Across Dal鈥檚 campuses, researchers are collaborating with companies small and large to solve industry problems.
Industry collaborations, from partnerships with local start-ups to projects with large multinationals, are a key pillar to research happening at Dal. Dal鈥檚 Industry Liaison and Innovation (ILI) office facilitates these collaborations. The results of relationships with industry are widespread, benefiting Dal鈥檚 researchers and students, advancing industry and helping to drive the economy.
Industry-university research collaborations can progress with the support of several funding initiatives, including opportunities offered by the Nova Scotia Department of Business, the National Research Council Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP), and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA). In recent years, the Productivity and Innovation Voucher program offered by the Province of Nova Scotia has facilitated much collaboration at Dal. These opportunities encourage business growth and celebrate knowledge development happening in our own back yard.
Taking an idea farther
Turbulent Research, a local company headquartered in Halifax, designs and manufactures low power data acquisition and signal processing products for sub-sea, industrial and remote locations. The company strives to give their customers the best quality sensor data possible, so when they were looking to build on their product success they turned to Dal and began working with Jean-Fran莽ois Bousquet, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
鈥淲e had a strong relationship with Jean-Fran莽ois and his team from day one,鈥� says Chris Loadman, CEO. 鈥淭hey immediately applied their thorough understanding of communications concepts to underwater acoustics in our initial discussions, bringing new ideas and concepts to the table that we hadn鈥檛 considered.鈥�
The company was looking to build an acoustic sensor prototype that offered improved detection of signals in high flow environments where the signal can be easily lost.
鈥淭he sensor is an array of hydrophones that are controlled to receive signals coming from different locations,鈥� explains Jean-Fran莽ois. 鈥淚t can be used to locate animals, ships or any equipment that generates acoustic noise.鈥�
Jean-Fran莽ois and his team developed, built and tested a prototype that exceeded the company鈥檚 expectations.
鈥淥ne of the key design aspects that Jean-Fran莽ois and his team added to the prototype was its ability to go deeper below the surface,鈥� explains Chris. 鈥淭hey customized a special pressure case that allows the remote sensor to operate in deeper environments, allowing us to offer a more distinct product to our clients.鈥�
Turbulent Research has already begun steps to launch the new acoustic sensor globally and have orders lining up from customers.
鈥淏y working on joint projects like this we are able to build stronger relationships and gain experience that can lead to new relationships,鈥� says Jean-Fran莽ois. 鈥淭his project will lead us to further collaboration with Turbulent Research and others in the industry.鈥�
Projects like this also benefit students at Dal. Jean-Fran莽ois hired Graham McIntyre, a student in Electrical Engineering, to work on the study of flow noise. Graham applied concepts he learnt in an academic setting to help solve real world problems.
鈥淭he experience Graham gained by working on this project will help in shaping his career path,鈥� says Jean-Fran莽ois. 鈥淭his industry experience makes him better equipped to enter the market once he graduates.鈥�
Lighting up ideas
LED SGS Solutions Inc. has a passion for providing business solutions while bringing new technology to life. The Dartmouth, Nova Scotia company was given customer feedback that they knew could help improve their product.
鈥淲e were familiar with Matt d鈥橢ntremont鈥檚 and the iDlab鈥檚 work,鈥� says Shelley Simpson-McKay, CEO at SGS Solutions. 鈥淲e knew that they had the expertise to help us improve our product and they felt like part of our team from day one.鈥�
Participants in the exhibit industry are often charged for lighting and power, which can quickly increase the company鈥檚 costs. SGS Solutions provides LED lighting and power solutions for companies to light and power their own booths, with a product line known as ShowBattery. ShowBattery allows exhibitors to power their own exhibits during peak show times, reducing their financial costs and helping the environment.
鈥淪helley and her team came to us with customer feedback asking for a way to know the unit's battery life,鈥� explains Matt d鈥橢ntremont, director of Dal鈥檚 iDlab in the Nova Scotia Product Design and Development Centre (NSPDDC). 鈥淪o we designed a new generation of product to have an effective battery capacity monitor.鈥�
The new generation of product has features that show battery storage capacity and the new display panel allows customers to plan for the best lighting and power usage when at a trade show.
鈥淲e designed the prototype to work within the size and cost constraints of SGS Solutions product,鈥� says Matt. 鈥淭he team took the time to source the parts we needed including a chip that was sourced and modified by one of our students that allowed us to calibrate the product to display the exact information the customers wanted.鈥�
The new generation product developed by Matt and his iDlab team increases ShowBattery鈥檚 value and effectiveness, opening up opportunities for SGS Solutions to expand their product line with future developments.
鈥淚 still remember the day they showed us the solution and I鈥檓 not sure who was more excited, them or us,鈥� says Shelley. 鈥淭he solution, which I鈥檓 sure to many on the surface may seem small, has exponential value to improving our product鈥檚 value in the market.鈥�
Both SGS Solutions and the team at iDlab are looking forward to working together again.
Collaborate on the next level
Dal ILI is constantly working with industry and researchers resulting in win-win collaborations. To access these programs or find out more about industry-university engagement opportunities visit and contact ILI today.