Vanguard Magazine

t tech SHOWCASE 22 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016 www.vanguardcanada.com by alexandra sweny check thIs tech The Tech Showcase at the Best Defence Conference will feature Canada's most innovative tech companies. t his November, the Best Defence Conference will be a veritable hotbed for partnerships. Bringing together Canadian and international companies, Best Defence creates an intersection where big defence names can meet and do business. Hosted by Pilot Hill Ltd, the Best Defence Conference is entering its fifth year. Un- like past years, the 2016 event will feature a Technology Showcase with 11 of Canada's most novel tech companies. Though they range from everything between virtual reality and drone technology, they all have one thing in common: innovation. The skills they bring to the table have the potential to strengthen Canadian defence and propel busi- nesses to the forefront of the industry. "Selection criteria dictated it was novel technology across a broad array of sectors," says Heather Pilot, President, Pilot Hill Ltd. "So not just in the IT space but in ad- vanced manufacturing processes, marine technology, clean tech, IT, etc." This year's participants were nominated by consultants for industry giants like Lockheed Martin, GDLS-C, KPMG, CFN, and AR Innovation + Strategy, with suggestions and input from members of the Build in Canada Innovation program. Once all the companies were compiled into a list, Best Defence struck an informal "ranking" group. Judges included GDLS-C, Western University, BCIP, Ministry of Economic Development & Growth, and local London company Mikutec. "The secret ingredient for the companies we reviewed was either because they had entered into new or emerging fields, improved a manufacturing process, had really novel technology, had that wow factor, and so on," explains Pilot. The following companies held up against the competition and will at the Best Defence Conference in London, Ontario on November 8-9. There, they'll have the opportunity to give a three-minute overview to an audience composed of big defence and procure- ment names. OVA wHAT: StellarX - Rapid creation by non-experts of virtual and augmented reality environments that can be published, shared and collaboratively used with others. wHERE: Quebec City, Montreal and New York wHy: "It's currently super long to create, manage and share virtual and augmented reality content. Not to mention that prototyping an idea, testing it and then developing within VR/AR is a back-and- forth process. That being said, we decided to cre- ate a new authoring tool for this new medium, a sort of 'wordpress' for virtual reality, allowing anyone, programmer or non-programmer alike, to use our WYSIWYG platform and create immersive simulation content." SECTOR: Defense, Public Security Cognitive Systems Corp. wHAT: High-performance and ultra-low-SWaP RF sensors and sensor networks — based on cus- tom silicon — to enable an unmatched standard of flexible, real-time, low-latency electromagnetic spectrum operations. wHERE: Waterloo, ON wHy: "Given the growing complexity of the cy- ber/electromagnetic spectrum fronts, disruptive wireless solutions that provide high-capability, high-performance, and low-footprint RF sensing, processing and actuation will be vital enablers of forward-thinking defence, civilian, government and consumer roadmaps." SECTOR: Defence, Sensor Networks, Electromag- netic Spectrum Operations Antris Registry Corp. wHAT: Personnel Safety & Security - Scheduling, Monitoring and Proactive Safety Response for remote or lone workers. wHERE: London, ON (product available globally) wHy: "All organizations have a duty of care to mitigate the security risks associated with work alone employees, volunteers or members with AntrisPRO, our fully automated, cloud based saas app for personnel scheduling, monitoring and proactive safety response, personnel location

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