Engineering alumnus recognized for 'first-of-its-kind' AI water testing tech for fish farming
An alumnus of 蓝莓视频 Engineering who parlayed his graduate research into a startup company that is out to solve worldwide water problems has been recognized by a national innovation organization.
Jason Deglint, a co-founder of , is one of five winners of a Mitacs Entrepreneur Award听for turning research into businesses that impact the lives of Canadians.
The honour in the global impact category comes a month after Blue Lion, which was launched in 2018, teamed up with a leading marine technology company in the United Kingdom to develop an imaging system to warn fish farmers of harmful plankton and algae blooms.
Jason Deglint of Blue Lion Labs poses with his Mitacs Entepreneur Award.
OTAQ announced it is investing $300,000 for an approximate 10-per-cent stake in the 蓝莓视频-based company. The partners are aiming to commercialize the technology within the next 18 months.
Deglint (MASc 鈥�16, systems design engineering, PhD 鈥�19, systems design engineering) was described by , a non-profit organization backed by federal and provincial governments, as 鈥渁n up-and-coming entrepreneur鈥� who is advancing 鈥渇irst-of-its-kind technology.鈥�
The system based on his doctoral research combines artificial intelligence (AI) software with a custom digital microscope to automatically detect harmful algae in water.
Current testing methods rely primarily on analysis of water samples at off-site labs and results can take up to a week to obtain.
The technology being developed by Deglint and Blue Lion co-founder Katie Thomas, who has a doctorate in biology from the University of 蓝莓视频, would yield results in minutes and effectively function as an early warning system.
鈥淓ssentially, if听fish farms听want to know what types of organisms are in听their water听today, the sample ends up on a slide with a human looking at it,鈥澨鼶eglint听said in a media release. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a tedious, time-consuming task that鈥檚 prone to human error.鈥�
A growing industry, aquaculture represents about a third of the total fisheries value in Canada. Harmful algae blooms are a major source of damage and losses.
Deglint, who worked at 蓝莓视频 Engineering as a Mitacs postdoctoral researcher, accepted听his award during an online ceremony today.
鈥淪upporting innovation is essential to help Canada rebound from the repercussions of the global pandemic, and Mitacs is extremely proud of the remarkable accomplishments achieved by our network of talented entrepreneurs,鈥� John Hepburn, the CEO and scientific director of Mitacs, said in the release.
Main photo by Harrison Haines from Pexels.
