IDEaS Innovation Network micro-nets project summaries: Advanced materials

September 04, 2019 – Ottawa, Ontario – National Defence/Canadian Armed Forces

The Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) program seeks to leverage Canada’s innovation talent and capacity in the academic, for-profit and not-for-profit sectors by creating national Innovation Networks. Under the first call for proposals, the IDEaS program has created micro-nets to address challenges related to the study and development of advanced materials for detection avoidance and physical protection in the defence and security context.

Recipients

Organization: Carleton University

Funding: $1,500,000

Project title: Artificially intelligent biomimetic metasurfaces for electromagnetic camouflage

Project description: Carleton University will create a micro-net to explore novel technology for detection avoidance of military personnel and platforms by exploring reconfigurable metasurfaces. The objective of the research is to develop biomimetic metasurfaces in various spectral bands from radio frequency to optics, based on various exotic physical effects, with multi-spectral operation capabilities. These biomimetic metasurfaces represent a paradigm-shifting technology, which has not been attempted before for detection avoidance which is naturally of strategic importance in defence and security related applications.

Organization: Polytechnique Montréal

Funding: $1,499,814

Project title: Flexible, stretchable and self-healable optoelectronic materials for detection avoidance and physical protection

Project description: Polytechnique Montreal will create a micro-net focused on electronic and photonic materials for application in flexible and stretchable devices for electromagnetic shielding and camouflage, featuring self-healing and biodegradable properties. The micro-net aims to create disruptive flexible and stretchable devices integrating the functions of electromagnetic interference shielding and adaptive camouflage/mimetics.

Organization: Polytechnique Montréal

Funding: $1,500,000

Project title: Terahertz to mid-infrared compact photonic platform on scalable semiconductor Technology

Project description: Polytechinique Montreal will create a micro-net to explore a scalable, tunable, and compact photonic platform, based on new functional and adaptive semiconductor nanomaterials, to address current challenges facing the development of light sources, detectors, and sensors operating in a strategically important part of the electromagnetic spectrum.  The new photonic platform could offer significant reductions in production costs, a higher level of integration with electronics, and a broader range of emitted and detected wavelengths.

Organization: University of British Columbia

Funding: $1,500,000

Project title: The Comfort-Optimized Materials for Operational Resilience, Thermal-transport, and Survivability (COMFORTS) micro-net

Project description: The University of British Columbia will create a micro-net to tackle aspects of dismounted soldier mobility, survivability, and sustainability. The newly formed micro-net will not only investigate innovations in thermal regulation, moisture management, all-weather protection, and flexible, breathable armour gel, but also how each of these innovations interact with one another and with overall soldier comfort. The objective of the COMFORTS micro-net is to improve dismounted soldier comfort while simultaneously improving soldier protection from both kinetic and non-kinetic threats.

Organization: University of Manitoba

Funding: $1,499,340

Project title: Development of advanced materials for improved protection against ballistic impact, wear and corrosion damage with additive manufacturing and cold spraying

Project description: The University of Manitoba will create a micro-net to develop advanced materials for improved resistance to damage from high velocity ballistic projectiles, and advanced metallic glass coatings to protect against wear and corrosion damage, by using new additive manufacturing and cold spraying processing techniques. The resulting advanced material for personal protection will provide increased resistance to damage from high velocity ballistics and shrapnel projectiles, while also reducing soldier burden. 

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