Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

Just vertical is a premier vertical growing and vertical farming systems provider for residential and small-scale commercial urban farmers in Canada. A dedicated research and innovation company, Just Vertical is continually investing efforts to optimize its products according to customer needs and market research. The implementation of IoT solutions to their product line is critical to maintaining the technological vanguard meeting the market needs and industry tendencies for task automation. However, Just Vertical requires further expertise and technical capabilities. In collaboration, Just Vertical and Lambton College will focus on the development and implementation of IoT solutions to Just Vertical existing garden systems by automating variables of irrigation (pump duration/triggers), lighting (duration and dimmability), and monitoring water, as well as incorporating built-in innovative ways to have these gardens remain controlled locally and remotely. By implementing IoT solutions to the existing developed products, the client will have the flexibility to monitor the plant growth with little complexity. The overall outcome of this collaborative project is the implementation of the IoT solution to Just Vertical products, and improvement of Just Vertical's existing mobile app, and the integration of the app to a new sensor suite. This will add significant value to the business and strengthen the company's position as a market leader. As well, this presents new market opportunities as the company will be able to expand into new B2B commercial markets with scalable technology. It is expected that this will drive innovation in Ontario and generate revenue of $20 million-plus in the next five years, while also leading to the creation of 12-15 full-time positions in R&D, sales and marketing, and manufacturing from this product development.