CANARIE Network-Enabled Platforms Programs

The objective of this project is to create a complete online experiment management system that brings the world-class research capabilities of elite research facilities such as the Canadian Light Source (CLS) in Saskatchewan to the desktops of researchers across the country. This web-based software application provides scientists with remote access to specialized tools, technologies and other infrastructure located in highly sophisticated laboratories across Canada, enabling them to perform experiments without leaving their own lab or office.

Project Lead: University of Western Ontario
Participants: Canadian Light Source Inc, Concordia University

• http://sciencestudioproject.com
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• Project videos [1] [2]

Researchers are building very sophisticated instruments to monitor, map and study our world. These devices produce very large volumes of complex data about our forests and other natural resources. This project aims to create the ability to process the vast amount of information stored in the Canadian Forest Service's SAFORAH database (System of Agents for Forest Observation Research with Advanced Hierarchies), and enable scientists to gather, exchange and analyze detailed data and images 'on demand'. This will help us to better track changes to our forests, take action to preserve our environment, and increase the competitiveness of Canada's resource-based sectors.

Project Lead: University of Victoria

• http://www.saforah.org
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• Project video

To create a virtual Web-based environment that allows multidisciplinary teams to extract, visualize and manipulate and analyze very large amounts of data from scientific instruments on the ocean floor, and use this information in many ways....for example, to better understand marine ecosystems and ocean life, and predict and respond to storms, tsunamis and underwater volcanic eruptions more effectively. This novel software platform will allow scientists from diverse locations to work with ocean data from many different sources, and to remotely control cameras and underwater vehicles during experiments and other deep sea exploration activities.

Project Lead: University of Victoria
Participants: Memorial University of Newfoundland, McGill University

• http://neptunecanada.ca
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• Project video

The objective of this project is to create a research platform that enables the development and implementation of shared ICT-based health service education and delivery that connects healthcare practitioners and students to leading-edge medical resources, such as devices, information and expertise, on demand; and enables the health care community to fully leverage these resources for training, patient care and research collaboration. This platform can help to overcome key challenges in healthcare delivery by reducing health care costs, increasing the quality of patient care, and expanding the reach and accessibility of distributed medical experts and other health care resources.

Project Lead: Lakehead University
Participants: Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), McGill University, iDEAL Consulting

• http://www.hsvo.ca
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• Project videos [1] [2]

The objective of the GeoChronos is to create an effective Web-based platform for scientists who analyze earth observation data from many sources and for multiple purposes. It aims to facilitate the standardized and automated collection and management of large amounts of diverse earth data, gathered at different locations and times, allowing researchers to better access and share this information. This capability will enhance multidisciplinary research collaboration by enabling scientists to work more creatively and productively on critical issues such as biodiversity, the impact of land use and climate change.

Project Lead: Cybera Inc.
Participants: University of Calgary, University of Alberta, University of Victoria

• http://geochronos.org
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• Project video

To develop a web-based, electronic research platform that enables ocean and marine scientists from across Canada and around the world to share data, knowledge and simulation models for effective, real time collaboration. It will enable geographically distributed research teams to acquire, store, manipulate and analyze vast amounts of oceanic data and knowledge and ultimately improve our understanding of marine ecosystems and the relationships within them, including underwater plant and animal life.

Project Lead: Dalhousie University

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• Project video

To provide space science researchers and their collaborators in academy and industry with improved access to globally dispersed analytic tools and instrument data repositories through an online, integrated virtual environment. Via the Canadian Space Science Data Portal, researchers can access large data sets from a vast international array of radio, magnetic, and optical instruments that document the near-Earth space weather environment, including phenomena such as solar flares and the Aurora Borealis. This new capability will help to bolster Canada's contribution to space weather research and international space missions, support new space data analytics, and accelerate space science discoveries.

Project Lead: Cybera Inc.
Participants: University of Alberta, University of Saskatchewan, University of New Brunswick

• http://cssdp.ca
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• Project video

To develop a web-based platform that enables scientists to process, manipulate and analyze the massive and growing volume of three- and four-dimensional brain imaging data, and conduct collaborative research that advances our understanding of brain development, from birth to end of life, and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease. It will enable leading researchers across Canada and their collaborators around the world to access and benefit from this repository of neurological data and expertise.

Project Lead: McGill University
Participants: Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, University of Western Ontario, Université de Montréal, University of British Columbia

• http://cbrain.mcgill.ca/
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• Project video

This project aims to develop an operational system that enables the effective delivery, processing, storage, analysis and distribution of very large datasets produced by astronomical surveys. The platform allows astronomers to effectively process unprecedented amounts of data generated by highly complex space exploration instruments-using their own custom software. This capability is expected to facilitate improved scientific collaboration, increase the potential for exciting space discoveries, and advance Canada's strong position in astronomical research.

Project Lead: University of Victoria
Participant: University of British Columbia

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• Project video

This project aims to create an online information hub that enables researchers from multiple disciplines to exchange, manage and analyze transportation data in real time; collaborate more effectively; and collectively tackle key transportation challenges facing Canadians. The ONE-ITS platform will support the development of unprecedented pan-Canadian, internationally connected research network in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). It will bring together a wealth of ITS data, resources and expertise online, making them readily accessible to researchers who aim to discover, develop and validate potential transportation solutions, from new ways to mitigate of traffic congestion on highways to more effective plan for evacuations and other emergency situations.

Project Lead: University of Regina
Participant: University of Toronto

• http://www.one-its.com
• Download success story [pdf]
• Project video
• Traffic Magic: Toronto’s Baher Abdulhai leads the way in helping cities clear up traffic congestion