An investment of $2.2 million over four years will create the new NB Power Artificial Intelligence Centre, to be located on the Moncton campus of the Université de Moncton.

The Centre will leverage expertise at the Université de Moncton to improve reliability, reduce costs and improve employee safety for NB Power.

In recent years, the Perception, Robotique et Intelligence Machine (PRIME) research group at the Université de Moncton has executed many AI applied research projects and carried out high-impact technology transfers with several industrial partners.

The creation of the NB Power Artificial Intelligence Centre is coming at the right time for the team, said Moulay Akhloufi, a professor in the Computer Science Department and Director of the NB Power Artificial Intelligence Centre.

“This collaboration with NB Power will be a chance to develop innovative solutions using leading-edge AI, industrial vision and robotics technologies. We’ll be able to strengthen our position as a centre of excellence in AI,” the professor said.

“The Centre will also allow us to create new chances to collaborate with other partners and other researchers nationally and internationally, to attract the best talents in the areas of research carried out at the Centre and to train staff who are highly qualified in AI.”

The university’s researchers are experts in such technologies as probe design, robotics and AI, and have the potential to transform how NB Power operates, the statement said.

For example, data collected by a system of vehicle-mounted probes observing NB Power assets as they travel along a road will be processed using artificial intelligence to identify, in real time, zones where maintenance is needed. 

The work is supported by NB Power, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Mitacs and the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation.