Grant: College - University Idea to Innovation Grants

SAIT Polytechnic, BCIT, and Factor 9 Sports propose to collaborate on the development andpre-commercialization of an instrumented training skate. The project will exploit synergies in the skills, experience and facilities of the institutions as well as the expertise of the industry partner. SAIT is the home of the Sports and Wellness Engineering Technology Institute, led by NSERC Industrial Research Chair for Colleges for Sports and Wellness Engineering Technology, Dr. Alex Zahavich, who will lead SAIT's contribution to this applied research project. Nancy Paris, an experienced biomedical engineer and researcher, will lead BCIT's participation in this joint project. Ms. Paris directs the accomplished, multi-disciplinary product development researchers on the Product and Process Applied Research Team, and Technology and Product Evaluation Group at BCIT. The end goal of this NSERC College-University I2I grant is to produce a product that has been optimized for both technology and cost-to-manufacture. The proposed work builds on an initial NSERC Engage grant between Factor 9 and BCIT in which a proof-of-concept functional prototype was created to explore the concept of an instrumented ice-skate for training purposes. This added collaboration would enable Factor 9 to further optimize the prototype through a number of iterative design cycles that engage the end user of the technology, creating awareness and acceptance in the target market. This CU-I2I project will provide Factor 9 Sports with a marketable product with which to begin the commercialization process. The relationship between applied research enterprises at SAIT and BCIT will grow through this collaboration, increasing mutual awareness of each institution's capacities and resources, and potentially leading to additional future projects.