Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

The Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications paradigm, a novel automated exchange of data among autonomous devices without human intervention, is crucial for the networked society and is shaping the evolution of the future Internet and the Internet of Things - the next step in increasing the ubiquity of the Internet, by connecting inanimate objects. The key enablers of M2M applications are cloud computing which provides unlimited computing capabilities, and next-generation wireless technologies which enhance performance and efficiency of wireless networks. This project, in partnership with Ericsson and Varitron Technologies, will investigate and develop new smart and sustainable M2M technologies for home automation applications. Relying on state-of-the-art achievements on Telco cloud platforms and carrier-grade M2M communication service, artificial intelligence and green ICT methodologies will be considered in M2M and home automation applications to convert a house into a smart mobile cloud of networked objects which are optimized in terms of resource usage and adaptive to human behavior. Environmental awareness will be at the focus of the research themes, to complement our prior work on cloud efficiency and neutral-carbon network. The proposed cloud-based approach allows multiple homes and users to share resources, and interact to each other, in order to jointly optimize costs and environmental impacts of a networked community in a smart university campus. This model will constitute a cornerstone to build new smart city technologies, which are largely considered as innovation drivers in emerging areas of Canadian society such as health, environment, inclusion and business. This will shed more light in particular on defining role of the Internet and user-driven innovation in sustainable economic growth and a high quality of life. The outcome of this project will directly serve as a research prototype to develop a sustainable smart city, at a larger scale, for Montreal Innovation District. This first smart city model in Canada will help advance Canada and Quebec ICT sector, in alignment with forefront smart cities in the world, like Stockholm's Royal Seaport and London's Future Cities Catapult.