Space-Defence Technologies Alberta

This theme aims to identify and support the commercialization of emerging technological areas and solutions that couple to Alberta’s post-secondary institution strengths and industry/government needs in the space and defence market sectors.

Key challenges for emerging technologies are the pace of development, the highly specialized (and end-user-driven) nature of solutions, and the global competitiveness of sectors leveraging leading-edge research and technologies. SDTech AB draws on existing areas of innovation, will identify and support cross-sectoral opportunities, and create high-value return on government investment.  

This includes target areas of miniaturized, low-cost, low-power solutions for air-, space-, and ground-based applications, development of dual-use (civilian and defence) technologies, AI frameworks to improve sensor hardware performance, orbital and sub-orbital platforms (CubeSats, supersonic fixed-wing aircraft, sounding rockets, highly maneuverable VTOL aircraft, etc.) and associated propulsion systems.

Sensing Our Environment aims to advance how we acquire and synthesize high-value information across the space-defence landscape. It builds on the inter-connected, and often common mechanisms by which technology samples, records, and interacts with our environment. Sensors are now ubiquitous in our daily lives, driving expanding markets for new information to inform decisions and leverage new observational sensor platforms (space-, air-, ground-based, on-person, etc.).

This theme includes the development of remote sensing capacity via imaging technologies (hyperspectral satellite-based imaging, sub-orbital surveillance imaging, space environment specification, etc.), enhancing integrity and information content of multi-platform sensing (e.g., precise positioning, AI-driven sensor fusion), new technologies for direct sampling (e.g., soldier wearable sensors), and multi-sensor/model informed information synthesis.  

This theme leverages the advanced sensor platforms, sensors and readily accessible data that is driving an ‘innovation race’ across the space and defence landscape. Governments and industries are vying to harness the efficiencies and advantages of data-informed decisions and embed situational awareness into core operational systems. Whether enhancing collision avoidance for satellites, evasive algorithms for sub-orbital defensive aircraft, or new techniques to utilize interconnected geospatial information, the goal is real-time situational awareness to facilitate smarter decision-making and industry competitiveness.

Situational Awareness aims to build on Alberta’s advantage in sensor technologies and multi-layered adaptive analysis to generate made-in-Alberta solutions that support the protection of Canada’s assets and enhanced industry efficiency through better decisions, founded on better information. This includes edge-AI computational frameworks deployed onboard devices, design of novel architectures for selection/fusion of sensors, development of capacity to create and understand common operational pictures, robustness and integrity of information and enhance decision-making. 

This theme builds on situational awareness to better link assets to surveillance and reconnaissance, enhance natural and manufactured threat detection and support threat replication and response scenario planning/execution.

SDTech AB leverages Alberta post-secondary expertise in space-based technologies, aerospace systems, and joint-domain intelligence to enhance the technology readiness of leading-edge solutions aligned with Alberta industry and build new capacity in emerging areas of strategic importance.  

This includes the development of technologies for AI-enabled enhanced asset (e.g., sensor) deployment/positioning, target tracing solutions, evasion algorithms, and joint-domain coordination of sensing – using space assets and advanced UAVs in hazardous environments to detect threats to soldier safety. It also leverages research into the integrity of (and threats to) space-based systems and space-based technologies such as positioning and communications.