BROSSARD, November 29, 2006 — The Honourable Michael M Fortier, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister responsible for the region of Montréal, on behalf of the Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of Industry, today announced two repayable investments totalling $3.2 million in research and development (R&D) projects that will support two Canadian firms' participation in the multinational Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. These projects undertaken by Adacel Inc. and CaseBank Technologies Inc. will create and maintain highly skilled jobs in Canada, while contributing to improved pilot safety around the world.
"Canada's new government is working hard to maximise business opportunities available to Canadian firms under the JSF program," said Minister Fortier.
"Canada's aerospace and defence sector is a world-leader in innovative R&D projects," said Minister Bernier. "These investments focus on keeping pilots safe and using technology to detect problems before they happen."
Adacel Inc. a Quebec company based in Brossard, will receive a $1.5 million investment in a $3.8 million R&D project to develop an easy to use, adaptable and supportable speech recognition system. The technology will enable pilots to execute a variety of commands such as navigation and checklists by voice activation, thus keeping the pilot's focus on flying the aircraft and other mission-critical activities.
"This investment enables us to participate actively in the development of the world's most advanced fighter airplane through the application of leading edge speech recognition technology to the control of cockpit avionics," said Seth Brown, General Manager, Adacel Canada. "We appreciate the Government of Canada's continued support of advanced technology opportunities which otherwise may not be available to businesses of our size."
CaseBank Technologies Inc. of Brampton, Ontario, will receive $1.7 million for a $4.4-million project to develop software that will significantly improve the efficiency of maintenance support throughout the entire life cycle of the aircraft. This problem-solving diagnostic technology will yield both cost-saving and public safety benefits.
"This investment allows CaseBank to advance its diagnostic technology in collaboration with major international aerospace companies," said Phil D'Eon, President and Chief Technology Officer. "Our partnership with the Government of Canada helps to ensure that our technology will continue to be recognized as state-of the-art and globally competitive."
These investments are being made through Technology Partnerships Canada, an agency of Industry Canada, using a new model contribution agreement that emphasizes enhanced transparency and accountability.
For further details on these projects, see the backgrounder on Adacel and CaseBank.
For more information, please contact:
Isabelle Fontaine
Office of the Honourable Maxime Bernier
Minister of Industry
(613) 995-9001
Media Relations
Industry Canada
(613) 943-2502
The news release and other documents are available on the Technology Partnerships Canada website at http://www.tpc-ptc.ic.gc.ca.
Backgrounder
Canada's New Government Invests in R&D Technology for Joint Strike Fighter Program
The Government of Canada is investing in the multinational Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program by committing $3.2 million to two research and development projects with Adacel Inc. of Brossard, Quebec and CaseBank Technologies Inc. of Brampton, Ontario.
The JSF program is a U.S.-led multinational effort to build an affordable, multi-role, fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft. In February 2002, the Government of Canada signed a memorandum of understanding with the United States Department of Defence, signalling the beginning of Canadian participation on the JSF program and providing the Canadian aerospace industry with access to the largest international defence contract ever awarded. This program generates many technological and economic benefits for Canadians.
As part of a $3.8 million program, the $1.5 million investment with Adacel aims to provide an easy to use, adaptable and supportable speech recognition system for use in the cockpit of the F-35 aircraft being produced by Lockheed Martin. This technology will free up the pilot's hands allowing for voice commands under high gravity force manoeuvres. The system will be capable of functioning in a hostile acoustical environment using very limited processing resources. Some of the commands supported by the system will include navigation, checklists, tactical functions, and data retrieval.
Based in Brossard, Quebec, Adacel Inc. has 150 employees and specializes in Air Traffic Control Simulation and Air Traffic Management software technologies. Chosen in September 2005 by Lockheed Martin to develop the speech recognition system, Adacel's market for advanced software applications and services is global, servicing civil and military organizations, aeronautical universities and large international aviation and defence suppliers.
CaseBank will receive an investment of $1.7 million in a $4.4 million project to enhance software tools and methods used to plan for the effects of possible product failures and improve the level of automation in diagnosing faults in complex aircraft systems. While this technology is targeted at the F-35 aircraft being produced by Lockheed Martin through the JSF program, it will also be appropriate for use in other advanced aircraft.
CaseBank employs approximately 25 people and specializes in software systems designed to support the troubleshooting of complex equipment, systems and processes. It is among the few companies in the world specializing in Diagnostics, Prognostics, and Health Management (DPHM), recognized as a growth area in the aerospace and defence markets.
