September 14, 2012
The following is being distributed at the request of the Research & Development Corporation:
RDC invests $1.3 million in 11 Newfoundland and Labrador Companies
Research focused on improving petroleum exploration, enhancing marine safety and preventing and detecting money laundering and fraud are among the 11 business-led projects receiving more than $1.3 million in funding from the Research & Development Corporation (RDC).
“With an increasingly diversified economy continuing to outpace growth in other regions around North America, Newfoundland and Labrador continues to earn a reputation as a place where business growth and innovation is encouraged,” said the Honourable Keith Hutchings, Minister Responsible for RDC. “The Provincial Government is committed to providing these companies and others with the business opportunities and programs they need to bring their products to markets anywhere in the world.”
RDC works with businesses, providing funding to assist with research and development (R&D) activities focused on improving Newfoundland and Labrador’s R&D performance.
Today’s investment is fostering business R&D in Newfoundland and Labrador focused on key sectors including oil and gas, fisheries, information technology and ocean technologies. The funding supports innovative projects being led by the following 11 companies: Lotek Wireless Inc., NorCan Pozzolan AS, Afinin Labs Inc., Firecraft Products Inc., Oceans Limited, Technip Canada Limited, Triumph Atlantic, Verafin Inc., Virtual Marine Technology Inc., Whitecap Scientific Corporation and WYSE Design & Development Inc.
“Investing in R&D projects led by Newfoundland and Labrador’s business sector is a key priority for the Research & Development Corporation,” said Glenn Janes, Chief Executive Officer of RDC. “Through our support businesses are developing new technologies and skills that strengthen R&D and create jobs.”
Today’s funding comes from two RDC programs tailored to enhance business-led R&D in Newfoundland and Labrador.
R&D Proof of Concept helps companies strengthen their technical capacity, while reducing the financial risk of undertaking R&D activities through to proof of concept. The program’s investments of up to $250,000 per project also enable companies to respond quickly to market opportunities by developing and testing new or improved products, services and processes.
R&D Vouchers help companies augment their R&D capabilities with greater access to the expertise and facilities needed to support their R&D needs. The program’s investments of up to $15,000 per project support costs associated with access to specialized research personnel, research facilities and other R&D performers.
Both programs provide R&D funding to support companies as they increase
their R&D expenditures and develop leading-edge technologies. More
information about these programs is available at
www.rdc.org.
Details on the 11 projects are available in the backgrounder of this news release.
About the Research & Development Corporation
The Research & Development Corporation is a provincial Crown corporation
responsible for improving Newfoundland and Labrador’s R&D performance. RDC
works with R&D stakeholders including business, academia and government
agencies and departments. In Budget 2012: People and Prosperity –
Responsible Investments for a Secure Future, RDC was allocated $19 million
to make strategic research and development related investments in people,
research opportunities and infrastructure. For more information about RDC,
go to www.rdc.org.
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Media contacts:
| Jeff Green Manager, Marketing & Communications Research & Development Corporation 709-758-0973, 691-8892 jeffsgreen@rdc.org |
Scott Barfoot Director of Communications Department of Innovation, Business and Rural Development 709-729-4570, 690-6290 scottbarfoot@gov.nl.ca |
Backgrounder
Investments in Business-Led Research and Development
While RDC is investing a total of $1,332,082 in the following 11
Newfoundland and Labrador-based projects, the total project costs are
$2,326,903. This overall R&D investment is supported by RDC and other
partner organizations. Each R&D project is also funded by its respective
company.
R&D Vouchers
Lotek Wireless Inc.
Lotek Wireless Inc. (Lotek) manufactures fish and wildlife monitoring
systems. The company, based in St. John’s, has international
operations spanning Canada, Europe and New Zealand. This project will
evaluate the hydrodynamic performance of an externally tethered Lotek
Pop-off SatelliteArchival Tag (PSAT) and smaller Lotek archival tags, used
in marine animal research. The PSAT is an electronic device externally
attached to a marine animal which collects data (depth, temperature,
location) on the animal's environment. The PSAT is designed to release from
the animal at a pre-programmed date and floats to the ocean's surface, then
in turn transmits data back to the researcher via satellite technology. This
project will perform flow testing at the National Research Council’s
Institute for Ocean Technology Cavitation Tunnel in St. John’s, to assess
the hydrodynamic performance of a pop-off satellite archival tag. RDC’s
investment is $7,114 of a total project cost of $9,485.
NorCan Pozzolan AS
This project will investigate cement formulas that optimize a silica breccia
product to be used as an alternative to supplementary cementing material.
The newly-developed silica breccia formula could have the potential to have
a large impact on the cement and concrete industry as it is expected to
extend the structure service life and reduce the cost of repair and
maintenance of concrete structures used in offshore applications. Based in
St. John's, this project will build on research previously conducted in
Norway on silica breccia as well as strengthen the collaborative
relationship of NorCan and Memorial University of Newfoundland. RDC is
investing $15,000 of a total project cost of $20,000.
R&D Proof of Concept
Firecraft Products Inc.
Firecraft Products Inc. (Firecraft) is based in St. John’s. The company’s
activity has primarily been development of a prototype of Spitfire and its
accompanying incendiary sphere Spitball. This project will fund aerial
adaptation and flight operational testing of Spitfire. Spitfire is a
specialized incendiary launching device designed to ignite controlled forest
fires from a helicopter. RDC’s investment is $60,000 of a total project cost
of $80,000.
Oceans Limited
Oceans Ltd. was incorporated to carry out applied research and services in
oceanography. Since that time, the company has grown and diversified
substantially into specific work categories with the ocean as the common
link. The company has established in prior studies that seaweeds from
Newfoundland and Labrador contain a number of potential health promoting
properties of special interest for the production of cosmeceuticals and
neutraceuticals. In the present project, the company will obtain more
comprehensive scientific information on health promoting properties,
including those relevant for immunity, aging, and skin condition such as
acne and eczema. The project has potential to facilitate the development of
a new biotechnology-based industry in the province, in the area of
cosmeceuticals and nutraceuticals. The project will also benefit from
specialized international expertise. RDC’s investment is $167,012 of a total
project cost of $296,026.
Triumph Atlantic
Triumph Atlantic is a multi-disciplined engineering firm established in
Newfoundland and Labrador with a mandate to provide engineering and
geophysical services specifically for the east coast oil and gas operations.
The company’s Triumph Atlantic Underground Harmonic Device (THUD) is a
prototype device designed to create a seismic wave event for the purpose of
petroleum exploration. THUD will provide a more cost effective method of
acquiring seismic data than current seismic creation sources while having
the added ability to generate seismic signal in currently inaccessible and
challenging terrains. The device is designed to leave a minimal ecological
impact. RDC’s investment of $49,420 of a total project cost of $72,282.
Virtual Marine Technology
Virtual Marine Technology Inc. is a St. John’s-based company which develops
simulators for survival craft, fast response craft and high speed electronic
navigation training. The primary objective of this project is to build a
novel simulation platform that will stimulate marine bridge navigation
equipment. There is a significant need for a low cost and efficient
simulation system that can be used to train operators on the use of complex
navigation equipment systems on the delivery of a new commercial system. An
embedded training simulator will require a realistic simulation environment
that can simultaneously stimulate electronic equipment including marine
radar, Electronic Charted Display and Information Systems, Global
Positioning Systems and marine sensors. The result will be low cost and
efficient means for personnel to gain valuable experience in a safe,
controlled training environment using the actual bridge equipment. RDC’s
investment is $231,917 of a total project cost of $422,232.
Whitecap Scientific Corporation
Based in St. John’s, Whitecap Scientific is bringing advanced vision system
technologies to the Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) sector. This project
will assist the company to develop a technology which provides visual depth
cues to pilots of ROVs. The method and implementation will improve operator
productivity at complex robotic manipulative tasks. The technology is based
on hands-free control of a computer vision system paired to an active
display system. RDC’s investment is $171,509 of a total project cost of
$362,005.
WYSE Design and Development Inc.
St. John’s-based WYSE Design and Development Inc. is dedicated to designing
and developing innovative new products including a hand-held portable winch
that will combine the benefits of a high speed (mounted) manual winch and
similar capacity of a low speed portable winch. For WYSE, this represents a
new style or generation of winch products that will fill a need in the
marketplace. RDC’s investment is $30,425 of a total project cost of $40,567.
Afinin Labs Inc.
Afinin (Automated Financial Intelligence) Labs is a financial algorithm
startup company housed at the Genesis Centre, Memorial University of
Newfoundland’s business incubator. Afinin currently offers a service that
gives individual traders a tool to better level the playing field so that
they can compete against the army of algorithms they trade against in the
markets. The company is developing a new product, a Technical Investment
System, with the goal of developing features necessary for a more versatile
product. Three main features Afinin aims to develop are: 1) the ability to
short sell equities; 2) the ability to backtest; and 3) the ability for the
algorithm to instruct trades over a time span longer than one day. With
these features, the individual trader will have a full suite of features in
an algorithmic based trade recommendation system, helping them compete in a
heavily computer based trading environment. RDC’s investment is $106,625 of
a total project cost of $186,250.
Verafin Inc.
St. John’s-based Verafin Inc. is a leading provider of software to financial
institutions to assist in the prevention and detection of money laundering
and fraud. Verafin will use this Proof of Concept project to enhance its
application for its 650+ North America customers to incorporate additional
data sources of real-time or near real-time financial transactions. This
project will leverage market research that suggests that organizations using
software products capable of responding to fraud in near real-time will
enjoy a considerable competitive advantage. Approximately 20,000 financial
institutions in North America are required by law to detect suspicious
financial behaviour. Verafin has a substantial market opportunity to meet
this demand with its proven solution and can further enhance this position
by embracing a platform model to commercialize the enhancements resulting
from this project. RDC is investing $249,959 of a total project cost of
$382,813.
Technip Canada Ltd.
One of the services that Technip Canada, based in St. John’s, offers to the
offshore oil and gas industry is the deployment of subsea equipment. The
deployment of such equipment typically involves lifting heavy, large,
multi-shape objects over the side of service vessels with a crane system and
lowering these objects into the sea through varying sea conditions. Precise
calculations are completed in order to determine the equipment required.
When the required objects pass through the “splash zone” of the water,
problems may occur depending upon the sea conditions at that time. Varying
conditions can lead to changing load requirements on the lifting equipment.
This variant often causes the service company to opt for larger equipment to
increase the safety factor of the lift, which leads to higher costs. The
transport of this heavier equipment also requires a larger vessel for
transport, increasing the cost. This Proof of Concept will attempt to
develop an accurate determination of the hydrodynamic loads and thereby its
lifting requirements. If this is accomplished, a more accurate prediction of
the lifting equipment required could be determined, thus reducing the costs
but not the affecting the safety of the lift. RDC is investing $243,101 of a
total project cost of $455,243.
2012 09 14 11:20 a.m.