The Digital Technology Supercluster is moving forward with two partner projects led respectively by MDA and UrtheCast. MDA is leading the Protecting Our Oceans project while UrtheCast is leading the Satellite-Based Environmental Analytics project. Both projects look to innovate digital solutions to address challenges created by climate change.
Digital Technology Supercluster sets funding set at $4.5 million
The announcement was made last Thursday and will see $4.5 million allocated to the projects which includes $800,000 from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and $2.6 million co-investment from the Supercluster members.
According to Supercluster co-investment guidelines (PDF) “the term ‘co-investment’ refers to the concept of the project consortia and the Supercluster co-investing together in a project. Members of selected projects are eligible to receive reimbursement of up to 43% of total project costs.”
ISED Minister Navdeep Bains said in a press “from coast, to coast, Canadians rely on our rich natural resources, including our oceans, for their well-beings and livelihoods, these two innovative projects demonstrate how Canada can become a global leader in developing and deploying digital solutions to meet the climate crisis.”
The Satellite-Based Environmental Analytics project
The Satellite-Based Environmental Analytics project has budget of $2.9 million of which $1.1 million is from Supercluster members co-investment and $1.8 million is from partner co-investments.
According to the project “climate change, pollution, urbanization and natural disasters have accelerated the need to better monitor their impact on our planet. The Satellite-Based Environmental Analytics project, led by UrtheCast, seeks to understand these impacts on large areas over time, using space-based imagery of the earth. Today we rely on large collections of overlapping satellite images and data that are merged together to create ‘mosaics’ which help us understand the health of wetlands, forests and agricultural regions around the globe. Unfortunately, only small targeted mosaics provide an accurate, high-resolution, fine-scale view of the environment and there is growing need to improve how we accurately monitor large areas.”
The project led by UrtheCast will use “machine learning to automate and provide faster, more accurate geographic information through satellite imagery to better understand the health of the environment and mitigate against, and adapt to, climate change.”
Partner partners include BC Parks Foundation, BGC Engineering Inc., Environment and Climate Change Canada, Hatfield Consultants, Microsoft, MITACS, and the University of Victoria.
The Protecting our Oceans project
The Protecting Our Oceans project project has budget of $1.5 million of which $600k is from Supercluster members co-investment and $900k is from partner co-investments.
According to the project “the fishery sector provides food for dinner tables across the globe and livelihoods for almost 12 per cent of the world’s population. As climate change impacts the wild fish population, there is also global risk from illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. This activity costs the ocean economy more than $23 billion a year. This self-reporting regulatory system creates a need for a comprehensive detection system to mitigate criminal activity created by these ‘dark vessels’ conducting illegal fishing.”
The project led by MDA will “use machine learning, artificial intelligence and data visualization to identify, track and apprehend illegal fishing vessels in order to protect our global fisheries and marine ecosystems.”
Partner partners include Simon Fraser University and VizworX.