Working smarter, by making robots work harder, is a potential reality for advanced manufacturing in Calgary.
The Government of Canada announced $1.1 million in funding through NGen—Canada’s next generation of advanced manufacturing cluster hubs—on Aug. 13, to support Calgary firms working to develop robotics and AI technologies to automate repetitive tasks in case packing for manufactured goods.
The result of the funding, said the government, was to pack Calgary’s industry with good jobs for workers, and advanced technologies to allow firms to compete on the global stage.
The NGen funding came from an overall $59 million in funding made to support 15 advanced manufacturing projects across the nation.
“We know that building the economy of the future is about creating jobs right across the economy in all regions of the country. To do this, we’re investing in the technologies, incentives and supports that are critical to increasing productivity, fostering innovation and attracting more private investment to Canada,” said Calgary Skyview MP George Chahal.
“This will create more good jobs and, in turn, raise the living standards for us here in Calgary and for all Canadians.”
The total project cost is expected to be $3 million, and is being led by Petra Hygienic Systems International Limited, Mastrin Digital Solutions, Ltd., and SIDAC Automated Systems Inc.
The federal funding through NGen is covering approximately 37 per cent of the cost of the project, with the remainder being funded by private investment.
Minister of Public Services and Procurement Jean-Yves Duclos said that the Government of Canada has seen up to five times as much investment by private industry into NGen-funded projects.
“In a world in which everything is becoming more connected, now we need and we need to help businesses connect themselves and their workers,” Duclos said.
He said that the speed at which the global marketplace was changing for technologies like artificial intelligence, meant that the government had a role to play in supporting industry to be competitive against similar investments made by other countries into their local firms.
“Other countries are also moving very fast too. So these connections need to be supported by public money, but in the end, public money is really much leveraged by private sector business.”
