(Halifax, NS) Today, at the H2O conference, Canada’s Ocean Supercluster (OSC) and Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, announced Over-Horizon Awareness of Seafloor Imaging Surveys Project, or Project OASIS. It brings together Canadian and UK ocean technologies to commercialize an autonomous survey solution for marine environmental surveys. Both Canadian and UK governments have set ambitious target for defining national Marine Protected Areas and are seeking monitoring solutions that can quantify their effectiveness.
Led by Voyis Imaging Inc. of Waterloo, Ontario, Project OASIS targets this need for novel ocean sensors and software that can efficiently deliver quantifiable ocean health data and tackles the operational and cost challenges of marine environmental monitoring that are limiting adoption. This project will position a Canadian company at the forefront of this emerging application, driving new job creation and increased exports over the next decade and investment grows in this sector.
Voyis Imaging is working together with partners in the United Kingdom, including the National Oceanography Center (NOC), University of Southampton and AutoNaut Ltd. With a total project value of more than $2.2 million, Canada’s Ocean Supercluster is investing $788,000 with the balance of funding coming from Innovate UK and project partners.
Project OASIS builds on the successful IMAGE Project in 2023 where Voyis worked with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and local indigenous partners to demonstrate the use of optical sensors for the assessment of marine protected environments.
OASIS catalyzes an evolution of this essential technology by combining Canadian (Voyis) sensor technology with autonomous robotic platforms from two world-renowned UK players in the field of ocean science, bringing their knowledge, experience, and IP into Canadian industry to position Voyis as a leader in this growing ocean application
Quotes:
“This strategic international partnership between Canada’s Ocean Supercluster and Innovate UK highlights how collaboration is creating real benefits for Canadians and for the ocean sector beyond our borders,” said the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. “OASIS, one of the four projects unveiled today, demonstrates how government support for Canada’s Ocean Supercluster is fostering transformative technologies that are critical to growth and sustainability within the blue economy.”
“In both defining marine protected areas and more broadly in the effective monitoring of our ocean, technology is an important enabler. Project OASIS (Over-Horizon Awareness of Seafloor Imaging Surveys) comes from our first-ever international call for proposals in partnership with Innovate UK. It brings together Canadian and UK ocean technologies to commercialize an autonomous survey solution for marine environmental surveys and targets the need for novel ocean sensors and software that can deliver quantifiable ocean health data.”
-Kendra MacDonald, CEO, Canada’s Ocean Supercluster
“The OASIS Project embodies our commitment to developing solutions that not only meet the evolving needs of the commercial sector but also contribute to the sustainability of our oceans. Voyis will address core challenges in long range AUV environmental surveys by developing solutions for low-bandwidth situational awareness and automated data interpretation solutions for large image datasets.”
About Canada’s Ocean Supercluster
Canada’s Ocean Supercluster accelerates the development and commercialization of made-in-Canada ocean solutions in energy transition, food security, future of transport, and climate change while also growing more companies, creating more jobs, and attracting ocean talent. As Canada’s national ocean cluster, the OSC is a convenor of members, partners, and networks and a catalyst for transformative growth that helps build the robust ecosystem needed to help realize Ambition 2035 – a 5X growth potential in ocean in Canada by 2035. To date, the OSC has approved more than 100 projects which will deliver more than 220 new made-in-Canada ocean products, processes, and services to sell to the world. For more information visit oceansupercluster.ca
Innovate UK Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is the UK’s innovation agency. It works to create a better future by inspiring, involving and investing in businesses developing life changing innovations. Its mission is to help companies to grow through their development and commercialisation of new productsprocesses and services, supported by an outstanding innovation ecosystem that is agile, inclusive and easy to navigate.https://www.ukri.org/councils/innovate-uk
Media Contacts:
Nancy Andrews
Canada’s Ocean Supercluster
nancy.andrews@oceansupercluster.ca