The Launch has been chosen as a check centre for NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic community (DIANA).
The DIANA network gives a wide range of cutting-edge infrastructures the place firms and researchers can de-risk, show and validate dual-use applied sciences for each defence and civilian functions.
The Launch, the Marine Institute’s state-of-the-art dwelling lab in Holyrood, was formally designated as a test centre on March 14, together with 12 different Canadian check centres and two accelerator websites.
Picture: Angie Bishop
‘Vital function’
Kelley Santos, director of The Launch, says it’s an “unimaginable honour” to affix the DIANA community as a Canadian check centre and can proceed their work inside the innovation ecosystem to help the testing, refining and deployment of novel applied sciences to deal with NATO challenges.
“This designation as soon as once more reinforces the numerous function of the Marine Institute and Memorial College in offering entry to world-class infrastructure and check amenities to various innovators and companions nationally and internationally,” Ms. Santos mentioned. “We sit up for contributing to the DIANA innovation ecosystem and collaborating with its transatlantic community to develop world-leading applied sciences.”
Subsequent steps
Over the following couple of months, Ms. Santos says The Launch will formalize an settlement with the DIANA community.
“As soon as we formally be a part of the community, it is going to open up The Launch to NATO DIANA applications. They situation challenges to modern firms and researchers to develop expertise options that deal with world issues. The subsequent spherical of challenges is anticipated this fall.”
In November, 44 companies were chosen from greater than 1,300 candidates to provide you with dual-use applied sciences for power resilience, undersea sensing and surveillance, and safe data sharing.
Picture: Submitted
‘Supreme testing setting’
“This designation exemplifies the Marine Institute’s continued dedication to business and academia,” mentioned Dr. Paul Brett, vice-president (Marine Institute), Memorial College. “The Launch gives a really perfect testing and demonstration setting for the DIANA community. This transatlantic community is a superb instance of the facility of worldwide collaboration in fostering modern applied sciences and growing options for real-world issues.”
The community, which now totals 182 check centres and 23 accelerator websites in North America and Europe, consists of authorities applications, universities and company analysis arms.
Take a look at centres are matched with chosen entrepreneurs and researchers who develop and consider their ideas and applied sciences for defence, safety and civilian makes use of.
“Canada is a hub for defence innovation — and Canadian innovators have an important deal to supply our NATO allies,” mentioned Invoice Blair, minister of Nationwide Defence. “I congratulate all of the Canadian accelerators and check centres for being chosen to affix NATO’s defence innovation community. The combination of our home consultants with NATO’s community will strengthen our capability to develop cutting-edge options to the safety challenges confronted by Canada and our NATO allies.”
Picture: Submitted
Fostering co-operation
DIANA is a NATO physique bringing collectively universities, business and governments to work with startups and different expertise innovators to unravel vital defence and safety issues.
The community was launched in 2021 to foster transatlantic co-operation on vital applied sciences, promote inter-operability amongst Allied forces and harness civilian innovation by partaking with academia and the non-public sector.
The Launch includes a digitally related dwelling lab setting for expertise growth, testing, validation and demonstration that helps utilized analysis and commercialization of recent applied sciences in marine and associated sectors.
The ability gives shared entry to an intensive vary of autonomous floor automobiles, metocean buoys, autonomous and remotely operated automobiles, and gliders.
The Launch is residence to SmartAtlantic, the biggest utilized ocean observatory system in Canada and information supplier to the Canadian Integrated Ocean Observation System.
Moira Baird is the general public relations and communications officer with the Marine Institute. She could be reached at [email protected].
