Message from Philippe Hébert

Director General R&D Innovation 

I am pleased to share with you the 2022-2023 IDEaS Annual Report. This is an exciting year for IDEaS, with many technologies becoming a reality. We have been hard at work, advancing early-stage technology, testing advanced concepts, and bringing innovators together in new ways.

Our first Contest, Pop up city: Integrating energy, water, and waste management systems for relocated temporary camps selected three finalists to demonstrate their solutions. These innovators built project teams over the course of the previous rounds, pitched their concepts, and will be eligible to test their prototypes in Round 4 and vie for an additional $2 million prize.

As concepts mature, iterative change drives progress. Returning this year was the second round of the Counter Uncrewed Aerial Systems (CUAS) Sandbox. The 2022 event brought 67 visitors from 10 countries and various areas of expertise to observe and assess the latest counter-drone technologies from 12 innovators. The Sandbox team also held its first corrosion detection in ships demonstration, to help the Royal Canadian Navy with maintenance through early detection and assessment.

Finally, through Competitive Projects funding, the Test Drive element was brought to life. Three technologies funded through our continuum and focusing on cyber attribution, detection, and classification of areas of interest, and interpreting full motion video are being put into realistic scenarios for testing. A fourth Test Drive, which sought market-ready solutions from industry for low carbon energy generation and transfer systems, will look to shrink the DND/CAF’s carbon footprint.

Through five intense years of planning, trials, and hard work, many new technologies have come to light. Twenty products have been identified as a candidate for a Test Drive. Many more are being developed through the Competitive Projects element. A Pop up city Contest will deliver an integrated energy, water and wastewater system. Green energy solutions are being tested for the DND/CAF. And we are just getting started.