one of four funding announcements made Thursday by OSC.
According to the OSC, the projects have a collective value of about $3.5 million. The Ocean Supercluster is providing approximately half of the funding.
A BETTER VIEW
Engage Creative Technologies of St. John’s is also getting funding from the OSC to create technology that will allow mariners to have a better view of what lies ahead of them on the ocean.
The project is a collaborating with Mitacs, the Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, Petroleum Research Newfoundland and Labrador, Rutter, and Robot Interactive + Marketing.
In a press release, the company explained the crew on the bridge of a ship, using an augmented reality headset, and combining it with navigational data, will be able to travel more safely and be able to “see” more clearly even if actual visibility is near zero.
More details about that project are available on the company’s Youtube channel.
A SPARK OF TEAMWORK
Two Atlantic Canadian companies, New Brunswick-based Kognitiv Spark and Kraken Robotics of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, are collaborating with applied research teams at the University of New Brunswick and workplace skills specialists at New Brunswick Community College on a project that will improve underwater visuals.
The Hydrospark project will use existing and emerging technologies, like the Microsoft Hololens 2 and Microsoft Azure Mixed Reality Services, to provide 3D mixed reality imaging in underwater environments.
“By using Mixed Reality to explore subsea data in new ways divers, ROV pilots and subsea workers can essentially walk on the seabed and examine points of interest to more intuitively understand their tasks before they conduct them,” said Yan Simard, CEO of Kognitiv Spark
David Shea, senior vicepresident, engineering, with Kraken, added “Kognitiv’s vision of creating a Mixed Reality by merging real-world subsea environments with virtual environments will help Kraken provide clients with subsea datasets that will allow them to see and interact with subsea environments like never before.”
BETTER BUBBLES
Finally, a B.c.-based company is getting OSC funding for a project that could provide solutions for the aquaculture industry on the East Coast.
The Real-time Bubble Diffuser Aeration Entrainment Monitor Project is led by ASL Environmental Sciences who will develop services and products for the installation and maintenance of monitoring systems in aquaculture operations.
Bubble systems are used in finfish aquaculture net pens to mitigate the effects of harmful algae blooms (HAB), increase oxygen levels and lower surface water temperatures.
According to information provided by the OSC, this aeration monitor project will develop a real-time monitor balance mitigation of risk and ensure the effectiveness of bubble systems in aquaculture while reducing costs and emissions associated with fish-farming operations.
The products and related services will allow customers to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions and reduce fish mortality from high surface temperature and harmful algal blooms.
They are partnering with MOWI Canada West, a potential user of the system who will offer knowledge and experience.
The $500,000 project will be supported with $350,000 from the OSC.