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Spotlight on S&T - Nobember 2003

From anthrax to G-Suits:
DIR program boosts Canada's defence capability

"Our early work with DIR earned us a lot of credibility and opened up many doors. We were contacted by the U.S. Navy, Boeing, and other companies, and it definitely helped lead to contracts. Today, we're probably the largest manufacturer of G-suits in North America, and we feel that a lot of that success can be traced back to that first DIR contract."

Wendell Uglene, Research Manager,
Mustang Survival Corp, Richmond BC

Twelve years ago a small Richmond BC company had an idea for an inflatable G-suit, but it lacked resources to test the concept. A unique Canadian research program was willing to take a risk. Today, Mustang Survival is one of the world's largest manufacturers of G-suits.

Talk to any one of the dozens of companies that have participated in the Defence R&D Canada's Defence Industrial Research (DIR) program and one of the first things you can expect to hear about is the red tape.

More specifically, the lack of it.

For Doug Laurie-Lean, who has headed the program since its launch in 1988, this is a point of pride. It is also one of the main reasons he believes this small research program has become a driving force of innovation, particularly for smaller Canadian companies.

It acts both as an extension of Defence R&D Canada's (DRDC) internal research capabilities, and as a means of introducing new and innovative concepts to the Canadian Forces.

"We're user friendly," says Laurie-Lean. "We link up the company with a scientist and a military user to help them fine-tune their proposal before it goes to a committee. From the company's point of view, rather than knocking on our door and asking if we're interested in this widget they've developed, the DIR program hooks them in at the front end so they're aware of possible military requirements and where the research should go."

The president of Montreal-based OPAL-RT Technologies Inc. cites this as one of the major advantages of the program. "When we work with DIR, we're dealing with a real potential customer," says Jean Bélanger. "It reduces our risk level because we know we're developing a technology the customer will want."

With 45 employees and approximately $5 million in revenues, the six-year-old company develops solutions for real-time simulation applications. OPAL-RT has worked with DIR on three separate projects since 1999, two of which have resulted in commercial products with the third scheduled for release in 2004.

"This is a model program that's also fairly unique," adds Laurie-Lean, an aeronautical engineer turned technology manager. "It was designed specifically to be responsive to smaller companies, which can't afford a lot of red tape. If a company can get a proposal into me within a month, within another month I can set up a review meeting and if all the scientists are on board then 30 days after approval, Public Works will issue a contract."

Since its inception, DIR has invested $85 million in more than 200 projects. That amount has been leveraged by another $100 million contributed by the project partners, with hundreds of millions more spent on follow-on R&D to move these technologies closer to the market.

Defence Industrial Research Program

Established: 1988
Projects approved: 206
Direct Investments: $85 million
Leveraged investments: $100 million
Annual budget: $4 million
Maximum contribution/project: $500,000

What separates DIR from most other funding programs is its focus on stimulating early stage applied research, particularly among small- and medium-sized companies, and giving these companies an opportunity - often for the first time - to work with the Canadian military. The program also shares the risk by underwriting 50 per cent of eligible research costs, up to $500,000, to help bring the project from the concept stage to the experimental model or proof-of-concept.

Projects that show promise through the DIR program can then apply for support under a variety of other DRDC programs, including the Technology Demonstration Program and the government's $170-million anti-terrorism fund - the CBRN Research and Technology Initiative (CRTI) (See article on page 10). IatroQuest Corp. of Ottawa followed that route with the development of its bio-sensor technology.

"This program isn't just about helping companies develop products. It's an R&D program that is designed to improve the state of a company's research expertise within a particular area," explains John Thomas, manager of the Display Technology Group at General Dynamics Canada in Ottawa. "There isn't always a payback on research because the nature of R&D is that you have to go down a few blind alleys. I'm convinced that the program provides an excellent return for taxpayers, mostly by encouraging R&D that would otherwise not happen."

Thomas has worked on two separate DIR-funded projects associated with flat panel displays. Today, displays that use that technology have become a major product line for General Dynamics, having been installed in 70 Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicles of the Canadian Forces, and more than 1000 armoured vehicles in the US. He adds that the innovation fostered by DIR "continues with a new family of displays destined for several new programs covering land, sea and air-borne applications."

The DIR program has also played a major role in strengthening the R&D capability at Mustang Survival Corp. Best known for making life jackets, Mustang first approached DIR in 1991 with an idea that would adapt its inflatable life preserver technology for inflatable G-suits.

The DIR program funded Mustang Survival's early research in inflatable G-suit technology. Today, Mustang is one of the world's leading manufacturers of G-suits.

Today, the company is one of the world's top manufacturers for G-suits. It credits much of that success to DIR.

"One of the main things the DIR project did for Mustang internally, was that it allowed us to bring in scientists and to keep them on staff," says Wendell Uglene, research manager at Mustang Survival, which employs 300 people at its manufacturing plant in Richmond BC. "Having DIR on board also offset some of the risk involved. It made it possible for us to do true research."

Most of the projects DIR funds have applications for both military and civilian use. For example, Eco-Logic Inc. in Rockwood ON received DIR funding to build a toxic waste destructor, which can be used to destroy PCBs and other toxic waste.

In another DIR project, Ottawa start-up Lab7 Networks Inc., developed a system for encrypted wireless communications between computers. The technology would enable a Canadian soldier in Bosnia, for example, to communicate over the airwaves with National Defence headquarters in Ottawa using a PC with a low-level encryption system. It could also be used by financial institutions and other companies that need to send encrypted information.

The only criticism users had of the program was the fact that there is more demand than resources. General Dynamic's Thomas believes DIR has been very strategic and effective even with limited funds, but stresses that the payback could be greater if more projects could be supported.

"If we are developing a technology that is new for us, and it enables us to sell more and generate more revenue, then we pay more taxes and that's good for the country," he says. "If we are able to become state-of-the-art in certain technology areas, it's good for the Department of National Defence as well."

By Debbie Lawes.
Canada Research Horizons 2003 - Reprinted with permission.