The home of robotics research at Waterloo Engineering is one of ten new technology development sites in Ontario created to help drive innovation in four key sectors – mining, construction, agri-food and advanced manufacturing.
Through a provincial program called Critical Industrial Technologies (CIT), facilities and expertise at RoboHub will be made available to small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs) to develop, test and showcase technology products and services.
Province-wide, the new development sites, selected by the Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI), offer help in areas including robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity and sustainable construction to speed adoption, commercialization and talent development.
“These ten Technology Development Sites are an integral part of Ontario’s innovation ecosystem,” said Claudia Krywiak, the president and CEO of OCI.
“Through the Critical Industrial Technologies initiative, we are making top-tier testing facilities accessible to SMEs across the province, helping them accelerate commercialization and develop tomorrow’s technologies right here in Ontario.”
RoboHub will support SMEs through expert knowledge and consultation towards integrating 5G technology with advanced sensing, mobile robotics and human-robot collaboration.
“This initiative will open up Ontario commercialization opportunities as innovators can build solutions using next-generation networking and robotics,” Dr. William Melek, the director of RoboHub, said in a media release.
“As home to Canada’s largest and most active robotics and automation research group, the University of Waterloo is uniquely positioned to drive innovation in this space.”