Applied research: commercializing innovation for a better life.

One of the ways Ontario colleges carry out their mandate to, among other things, strengthen the workforce and the community is through applied research. Communications and Information Technology Ontario (www.cito.ca), an Ontario Centre of Excellence (OCE), has funded a number of college applied research initiatives in collaboration with industry that have resulted in project outcomes being licensed to partnering businesses. Applied research projects focus on using existing technologies in the development of new products, expansion of market opportunities for businesses, creation and testing of prototypes, and other studies that can be applied to help business grow.

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Bryan Kanarens, Manager of Business Development for CITO and a Development Manager for OCE, stresses that the colleges can play a complementary role in a well-rounded approach to R & D. "When one considers the continuum of Research & Development, universities tend to be heavy on the "R" and colleges on the "D." As such, the colleges can add to the critical mass of R & D capability in the Province and contribute to economic growth." Colleges work in partnership with businesses that have identified something they need to develop to grow their business. It involves real world challenges, and the goal is that the collaborating companies will adopt and commercialize the result. It's a win-win situation, and the need to invest in applied as well as pure research is important. The more relevant to industry research is, the higher the likelihood that it will benefit Ontario.

Sheridan College was among the first to receive CITO funding for applied research. A shining example of what can happen in this exciting arena, the original project to create real-time interactive TV game systems has produced a commercial spin-off company, and has resulted in further CITO funding. Avrim Katzman, Director of Sheridan's Visualization Design Institute, co-founded EyePlayTV with e-tv interactive technologies inc., and both CITO and Sheridan College own shares. "This is a direct positive result of the research," Katzman says. "The Visualization Design Institute developed an integrated software and hardware system for the production and delivery of real-time interactive animation for broadcast television. "We have applied for further CITO funding in conjunction with the new company, and it is gratifying to have this support."

Another project that received CITO funding last year was conducted at St. Lawrence College under the direction of David Athersych, PEng, a professor of Computer Engineering Technology. The project involved creating wireless networking that would allow for the sharing of information among people with portable electronic devices in ad hoc meeting scenarios. "Our industrial partner has not yet been able to make use of the research," Athersych says, "but academically, the students gained a lot." A new St. Lawrence project that has received CITO funding is a two-year joint venture with a Waterloo company to create sophisticated learning environment encounters across the Internet. "The Canadian Microelectronics Corporation would like researchers and testers across the country to share a sophisticated laboratory environment without having to travel," Athersych says. "If the audio, video and interactive capabilities are high quality, people feel as though their electronic experience is as valuable as being there in person."

At Fleming College, CITO's first-round funding supported research into ubiquitous location tracking using standard wireless technologies. Project leader Peter Spasov, PEng and a professor of Applied Computing and Engineering Sciences, worked with the partner company Wimcare. "Ubiquitous tracking involves small wearable computers in a computer network. This network can track the position of the wearable computers." The applied research project resulted in Wimcare filing two patent applications as well as continuing the development on the prototype, still in partnership with Sir Sandford. Future possibilities may lead to the wearable computer being programmed to understand an individual's needs and act on his/her behalf, maybe reminding someone of a medication time or reporting to administrative staff when a patient is wandering."

Fleming is also internationally recognized for its role in environmental education, and at the Frost Campus, the Centre for Alternative Wastewater Treatment (CAWT) is home to exciting research on constructed wetlands. Frost Campus Principal Blane Harvey points out that the Centre has been financially supported by Canada Foundation for Innovation research funding, Ontario SuperBuild capital funding and industry contributions. "The facility is unique among Ontario's colleges," he says. "Our focus here is working with constructed wetlands which function as artificial marshes and ponds. Our research focuses on the development and innovative use of constructed wetland technology to address a range of environmental and socioeconomic problems associated with the maintenance of healthy Canadian water resources. Wastewater is passed through terraced wetland cells where various substrates and aquatic plants filter out both organic and inorganic waste. The resulting 'clean' water is then available for reuse. Real-world applications for the research include municipal wastewater treatment as well as agricultural and industrial wastewater treatment. Water is at the top of the list of pressing environmental issues facing Canada and the rest of the world in the 21st century."

In the applied research area, Dr. Mike Duncan, Chair of Research in Advanced Visualization at Niagara College, explains that the college received funding from CITO to develop real-time collaborative visualization systems. "We explore and research technologies that enable land use planners to communicate their ideas," he says. "They report to the public, and need to communicate complex 3D visions. We create portable VR systems that allow them to do presentations in a boardroom. With CITO's help, we built a tool to allow people in remote locations to simultaneously view the presentation." Then powerful web-based tools became available. "The CITO project was superceded by this rush of technology," he says. "We learned that building on existing technologies rather than competing with them may be more beneficial." As for applied research, Dr. Duncan believes, "Colleges deserve funding to pursue it as a bridge to industry."

Algonquin College was also among the first five to receive CITO funding for applied research. The project, Surgical Teaching Tools that allow "Touch and Feel" Sharing over the Internet, had the goal of developing networked, simulated surgical environments using haptics and 3-D strategic technologies that simulate the look, touch and feel of real surgical intervention. The goal was to allow learners to experience the real-time sensations resulting from a demonstration of surgical interventions where learners and instructors are in different locations. This project will be further developed by the industry with the commercialization of new products in mind.

Confederation College is another that has facilities in place to conduct client-directed research. "We look at solving real problems in a timely manner with partners," says Forestry Program Co-ordinator Dave Archibald. "We established the Confederation College Forestry Centre, through which we work with government and industry on applied research projects that address the needs of practitioners in the forestry and environmental area." One example is work the Centre did for the Province of Saskatchewan. "They were looking for someone to amass literature available on shoreline harvesting and its environmental impacts. We produced a technical note on the topic that will be published." Confederation is also working on digital large-scale photography through cameras loaded onto aircraft. "The cameras are linked into a computer, and we can analyze the images in 3D to monitor things such as forestry renewal or the effects of water crossings on the environment."

Two years ago, Conestoga College received government approval to offer applied degrees in architecture, manufacturing/automation, woodworking and electronics, and recently entered the field of applied research as well. Associate Vice-President of Applied Research and Business Development Eric Dahlin says, "We have one project underway that involves a contract in partnership with Materials Manufacturing Ontario, one of the province's Centres of Excellence. We are researching how to automate a portion of the manufacturing process for a local supplier of sewn products."

The college received two government research grants: one for an automated facility for research into this kind of automated manufacturing; and one for research in built environment. According to Conestoga's Director of Special Projects Jal Wadia, the latter fits in with a new architecture degree program. "We are working with a grant from the Ontario Innovation Trust Fund to research the life cycle costing of items such as energy, security, ventilation, etc. The initial cost of a building represents only about 5 per cent of the total. We need more focus on the other 95 per cent in terms of how to make buildings more efficient and conducive to human health."

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