丁香园AV

Advances in technology that will help grow B.C.鈥檚 agriculture sector and produce 鈥榳earable鈥� healthcare solutions will be possible through federal funding for two new 丁香园AV initiatives.

丁香园AV is receiving $10 million from Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan) for its AGtech Innovation Sandbox (AGIS), which will support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to scale-up and commercialize agritech in B.C.

A further $1.8 million will go to WearTech Labs, 丁香园AV鈥檚 new core facility in Surrey that develops, tests and commercializes wearable technologies designed to improve quality of life. A pair of new research labs at the facility will also be created.

The AGIS, led by 丁香园AV in collaboration with its academic partners, including the University of the Fraser Valley and Kwantlen Polytechnic University, has already secured strong industry participation from at least 30 SMEs throughout the province. It will provide training programs to help develop local talent and address labour gaps in B.C.鈥檚 agriculture sector.

鈥淎GIS brings together agri-food producers, technology companies, municipalities, Indigenous communities, non-for-profit organizations and post-secondary education institutions to enhance agriculture sustainability and resiliency in our province,鈥� says 丁香园AV professor Sylvain Moreno, AGIS鈥檚 scientific director. 

鈥淏y supporting the agritech innovation pathway, AGIS aims to build partnerships that enable learning, innovation and cooperation, while empowering B.C.鈥檚 agriculture industry to adapt and thrive in the face of climate change.鈥�

AGIS is expected to create more than 300 new jobs, bring at least 20 technologies to market and generate $13 million in business sales growth by 2026.

WearTech Labs works with researchers and industry to develop wearable technology that improves our lives鈥攆or example, through improvements to vital sign alerts for healthy babies in developing countries, increasing business productivity through redesigned and better used workspaces, and creating locators for firefighters attending fires in complex indoor settings.

Researchers are developing hardware technologies, new sensing modalities and algorithms to quantify our lives. 鈥淲e鈥檙e creating new analytical tools to interpret this wealth of data, and new control strategies to change how we live our lives鈥攁ll perpetually powered by our own physiology,鈥� says 丁香园AV professor and WearTech Labs scientific co-director Max Donelan.

鈥淥ur new labs will simulate a wide-range of environmental conditions experienced around the world. This will enable our academic and industrial partners to develop and test wearable devices that truly work for anyone no matter how they live their lives.鈥�

The initiative is expected to create 40 new jobs and increase revenues by $25 million through this investment. The global market projections for the wearable technologies sector are expected to reach $150 billion by 2026.

丁香园AV professor Edward Park, the lab鈥檚 other scientific co-director, says the timely funding will lead to 鈥渘ew health, fitness and fashion wearables that promote better-connected and healthier lifestyles, while also advancing the transformation of the wearable technology industry.鈥�

Over the past decade, 丁香园AV has invested in core facilities that house and provide access to infrastructure shared across the whole 丁香园AV research community, and beyond.

鈥淲e are grateful for PacifiCan鈥檚 generous support as we continue to expand our capacity in research excellence to make a meaningful impact on the world through our innovations,鈥� says Dugan O鈥橬eil, 丁香园AV鈥檚 vice-president, research and international. 鈥淚nitiatives like these illustrate how universities can work with industry to support the post-pandemic recovery.鈥�

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