By Scott Simmie

 

A comprehensive new report on Ontario’s capabilities in dual-use technologies – and how best to advance those capabilities in a changing world – has been released by the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network, or OVIN.

“Driving Dual-Use Technologies: Advancing Ontario’s Mobility and Defence Advantage” is a 74-page document that outlines how Ontario is already well-positioned to become a major centre for technologies that service both defence and civilian purposes. The final 12 pages contain 181 references (including dense reports), so the OVIN document is incredibly well-researched and sourced.

It’s difficult to summarise such a thorough piece of work, but it essentially comes down to a few main streams of thought:

• Ontario has a wealth of expertise, including more than 300 defence-related organisations (accounting for some 35 per cent of Canada’s total defence industry employment), along with more than 400 companies specialising in connected and autonomous vehicle development and Smart Mobility, plus 700 automotive parts suppliers
• The province also boasts a concentration of firms at the cutting edge of AI, robotics, sensors, secure communications, battery technologies and more – along with multiple research and testing facilities and other technology infrastructure
• Collectively, there is tremendous opportunity to create new economic opportunities while strengthening Canada’s national security and technological independence – and it’s an opportune time to remove any barriers and build on synergy

 

The Executive Summary contained many key facts, but one paragraph struck us here at InDro in particular:

“Ontario’s mobility ecosystem is particularly relevant because many of the technologies underpinning next-generation transportation systems are increasingly applicable to defence and security,” it reads.

“Autonomous navigation, advanced sensing, intelligent decision-making, software-defined vehicles, secure communications, fleet coordination, and resilient infrastructure are becoming important across both commercial mobility and defence applications.”

These are the very areas where InDro excels – and where InDro partners.

Above: The Cypher Robotics catapult, capable of rapidly accelerating this high-payload, long-range blended-wing drone to launch speed with powerful electromagnetic motors. Below: The Talos, the long-range (7,000km on a single tank of diesel fuel) dual-purpose hybrid ground vehicle, which InDro is in the midst of transforming into a fully robotic and autonomous platform

 

 

A PARADIGM SHIFT

 

Traditionally, defence departments (and, later, space programs) around the world have driven many of the technological developments that eventually made their way into consumer use.

Canned food was invented for Napoleon’s army. Microwave ovens had their genesis in World War II radar research when an engineer noticed that a magnetron tube melted a candy bar in his pocket. The Global Positioning System (GPS) was developed by the US Department of Defence in the Cold War and later was opened up to commercial and civilian use. The internet was originally ARPANET – an advanced, decentralised communication system built by the US to survive node failures. Duct tape, Super Glue, freeze-dried food and even aviator glasses can all be traced to military origins.

In other words, defence innovation has historically been driven by military requirements: Governments identified a need, contracted defence companies to build a solution and eventually purchased what worked best. Somewhere down the road, many of the technologies made their way into consumer use.

But there’s been a shift. Increasingly, non-military companies have been developing breakthroughs in robotics, autonomy, AI, secure communications and other areas for the commercial market – but those innovations have a defence application. An autonomous robot designed for inspecting a remote asset in harsh conditions, for example, can easily be repurposed for situational awareness on the battlefield. A large cargo UGV could be used to transport critical supplies to the front lines. And, of course, we’ve seen how civilian drones, used so widely early in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, led to rapid innovation on the defence front.

“Advanced technologies that were once developed primarily for commercial markets are increasingly being recognized as strategic assets that contribute to defence capability, infrastructure resilience, emergency preparedness, and economic security,” states the report.

Below: A figure from the OVIN report, illustrating key examples of dual-use technologies. 

ECONOMICS

 

That shift has opened the door, particularly in this geopolitical era, to a broad variety of privately developed solutions finding their way into the defence stream. NATO initiatives like DIANA and the NATO Innovation Fund reflect this growing interest in commercially developed defence technologies. And now, in Canada, we have the Defence Industrial Strategy, the Defence Investment Agency, and the Drone Defence Initiative offering unprecedented opportunities for companies that are not traditional prime defence contractors to adapt and evolve dual-purpose solutions. On top of those, there are multiple agencies in Ontario such as OVIN which help advance technologies. OVIN has launched a dedicated stream under its R&D Partnership Fund to support defence and dual-use technologies. The funding is intended to help companies develop, test, validate and demonstrate technologies while reducing commercialisation risks.

Not only does Ontario have the right stuff when it comes to expertise and raw numbers, it also has the infrastructure and a strong existing manufacturing base. In addition, the province has significant stores of minerals required for production of many defence-related items, including cobalt, titanium, tungsten, platinum group elements, and rare-earth minerals. So the province has the potential to reduce its reliance on vulnerable external supply chains.

“OVIN’s Regional Technology Development Sites (RTDS) including facilities such as Area X.O, Ontario Tech University’s Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE), CORE5, the Catalyst Connected Infrastructure Network (CCIN), and various demonstration and pilot environments provide companies with opportunities to test, validate, and refine technologies under closed-circuit and real-world operating conditions,” states the report.

But it also says there’s room for improvement, including breaking down barriers to entry and strengthening both the domestic and allied supply chain. It recognises the traditional North American supply chain as both advantageous and a potential vulnerability. The long-term goal: Strengthen strategic sovereignty through resilient supply chains, domestic manufacturing and partnerships with trusted allies.

The report also suggests assisting businesses on the ins and outs of procurement and in other areas. Some of these needs were identified in a national survey of 642 small and medium-sized businesses. The report emphasises that dual-purpose technologies will play a greater role in Ontario’s total economic power in the future. There will be significant opportunities in robotics, uncrewed systems, artificial intelligence and autonomous decision-making, says the report. In fact, it suggests there’s an opportunity for Ontario to build a globally competitive autonomous systems cluster. That’s just one of eight strategic opportunities identified in the report.

Below: The dual-purpose, all-terrain InDro Obsidian. The extended-range hybrid electric can be operated remotely but has complete autonomous capability. It could be used for civilian or military purposes

INDRO’S TAKE

 

We applaud OVIN for this thorough and timely report. We are also honoured that InDro Founder and CEO Philip Reece was one of five sources interviewed, along with:

• Uriel Marantz, Senior Policy Advisor, Defence Industrial Strategy, DND

• Geoffrey Johnstone, Executive Director, General Motors Defence Canada

• Ross Mitchell, Senior Vice President, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries RJ Aviation Group

• Kanwar Johal, Co-Founder, Superwake

We highly recommend reading the report in full, which you can download here.