Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

The College of New Caledonia and Ascentech are collaborating on an applied research project to develop automated data collection and communication technologies for the forest sector in British Columbia. Ascentech is a software company based in Prince George, BC, and is currently developing an integrated, modular forest business data analytics platform that will allow their forestry clients to track and analyze important data such as equipment productivity, fuel consumption and harvested volumes. This software will introduce an important innovation to the BC and Canadian forest sector and will help improve company productivity, reduce costs and improve safety.This project will focus on researching emerging sensor and satellite communications technologies and integrating suitable technologies into Ascentech's forest management system. CNC and Ascentech will work together to use these technologies to automatically collect data on the following industrial forest applications: (i) equipment and personnel locations; (ii) equipment productivity; (iii) fuel consumption; and (iv) other important data. Potential technologies will be evaluated for their suitability in an industrial forest application, especially in remote mountainous environments with limited communications. College students involved in this project will develop important innovation skills around: (i) using emerging satellite and sensor technologies in specific industrial applications; (ii) technology-based system design and implementation; (iii) (iv) automated data collection and communication; and (v) business data analytics.