Message from Dr. Jaspinder Komal

Assistant Deputy Minister, Defence Research and Development Canada

Tested and true: IDEaS is ramping up field-ready technology

As innovators, every step is a gamble. It’s a bet on your instincts, your readiness to continue, your wiliness to take things in a direction you didn’t expect. What is born unsteady can suddenly take on a grace of movement all its own. We see this every day as we push technologies forward.

More than 20 technologies which started in the infancy of this program have now graduated to a state of readiness for testing by the Department of National Defence (DND) and Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). This is a leap forward, but it is also just a drop in the ocean of potential of the Canadian innovation ecosystem.

Since the program’s inception, we have seen innovators collaborate, create partnerships, and demonstrate leadership. You have bravely shared your vision to enhance defence capabilities, and real progress has been created simply by allowing these innovative concepts to breathe.

Many concepts have merged, been dissected, and diverged from where they started; this is the life of an innovator. Much of this technology has sought a place outside of the walls of the DND/CAF, we were happy to help you find it. That is why IDEaS created Marketplace, as an outlet to all the possibilities your technology can find. We built it, and defence primes, other government partners, and academia came.

From artificial intelligence to autonomous systems, quantum technologies to pop up cities, Canadian innovators have taken the leap over and over, and we are honoured to have been beside you. In our journey together, we see that movement in any direction is growth.

Together, we continue building an evergreen and growing innovation ecosystem for the DND/CAF and Canadians.