Camosun receives prestigious Canada Foundation for Innovation grant for human performance research
May 29, 2012
Camosun College has received a $728,978 College-Industry Innovation Fund grant from the Canada Foundation for Innovation toward a $1.8 million project in Applied Sensor and System Integration for the Enhancement of Human Performance.
As part of its investment in science, technology and innovation, the Government of Canada allocates funds to the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) to help support research infrastructure at colleges and universities across the nation.
"Canada's colleges, cégeps and polytechnics play an important role as we forge ahead with Canada's innovation agenda," said Minister of State Goodyear in a May 22 release. "Innovation needs to be a central focus—from the research laboratory to the production floor. It is the key to maintaining our country's position as a global economic leader."
"Canadian colleges are lending their expertise to local companies, helping them to compete and grow," said Dr. Gilles G. Patry, President and CEO of the CFI. "The CFI is ensuring that colleges have in place specialized facilities to support their role as important hubs of economic growth and job creation."
Camosun is a leader among BC colleges in applied research with over $3.25 million garnered to date in total research funding grants. It is the only college in British Columbia to receive the College-Industry Innovation grant this year. The grant will be matched by the British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund through the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation.
"These grants are very prestigious for Canadian colleges," says Dr. Tim Walzak, BC Regional Chair of Sport Technology at Camosun. "We will use the funding for equipment and infrastructure so that we can continue our applied research with industry partners in integrating highly precise wireless sensors into specialized clothing to monitor heart rate, speed, core body temperature, blood pressure, gait analysis, balance, speech recognition and real-time motion analysis."
Camosun is currently working with several companies and with two local businesses in particular on wireless sensor systems and technical garment research: FAB Biosyn Systems Inc. and White's Diving.
FAB Biosyn Systems Inc. is a Vancouver-based company that specializes in portable wireless sensory systems which can be attached to the human body, under or over clothing, to accurately record biomechanical movements. The wireless motion capture system can be helpful in many areas including athletic training, ergonomic studies, occupational therapy, sports equipment design and the entertainment industry. Camosun is working with FAB Biosyn Systems to prepare their products for use in high performance Olympic and Paralympic sport and physiotherapy applications.
White’s Diving (a Division of Aqua-Lung), of Victoria, is Canada's largest diving suit manufacturer. Using advanced materials they design cold water drysuits, undergarments and footwear for the most extreme conditions. Their products are currently used by military and commercial divers. Camosun has carried out thermal testing and validation for the company's newest high performance underwater diving garment—their most successful product launch to date.
The research and testing is done at the college's Sport Innovation Centre (SPIN) at the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence on Camosun's Interurban campus. Through SPIN, Dr. Walzak, along with Camosun faculty and students, provides national and international industry clients with science expertise, research, testing and product development services on technological innovations in the field of human performance.
"The technologies we're developing have immediate applications and benefits not only for Olympic and Paralymic athletes, but for medicine, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, emergency response, recreation and many other industries," adds Walzak. "With this type of technology, we can envision a time when physical activity is positively reinforced, health care is continually monitored and associated costs reduced, and the elderly can be immediately and effectively monitored and cared for."
- About Camosun’s Centre for Applied Research & Innovation
- About Camosun’s Sport Innovation Centre (SPIN)
- Whites Diving Video Link
- About the College-Industry Innovation Fund
The College-Industry Innovation Fund (CIIF) targets projects that will enhance the capacity of colleges to support business innovation in Canada by providing them with state-of-the art, industry-relevant, research infrastructure. - About the Canada Foundation for Innovation
The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) gives researchers the tools they need to think big and innovate. By investing in state-of-the-art facilities and equipment in Canada’s universities, colleges, research hospitals and non-profit research institutions, the CFI is helping to attract and retain the world’s top talent, to train the next generation of researchers, to support private-sector innovation and to create high-quality jobs that strengthen the economy and improve the quality of life for all Canadians.
Contact
| Dr. Tim Walzak BC Regional Chair of Sport Technology Camosun College 250–220–2530 (office) twalzak@camosun.bc.ca | Ryan Saxby Hill |
Last updated: May 29, 2012 12:55 pm
