Here's a neat idea. Invent a technology that will do real-time 3D mapping of city infrastructure.
That's exactly what's happening right here in North Bay, as new technology to track municipal vehicles was centre stage during a major funding announcement at North Bay City Hall May 9.
The province, with support from private businesses, announced a $56-million project into Ontario automotive and mobility companies.
It includes nearly $39 million from the private sector and over $17 million through the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN).
That funding will support 30 homegrown small and medium-sized enterprises in bringing their innovative technologies into the global supply chain.
The local benefactor is SafeSight Exploration. The city and Rogers Communications will use the funds to help implement real-time 3D road mapping supported by a 5G network.
Mike Campigotto, SafeSight's president, showed off the technology after a morning media conference.
"It creates an MRI of city streets, an underground infrastructure," he said.
"That MRI then creates a highly accurate model of a road or a sewer line, and the model is transmitted to engineers through the cloud. So you could have engineers on the fifth floor looking at data coming in, in real time, and they could immediately dispatch workers to fix a pothole or a shoulder erosion that's occurring as opposed to in today's world where that data is maybe two or three years old and they don't have immediate detail."
He says they have already started to retrofit some municipal vehicles.
"In technology, it has to be easy to use, like any technology that people get excited about," explained Campigotto.
"So the attachment for any vehicle is essentially a magnetic unit that you can stick it on anything, anywhere, as long as there's a piece of metal for it to adhere to. So the beauty of this is that you could take any municipal vehicle, grab the scanner, and magnetically attach it to that vehicle and start collecting data.
"Every city is struggling with digital infrastructure and transforming the way they manage their infrastructure today, with temporary data, or old data, with real-time data. And so I think that North Bay really can be shown as a leader here, and that in a way that directly impacts everyday living."
Vic Fedeli, Nipissing MPP and minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, attended the demonstration.
He says the majority of the funding recipients are spread throughout Ontario.
"There are 30 companies receiving funding," he said.
"There's one North Bay company. I think it's important to highlight the fact that of this provincial money, there is money coming here to North Bay.
"I think what SafeSight is doing is spectacular. What they've done in the past, with their drones, we've opened up the Mining Act to allow their drones now to fly into mines with the thermal readers and the chemical sniffers.
"That was a big innovation developed here with government funding, and now another set of government funding to help them along with their partner, Rogers and the city."
