Durham College
AC-9: Academic Research

Ali Taileb – School of Science and Engineering Technology Atul Tyagi – School of Business, IT and Management Amit Maraj – School of Business, IT and Management Greg Moran – School of Skilled Trades, Apprenticeship and Renewable Technology Gary Heagle – School of Science and Engineering Technology Pravin Patel – School of Science and Engineering Technology Cameal Soverall - Centre for Food Daniela Garritano - School of Continuing Education Jennifer Bedford - School of Media, Art and Design Matthew Hack - School of Interdisciplinary Studies Tricia Wiseman - Centre for Food Don Fishley - School of Skilled Trades, Apprenticeship and Renewable Technology Lauren Fuentes - School of Science and Engineering Technology Kevin Campbell - School of Skilled Trades, Apprenticeship and Renewable Technology Shannon Webb - School of Interdisciplinary Studies

Worked with Research Office and conducted a faculty survey

BACKGROUND: DynaCurrent Technologies Inc. (DTI) has developed and patented a new and innovative technology to heat liquid using electricity. Testing to date shows this new technology is significantly more efficient than other electrical heating technologies in the marketplace. A potential commercial use is as an alternate heating source to oil, propane and electricity in homes and small- to- medium-sized buildings. In order to gain acceptance in the marketplace, DTI required a third-party performance evaluation in a residence to show how the new technology performs against the ones currently available. In working with Durham College (DC), DTI was able to conduct such testing. OBJECTIVE: • To test performance of the new technology against the technology currently used in the marketplace. OUTCOME: The performance evaluation conducted in partnership with DC and DTI showed that DTI’s technology is significantly more efficient in heating a house than comparable technologies. In addition to being more efficient, the technology eliminates the carbon footprint of traditional home furnaces as well as the safety concerns associated with carbon monoxide. If a significant number of homes and buildings across the province were to replace their traditional furnaces with DTI’s technology, it would make a significant impact on two of today’s largest concerns—the rising price of energy and the environment—with one small action. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This project was made possible through a partnership with Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). BACKGROUND: Woodleigh Farms Ltd., an agricultural crop producer operating in Cavan, Ont., had been using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to inspect in-progress crops with normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI) and near-infrared (NIR) sensors. Rather than a manual inspection, which was done in the past, a drone was used to cover more area and remove human error. However, during the farm scouting operations, it was identified that their software was unable to incorporate and process the NDVI images into the farm software programs. Woodleigh Farms Ltd. required bridging software (middleware) that would integrate farm software with the drones to gain a competitive edge in crop scouting. OBJECTIVES: • To develop middleware that can process the data from the UAV and provide high resolution images. • To ensure the middleware incorporates high resolution NDVI images into a variety of databases. OUTCOME: By working with Durham College (DC), Woodleigh Farms Ltd. received middleware that integrated their software with that of individual farmers. It uses high resolution NDVI images from the UAV as inputs and develops an output that can be applied to a variety of farm software. Farmers using different kinds of software can now use this new application to incorporate data from the drone into their database, and Woodleigh Farms Ltd. can scout fields using different methods and with a high level of accuracy. This translates into more contracts for crop scouting. The company is now targeting primary agricultural producers with more than 760 acres and using third-party imaging services. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This project was made possible through a partnership with Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).