[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
