Calgary’s new tech centre to test innovative digital services

The new Wave Tech Centre has been launched to help the City of Calgary explore new and emerging technologies to improve the services it delivers and to adopt innovative solutions for residents.

“As part of the Smart Calgary strategy Wave plays a key role on advancing experimentation of new technology before committing to full implementation,” a spokesperson from the city’s Information Technology team told Cities Today. “The Wave will serve as a dedicated space for Living Labs, accelerating commercialisation and de-risking partnerships with various organisations through pilot and experimentation programmes.”

Features of the Canadian city’s new centre will include a virtual reality immersion room; an advanced high compute infrastructure, providing the cutting-edge, computational power necessary for pioneering AI and machine learning experiments; and a focus on “robofabrication” to use robotics and 3D printing to create interesting and accessible public spaces.

The city’s approach to investing in solutions includes research partnerships with post-secondary institutions for research and experiments, leveraging local companies to deliver innovative solutions. And innovation through procurement by industry challenges to collaborate with companies to develop and pilot new technologies, allowing the city to test solutions before making significant investments.

“The role of the Wave Tech Centre is to facilitate these processes by providing infrastructure, policy support, and expertise with the ultimate goal of making experimentation easier, more feasible and more valuable,” said the spokesperson.

One initial project Wave will be experimenting with includes digital fabrication which aims to create a complete method for designing and making urban objects. It will consider materials, fabrication, user experience, and structural limits.

“The project will have supply considerations on producing items close to their final location instead of buying them from far away,” added the spokesperson. “This approach allows for on-site adjustments and customisations, reducing transportation costs and environmental impact.”

Funding for the centre comes from Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan) through its Regional Innovation Ecosystems programme.

“The Wave is a great advancement of the Smart Calgary Strategy,” said the spokesperson. “It will have an important role in the innovation and technology ecosystem in Calgary and the region by collaborating with organisations like Calgary Economic Development, Platform, Innovate Alberta, post secondary institutions and many others.”

Image: Jeff Whyte | Dreamstime.com