Grant: College and Community Innovation Program

The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) is requesting NSERC Innovation Enhancement funding to support the development of the recently-created Centre for Innovation and Research into Unmanned Systems (CIRUS). CIRUS is designed to support applied research aimed at addressing industry challenges in three main areas: innovative applications of unmanned vehicles, sensors and related equipment; application customisation; and validation and integration of data products derived from unmanned systems. CIRUS will act as a leading unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) research centre and a key supplier of highly qualified personnel to industry, and will function as a partner in applied research for both SMEs, and for more established companies. Additional partnership agreements have been established with the Foremost Centre for Unmanned Systems, which is currently the only licenced beyond visual line of sight facility in Canada for UAV testing. CIRUS has also developed links with other Alberta colleges and their faculty, through a progressive seven AB college partnership and one college in BC. NSERC funding will be used to provide a stable financial environment for the establishment and operation of CIRUS through its first five years. NSERC funds will be complemented by industry contributions to the various joint research projects undertaken at the centre, both with additional funding provided through industry donations, and through various federal and provincial funding initiatives specific to individual research projects. The research carried out by CIRUS will complement the parallel development of unmanned systems and related curriculum at SAIT, and will provide a unique venue for student training. By working closely with industry, the centre will provide students with the opportunity to work on cutting-edge research, directly related to the rapidly-expanding adoption of UAVs both in Alberta, and in Canada as a whole.