IDEaS continues its evolution

The 2021-2022 story of IDEaS is one of evolution. The program has matured over the last four years, and new elements and facets of the program have emerged to meet the momentum of our work going forward.

Some of the more advanced technologies that have materialized from the Competitive Projects stream are closer than ever to being product ready. IDEaS awarded its second Test Drive to the Ecopia Tech Corporation in fall 2021. Originally funded under the Detection and classification of objects of interest challenge, the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command (CFINTCOM) will test Ecopia’s mapping solution in a real-world environment. The Test Drive will assess the artificial intelligence technology developed to automatically extract land features and objects of interest from geospatial imagery. The objective of the Test Drive is to accelerate the tasking, collection, processing, exploitation, and dissemination cycle, to enhance overall CAF operational planning and decision/action cycles.

Along with this accomplishment, IDEaS called out to industry last year to seek near-market-ready solutions for greening operations. The Green Heat: Low carbon energy generation for heating existing buildings Test Drive began with Black & McDonald testing a solution to provide greener heat for DND/CAF facilities. They will convert an existing building’s heating system by integrating their hydronic heat distribution system.

IDEaS has made strides in helping government-funded R&D get an added boost. A new program initiative called IDEaS Marketplace helps IDEaS-supported innovators connect directly to potential stakeholders in the private and public sector, while also providing a window for DND/CAF leadership to see new technologies that may be applicable in different scenarios.

Innovation knows no boundaries. That’s why we extended our reach internationally, sharing information and best practices with our allies. IDEaS participated in the 2021 NATO Innovation Symposium’s discussion panel on lessons learned for building a successful innovation ecosystem. The program also hosted its own lessons learned event in March 2022, discussing defence innovation with allies from around the world.

In November 2021, IDEaS worked with NATO’s Innovation Hub to co-host the NATO Innovation Hub Challenge, alongside Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM). The pitch-style event focused on cognitive warfare and attracted more than 80 applicants. Being the host country, Canadian content was centre stage, with more than 30 Canadian applications.

Internally, IDEaS further refined and improved its processes to better meet the needs of our clients. We changed the challenge management process to more effectively align with DRDC’s operating framework.

To better share our successes and inform on the challenge process, IDEaS launched a departmental SharePoint site (Accessible only on the National Defence network.). The goal going forward is to better share knowledge with internal stakeholders and report on progress.