Six Nova Scotia ocean technology companies have been selected to participate in Innovacorp’s Early Adopter Program, the provincial innovation agency said.
Each of the companies in the program will receive as much as $20,000 to help finance the first deployment and testing of a product with an early adopter customer.
The program participants’ customers include government entities, academic institutions, and private companies around the world, and they have agreed to provide test data and feedback.
The program funds can be used to build the product and operate it during testing, as well as for company travel and other costs related to product deployment.
The companies are:
Xeos Technologies Inc., Derek Inglis, Dartmouth – Xeos Technologies is developing a navigation device for ocean robotic vehicles that combines an on-board GPS for surface navigation with a strobe flasher to aid in deep water recovery. With a depth rating of 7,500 metres, the technology is suitable for all ocean robots and reduces costs by mitigating the need for two devices.
Turbulent Research Inc., Chris Loadman, Halifax – Turbulent Research is developing a miniature pipeline inspection gauge tracking tool using a combination of acoustic and magnetic technologies. The company is also developing a small, underwater, broadband acoustic sensor for monitoring sounds emitted by offshore construction. These products make offshore operations faster, easier and less expensive.
Swell Advantage Ltd., Iaian Archibald, Craig Sheppard, Halifax – Swell Advantage is developing a parking management platform for temporary mooring and docking at boat clubs, marinas and government wharves. The technology helps boaters discover new places to tie up, handles payment processing, offers parking guidance, provides check-in and check-out services, and delivers real-time updates to dock managers.
Blue C Designs Inc., Stephen Smyth, Halifax – Blue C Designs is developing a battery-powered underwater camera system with an LED lamp and a compact, portable electric winch to support the camera and other Blue C Designs products. Replacing large, power-intensive and piecemeal systems, the company’s technologies offer streamlined, easy-to-use solutions for commercial fishing companies, survey companies and research institutes, and are ideally suited for use on vessels of opportunity.
4Deep inwater imaging, Stephen Jones, Halifax – 4Deep inwater imaging is developing an underwater fluorescence microscope that will be capable of detecting harmful algae species at low concentrations. The company’s complementary software provides automatic detection, analysis and notification of in-water objects. Suitable for numerous industries, the technology will be able to provide a fingerprint of fluorescence signals by combining image-based analysis with fluorescence detection.
Maritime bioLoggers Inc., Franziska Broell, Andre Bezanson, Halifax – Maritime bioLoggers is developing a low-cost, customizable, multi-channel movement sensor tag for marine and terrestrial animals. The technology significantly improves data quality, enabling scientists, resource managers and aquaculture specialists to better monitor and record the motion of marine wildlife.
Disclaimer: Innovacorp is a client of Entrevestor
