December 10, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Québec Invests $350,000 in Zetane to Support Collaboration with Rheinmetall Canada to Develop Artificial Intelligence in Predictive Maintenance
[Montreal Canada; December 10, 2020] Technology to avoid costly repairs and foresee critical equipment breakdowns for heavy-duty vehicles aims to go mainstream in Québec thanks to government support of a multi-phase innovation initiative. Specializing in the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) in industry, the Montreal-region tech start-up Zetane Systems announced today funding to establish AI-powered predictive maintenance solutions with the defence contractor, Rheinmetall Canada , headquartered in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Investissement Québec (IQ) of the Ministère de l'Économie et de l'Innovation (MEI) contributed $350,000 in non-refundable financing--accounting for half the project costs--to support the first phase of the innovation project. “By employing artificial intelligence, Zetane contributes to reducing the costs related to the maintenance of heavy-duty vehicles and reduces our ecological footprint. Several sectors, such as aerospace and construction, will be able to gain important advantages from the technology developed by this innovative fledgeling company. It's innovation initiatives like this that reaffirms Québec's leadership in artificial intelligence,” highlighted the Minister of Economy and Innovation, Pierre Fitzgibbon. Gaining funding support for such initiatives requires a highly competitive application process and detailed evaluation by experts in government and industry. Thanks to the collaboration of the Québec government, the project will serve to introduce new technologies and industrial processes with significant potential to improve economic, social and environmental factors in Québec. Of particular focus, funding of innovation initiatives serves to encourage the advancement of high-risk innovation projects that have much potential in ensuring Québec industry remains competitive. “Funding opportunities from the Québec government merit fervent support. They make collaboration between leading innovative companies such as Rheinmetall within reach, even during difficult economic times. Government investments in innovation are always a smart allocation of our resources that will ensure promising Québec startups with global appeal remain competitive and build further prosperity for all of us,” said the CEO and co-founder of Zetane, Guillaume Hervé. A more efficient means to foresee and prevent mechanical problems Several major industries--such as construction, aerospace, municipal works and mining--require managing fleets of heavy-duty vehicles. Whether it be trucks, planes or trains, ensuring these vehicles are well maintained avoids accidents and project delays. Being well maintained also reduces greenhouse gas emissions by ensuring that vehicles function at peak performance. A challenge these industries face today is an inability to customize maintenance schedules for individual vehicles, as well as an inability to predict equipment breakdowns with accuracy. AI provides a new means to analyse past maintenance requirements and process data from sensors on vehicles in order to predict mechanical wear-and-tear before problems arise. AI-powered machine vision technology also enables the automation of certain tasks in routine vehicle inspections. Zetane's particular strength in the project stems from the company's provision of a software platform designed specifically for a more intuitive and streamlined development of enterprise applications of AI. Once delivered, Rheinmetall Canada will gain unique AI technologies to better serve its clients with more efficient, accurate and less costly maintenance services and supply more performant transport vehicles. “Our strengths at Rheinmetall Canada stem from our embrace of technological change. Partnering with intrepid start-ups like Zetane not only gives us access to cutting-edge yet practical AI tools developed for enterprises, but also enables us to rapidly execute experimental proofs of concept that address specific customer needs” said Roger Bolduc, Senior Director of Engineering at Rheinmetall Canada. Benefits beyond innovation This innovation project aims to optimize Zetane's capacities to introduce predictive maintenance to diverse industries. Once complete, Zetane will use their experience with Rheinmetall to market AI predictive maintenance to new clients, enabling the Québecois start-up to expand service offerings both here and internationally. Additional future benefits of the project identified in the funding application include important social and environmental factors. One benefit is retaining and expanding rewarding job opportunities in technology both in Montreal and in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Environmental factors include lowered greenhouse gas emissions due to better-maintained vehicles. Health and safety factors include the possibility for safer work environments thanks to expected decreases in accidents caused by equipment failures. In addition to reducing operating costs in the for-profit sector, savings accrued from predictive maintenance for municipal vehicles have the potential to reduce the costs of tax-payer funded municipal works and civic services. About Zetane Systems Zetane Systems is a software technology company specializing in artificial intelligence. Our proprietary software easily integrates into existing AI platforms and provides a visual, intuitive workspace for building technology products in the AI subdomains of machine learning; the Zetane software provides a digital workspace to produce AI innovations. Zetane aims to make AI development more accessible and promote the technology industry's abilities to explain the inner workings of AI innovations. We do this by making AI more available to diverse professionals and industry verticals through our easy-to-learn-and-use software that complements and works with current popular AI development tools. About Rheinmetall Canada Rheinmetall Canada is a proud member of Germany's Rheinmetall Group, Europe's foremost supplier of army technology and a longstanding partner of armed forces. As an internationally recognized systems integrator, Rheinmetall Canada creates technologically advanced, fully-customised solutions for the global defence and security market. Located in its facilities in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Ottawa, and other locations throughout the world, over 375 employees put their expertise to work and push back their limits to ensure innovation and the success of each mandate. Ministry of Economy and Innovation on social media Facebook : facebook.com/EconomieQc LinkedIn : linkedin.com/company/économie-québec Twitter : twitter.com/economie_quebec Press contact: Jason Behrmann Director of Marketing and Communications info@zetane.com