Vanguard Magazine

April/May 2013

Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR

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i innoVation stefan dubowski is an ottawa-based freelance writer and a regular Vanguard contributor (dubowski@stiffsentences.com). emeRgIng teChnologIes INNOVATIVE CANADIAN MILITARY APPLICATIONS In Budget 2012, the government removed the pilot project status of cIcP and announced $95 million over three years, starting in 2013, and $40 million per year thereafter. It also added a military procurement component. though the launch of that military component is still to come, many of the products and services in its four priority areas – environment, safety and security, health, and enabling technologies – have distinct military applications. the recently updated cIcP list of pre-qualified innovations includes a device that enables soldiers to extend the usefulness of disposable batteries, a system that helps military software operators harden their systems against hackers, and spring-loaded crutches that assist injured and disabled soldiers to become more mobile. In this issue, Vanguard profiles seven canadian innovations. irst announced as part of Budget 2010 to help bridge the pre-commercialization gap, the federal government's canadian Innovation commercialization Program (cIcP) has assisted dozens of companies in taking innovative ideas from the drawing board to the marketplace. adVentURe lIghts Battery harvester 24 APRIL/mAy 2013 www.vanguardcanada www.vanguardcanada.com vanguardcanada.com Soldiers usually discard the disposable batteries in their flashlights and radios when missions are done and replace the cells with new ones. They need to be sure the batteries won't die mid-mission. This prudence is somewhat wasteful, however. Partially depleted batteries wind up in the recycling bin when they may still have plenty of juice left. Montreal's Adventure Lights' Battery Harvester may help the military reduce battery wastage. Using this device, soldiers can pull leftover power from partially drained batteries and store the energy on a lithiumion cell. That cell can then be used to power other devices, such as mobile phones and tablet computers. Adventure Lights' product offers USB ports and also has a solar cell to collect extra energy. The device weighs about 450 g (1 lb.) and is eight inches long by approximately three inches high and four inches wide. Company president Tim Ford says the device would help the Canadian Forces save money otherwise spent on replacing partly depleted batteries. It's too soon to say exactly how much could be saved; Adventure Lights is just starting the four- to six-month testing phase through the CICP and a DND test department. When that's done, the company should have numbers to share, Ford says.

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