Among the hundreds of made-in-Ontario innovation highlights at this year's show; the unveiling of the only Canadian entry into the $10 million X Prize Tricorder competition, the debut of a high performance platform for the world's largest functioning brain model, a robot tea-butler, 'smart' jewelry and other wearable tech, advanced 3D printing and scanning, a pen that can draw a circuit board, a pizza oven that turns excess heat into renewable power and a cloud-based pet sitter.
"Discovery is the biggest event on our calendar every year," says Dr. Tom Corr, President and CEO of OCE. "We look forward to being able to bring industry, academia, investors, government and many more together under one roof for two days to network, make deals and learn what's new and exciting in the innovation community."
Named Canada's Best Trade Show 2010 and 2011, Discovery attracts more than 2,600 attendees and 425 exhibitors. This year, Discovery welcomes back tried and true features like engaging panels, world renowned speakers, career advice, mentoring, competitions and a show floor buzzing with some of the newest made-in-Ontario gadgets and gizmos.
"Discovery showcases truly inspiring ideas and innovations," says Reza Moridi, Minister of Research and Innovation and Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities. "Over the course of the conference, we will see how Ontario's entrepreneurs and young people are building the future of our great province and contributing to its economic prosperity."
FEATURED SPEAKERS
Appearing as Featured Keynote on April 28 at 4:30 p.m. is YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley, making his Canadian speaking debut in conversation with CBC's senior business reporter Amanda Lang. This is followed by an audience Q & A.
On April 27 at 1:30 p.m., the keynote speaker is Eric Ries, pioneer of the Lean Startup movement, appearing remotely for a conversation and Q&A moderated by Financial Post columnist Rick Spence.
Featured presenters include Singularity University faculty members Neil Jacobstein, former president and current co-chair of the Artificial Intelligence & Robotics Track at SU, and David Roberts, former VP and award-winning CEO and serial entrepreneur, sharing their thoughts on disruptive technology, advancing tech, security and cyber-security.
Discovery's numerous panels and competitions will also feature participation from prominent names in robotics, aerospace, disruptive innovation and health, financial services and agriculture technologies.
INVESTORS GALORE
This year, Discovery will welcome an unprecedented number of investors, including a large contingent of international investors.
Included are hundreds of international investors, including a number from China as well as members of the Keiretsu Forum, a global investment community of accredited private equity angel investors, venture capitalists and corporate and institutional investors. This represents the largest-ever gathering of Keiretsu presidents from around the world including from the US, Israel, Turkey, China, India and Singapore.
Discovery also has booked more than 50 Canadian investors to participate in our Ask an Expert feature, which will have representation from seven of the 10 most active Venture Capital firms in Canada in 2014.
PANELS, SHOWCASES AND CONTESTS
Once again, Discovery's show floor is packed with exhibitors, panels and interactive sessions.
Featured panels include such topics as healthcare, agricultural technology, aerospace challenges and innovations, clean water solutions, high performance computing and disruptive technologies.
For students, job seekers and young entrepreneurs and startups seeking investment, there are opportunities to interact with experts, and investors in a few ways.
Discovery is also the place to see the finals of our popular student competitions that are designed to inspire and reward young entrepreneurs from high school through post grad.
Discovery has it all. The show facilitates the exchange of ideas and encourages new ways to collaborate and push the boundaries of research and innovation through to demonstration and development. It's the best place to see how bright the future of Ontario's innovation community really is.
Named Canada's Best Trade Show 2010 and 2011 and now in its tenth year, OCE's Discovery is Canada's premier innovation showcase. It brings together the best and brightest minds in industry, academia, investment and government to showcase leading-edge technologies, best practices and research in the areas of energy, the environment, advanced health, digital media, information and communication technologies and advanced manufacturing. The annual conference and showcase attracts more than 2,600 attendees and 450 exhibitors.
For more on Discovery, visit www.ocediscovery.com
NB: For media accreditation, please contact Stuart Green at Email Contact
About Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) Inc.
Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) drives the commercialization of cutting-edge research across key market sectors to build the economy of tomorrow and secure Ontario's global competitiveness. In doing this, OCE fosters the training and development of the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs and is a key partner with Ontario's industry, universities, colleges, research hospitals, investors and government ministries. A champion of leading-edge technologies, best practices and research, OCE invests in sectors such as advanced health, information and communications technology, digital media, advanced materials and manufacturing, agri-food, aerospace, transportation, energy, and the environment including water and mining. OCE is a key partner in delivering Ontario's Innovation Agenda as a member of the province's Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs (ONE). Funded by the Government of Ontario, the ONE is made up of regional and sector-focused organizations and helps Ontario-based entrepreneurs and industry rapidly grow their company and create jobs. For more information visit www.onebusiness.ca
Discovery 2015 - Showcase Features
Cloud DX
www.clouddx.com
Cloud DX is already a Top-10 Finalist in the $10 million Qualcomm Tricorder XPRISE competition and is the only Canadian finalist. Cloud DX is revolutionizing health care with a device designed to diagnose 15 different medical conditions and monitor vital signs for up to 72 hours. With a huge buzz around this ambitious product, we expect that Cloud DX will reveal and demo this medical tricorder for the first time ever at OCE Discovery.
teaBOT
http://myteabot.com
The tea industry is booming and with the help of teaBOT's automated kiosks, we may never look at tea in the same way again. teaBOT allows customers to personalize their tea experience by simply walking up to a machine, selecting their favourite tea leaves, watching their tea get dispensed, and walking away with a personalized cup of tea in under 30 seconds. Tea enthusiasts are thrilled to be able to get creative with mixing blends, trying a friend's favourite flavour and ordering a pouch to take home.
PizzaPizza/McMaster University
http://www.oce-ontario.org/our-companies/success-story/2014/10/22/pizza-pizza
Revolutionizing pizza? Funded by fast food leader, Pizza Pizza, McMaster University students introduce HARvEST, the Pizza Oven Waste Energy Recovery (POWER) system, which repurposes waste heat from a conventional pizza oven into more useful forms: such as lighting, hot water, and space heating. The core technology, known as a thermal electric generator, enables the POWER system to be self-powered, even during a power outage. Pizza Pizza and HARvEST will be displaying this new system at Discovery.
Applied Brain Research
http://appliedbrainresearch.com
ABR is bringing the world's largest functioning computer-based brain model to Discovery. The program, known as Spaun, is capable of learning and making decisions based on information it receives. This is the first step toward the democratization of artificial intelligence.
Voovo
https://voovo.co/
Voovo connects those that don't have a 3D printer with those that do. The platform allows customers requiring 3D printed models to quickly crowdsource job quotes from a community of passionate 3D printer owners. Anyone who owns a 3D printer can now become a full-service 3D printing studio that can personalize, print, and ship models around the world.
Mosaic Manufacturing
www.mosaicmanufacturing.com
Mosaic Manufacturing has created new 3D printing technology that enables virtually any desktop 3D printer on the market to expand its capabilities and quality. Mosaic's initial product, The Palette, allows users to go from printing one colour plastic pieces to objects with embedded circuitry inside as well as pieces made up of multiple colours.
Nectro Inc.
www.nectro.com
Nectro Inc. is creating novel nano-materials and bringing them into people's lives through products like the Nectro Conductive Pen. With this pen you can quickly and easily draw working electric circuits. It also features an erasing tip that allows you to correct any mistakes. More innovative products are on the way.
Pawly Corp.
Pawly.co
Winner of Global Start-up Battle 2013 – Powered by Google for Entrepreneurs, Pawly Corp. has developed an electronic toy that connects to a mobile app, allowing busy pet parents to monitor and interact with their pet when they're away from home. From a treat dispenser and a ball launcher to a high fidelity microphone, Pawly offers guilt-free peace of mind and the ability to see, talk and play with your pet from virtually anywhere.
HEALX
www.healxinnovation.com
HEALX is a Toronto based start-up that has developed a new way of bracing and healing bone fractures and musculoskeletal injuries, allowing the body to naturally repair itself more efficiently. Using 3D scanning and 3D printing, HEALX has created a cheaper, more comfortable and customizable healing method that surpasses the traditional casts we use today.
The University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS)
http://utias-sfl.net
The University of Toronto's Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) continues to push the performance envelope and disrupt the traditional cost paradigm with a satellite that carries a spectrometer for greenhouse gas monitoring. They will provide an sample of its world-class development capabilities and display an animation of the highly successful satellite mission that recently demonstrated precise, autonomous formation flight in space.
The Intelligent Assistive Technology and Systems Lab (IATSL)
www.ot.utoronto.ca/iatsl
IATSL develop leading edge technologies to support older adults and people living with disabilities to help them function more safely in their own communities and homes. From a tabletop robot to help those recovering from a stroke, to an intelligent powered wheelchair that assists those with cognitive impairment to drive more safely, the use of artificial intelligence and advanced sensing technologies are making strides in this field.
Envision SQ Inc.
http://envisionsq.com
Envision SQ are currently tackling the enormous task of developing technology to reduce traffic-related smog, creating better air quality in urban areas. Every year, the world's cars, trucks and other vehicles emit millions of tonnes of pollutants, leaving urban-dwellers at risk of anything from asthma and respiratory diseases to stroke and cancer. Known as the "SmogStop Barrier," the design involves the mixing of emissions with clean air, while a proprietary coating breaks down pollutants into harmless by-products. The result: air pollution levels in surrounding communities drop 50 per cent.
Advanced Cognitive Engineering lab (ACE)
http://carleton.ca/ace
Carleton University's Advanced Cognitive Engineering lab (ACE) is a leading Canadian research centre on pilot behaviour with four aircraft simulator platforms. These next-generation simulation and Virtual Reality technologies are extremely important for training and assessment in the aerospace industry. In association with the school's Visualization and Simulation Centre, ACE works to discover fundamental principles of human perception and cognition and to apply these principles to the design, implementation and evaluation of advanced human-machine systems.
Intravision
www.intravision.ca
Intravision Light Systems Inc. have created a unique Lumigreen system for turf-grass growth on natural turf-grass like sport stadiums and golf greens. The patented Lumigreen technology comprises a LED light integrated tarp, in combination with control of air-temperature and air-flow. The product was recently launched in the 2015 Golf Industry show in Texas.
Structur3D
www.structur3d.io
3D printing start-up Structur3D has created a 3D printer add-on called Discov3ry, which can be described as a universal paste extruder. The extruder gives creators around the globe the capability to print intricate and complex designs with a range of soft materials such as silicone, wood filler, electric paint, and even Nutella.
Pond Biofuels
http://pondbiofuels.com
As we all know, heavy industry emits massive amounts of CO2, a green-house gas, widely viewed to have a negative environmental impact. However, these same emissions are actually feedstock for the Pond process. Pond Biofuels uses proprietary technology to eliminate the CO2, nitrogen and sulfur in smokestack emissions, transforming these compounds into algal biomass. This demo will show how this closed-loop continuous harvest system consumes raw stack emissions, and transforms it into value rich algal biomass.
CrossWing Inc.
www.crosswing.com
CrossWing welcomes virtualME, a modular, mass-market robotics platform that enables anything from virtually visiting friends in another country, to telecommunications, virtual education, healthcare, and more. CrossWing stands by the belief that these types of Interactive Personal Robotics will rapidly become as pervasive as common appliances and smart computing platforms. This Discovery demonstration includes a chance to experience this virtual device first hand.
Revel Cider Company
www.revelcider.ca
Revel Cider Company makes craft cider with 100% Ontario grown apples, hops, and indigenous yeast strains. Basically, a hybrid of a beer and a cider, Revel has created a unique flavour characteristic of the Ontario terroir their apples and hops are grown in. Their cider called 'Hop X' is dry hopped with a brand new Ontario hop varietal giving it flavours of orange, strawberry, and lychee. While the flavour called 'Liquid Gold' is fermented with a wild Ontario yeast and aged for 4 months, giving the dry cider notes of guava and citrus.
Nanoleaf
http://nanoleaf.me
Green technology start-up, Nanoleaf welcomes the Nanoleaf Bloom, the world's first dimmable bulb that doesn't require a dimmer switch. This innovative bulb works with any regular on/off light switch, allowing any home or space to personalize its dimming capabilities. Equivalent to a 75 watt incandescent, the Nanoleaf Bloom uses only 10 watts of energy to produce 1200 lumens.
PUSH Strength Inc.
www.trainwithpush.com
PUSH is not your average wearable device. Already being used by some of the world's most renowned teams in the NFL, NHL and NBA, PUSH is changing the way athletes train. PUSH will be showcasing a pro-graded activity tracker for athletes to see Real Workout Metrics. This will include a real-life Olympic weightlifting routine demonstrated live with real-time feedback to a mobile/on screen application.
GestureLogic Inc.
www.gesturelogic.com
Ottawa-based start-up GestureLogic has created an intelligent wearable fitness technology that uses direct monitors of muscle and other anatomic activities to measure true muscle output. At Discovery the team will be demonstrating their cycle fitness application with a stationary bike, allowing guests to see real biometrics of a cyclist in action. Jump on the bike and give it a try.
PTX Performance Products Inc.
http://stable26.com
Not just a sock, Stable 26 gives athletes and everyday people an added edge in performance and comfort. Stable 26 footgear allows you to make even your best fitting athletic footwear fit even better. This entirely new approach to attaining the perfect fit uses silicone pads in anatomically targeted locations to provide improved support, enhanced connection and better overall performance. This showcase will include samples of products for hockey, skiing, running, and golf.
BioSensive
http://earosmart.com
Straight out of the future, BioSensive Technologies is introducing a whole new segment in the wearable electronics market: the first smart earring. Ear-O-Smart connects to your smartphone with Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology and allows you to monitor a wide range of fitness data such as calories, heart rate and activity levels, all through an earring. With a variety of styles, Ear-O-Smart allows you to track your fitness levels in style.
InteraXon Inc.
www.choosemuse.com
Improve your mental fitness, no gym membership required. Muse, by InteraXon, is a brain sensing headband that helps you train your brain to reduce stress, increase focus, and form positive habits. Muse claims to help you do more with your mind, and more with your life, in just 3 minutes a day.
Myant & Co
http://myantandco.ca
Smart objects are the future of all industries and by seamlessly integrating technology with our surroundings we enter a new realm of product value and service. At the forefront of wearable and embedded technology Myant & Co will be showcasing new digital wearable technologies including: lighted safety vests and future sensor embedded fabric technology.
GestSure Technologies Inc.
http://www.gestsure.com
Featured in last year's Microsoft Super Bowl commercial, GestSure gives surgeons the ability to navigate important digital data directly from the operating table, through simple hand gestures. This gives health care professionals the ability to access key items such as patient MRI scans without having to touch an unsterile keyboard, or leave the operating room for a timely scrub down.
Enabling today. Inspiring Tomorrow. Discovery sponsor and global semiconductor leader, AMD, will be showcasing the power of their new graphics processor through a unique Oculus Virtual Reality demonstration for Discovery participants.
Sulon Technologies Inc.
http://sulontechnologies.com
Sulon Technologies introduces the Sulon Cortex, which hopes to change the way humans interact with the world, by bringing virtual content into our physical surroundings. Sulon will be showcasing an early prototype of their Sulon Cortex, a headset that merges augmented reality and virtual reality for an experience like no other.
Quantum Capture
www.quantumcapture.com
Quantum Capture is a Toronto-based 3D scanning studio that creates stunning photorealistic 3D and truly immersive experiences in virtual reality. With a background in the gaming industry, their demonstration at Discovery will include a partial body scan to relay 3D interaction of participants, demonstrated on Samsung Gear.
University Health Networks (UHN)
www.uhn.ca/TorontoRehab
Toronto Rehab is home to some of the world's most technologically advanced rehabilitation research facilities. The iDAPT Centre for Rehabilitation Research brings together the brightest research minds and state-of-the-art technology. Discovery showcase will display some advanced technologies geared towards assisting in age-related health conditions.
SOURCE Ontario Centres of Excellence Inc.
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| Ontario Centres of Excellence Inc.
Stuart Green, Manager, Media Relations, 416-861-1092 x 1022 Email Contact Web: http://www.oce-ontario.org/ |