Aaron Dawe kept a secret.
A few weeks ago, the president of Engage Creative Technologies in St. John’s learned that his company had landed a major contract with Canada’s Department of National Defense (DND).
He only told his close family and friends about it.
On Monday, he shared the news in a press release.
His company has landed a $1.2 million contract to demonstrate its next-generation augmented reality system with the Canadian Navy.
The contract allows the Royal Canadian Navy to test drive Dawe’s BridgeVUE system.
The trials will take place at the Naval Training Development Center — iNexTT — in Victoria, British Columbia, and will focus on using the technology to improve radar surveillance of small targets and oil spill detection.
Dawe told SaltWire he was “super excited” for the chance to show the Navy how BridgeVUE works.
It’s a milestone for a technology that has gone from an idea to a marketable product in just four years.
A few years ago, Dawe began imagining how Augmented Reality (AR) could work for sailors, giving them the ability to “see” through fog, blinding rain and snow, and darkness, to spot navigational hazards such as icebergs, land and other vessels.
BridgeVUE collects data from traditional radar and converts it to AR in real time.
Last year was spent taking the system from prototype to commercialization.
The naval contract, he said, gives legitimacy to BridgeVUE.
“I’m super pumped,” Dawe said, especially when he starts thinking about the potential for bigger contracts if the Canadian Navy likes the system and decides it’s something they need on their ships.
“It opens us up to anyone in NATO who might see a use of the technology,” he said.
“We are in the early stages of embracing augmented reality, and having the opportunity to be part of redesigning the future and supporting the digital navy action plan is something we are very excited about. excited,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dawe said, the company is scrambling “everywhere” to introduce its product to other potential customers.
However, Dawe must first prepare for a trip to British Columbia.
He flies to Victoria next week for the BridgeVUE test project, to be there in person to show Navy personnel how it works.
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