The Dartmouth-based Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship and Thales Canada have announced the winners of their Digital Dockyard naval innovation challenge: St. John’s-based CORSphere and Toronto’s Datifex.

CORSphere sells marine fleet management software, including digital twin technology, under the leadership of CEO M. Sazied Hassan. Datifex, helmed by CEO Chris Erickson and with multiple offices across North America and Europe, makes equipment- and facility-management technology, including software and sensor systems.

Thales Canada, a division of French satellite imaging and maritime services giant Thales Group, will use both companies’ technology to help provide support services to the Canadian military’s Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships and Joint Support Ships program. Each company is also receiving $175,000 to put towards research and development or commercializations activities. $100,000 each is coming from Thales, with the rest from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.

“We are thrilled by this opportunity to work together with COVE and Thales Canada to help the Royal Canadian Navy adopt optimal condition-based monitoring solutions so that Canada's fleet can achieve peak operational readiness and always be mission-ready,” said Hassan in a statement.

“We are a proud Atlantic Canadian company, and we are looking forward to continuing to support the defence sector and the blue economy.” 

Thales is receiving licenses for CORSphere and Datifex’s technology, but the two companies are retaining ownership of their intellectual property.