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IBM to Deploy 'Smart Oceans BC' Along British Columbia Coast [Professional Services Close - Up](Professional Services Close - Up Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) IBM announced it is collaborating with Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) on a three-year, multi-million dollar project to equip British Columbia with a monitoring and prediction system to respond to off- shore accidents, tsunamis and other natural disasters. According to a release, the new "Smart Oceans BC" program will use marine sensors and data analysis to enhance environmental stewardship and public and marine safety along Canada's West coast. It will monitor vessel traffic, waves, currents and water quality in major shipping arteries and will include a system to predict the impact of off-shore earthquakes, tsunamis, storm surge, and underwater landslides. ONC, which is the University of Victoria's largest research project, already operates cabled ocean observatories off BC's coast. IBM is investing $12 million in cloud computing infrastructure, analytics software, services and skills training to support this next phase of the system, which will position Canada as a global leader in ocean technology. Western Economic Diversification is also contributing funding to bring online a number of additional underwater observatories and high frequency coastal radars. "ONC has a world-leading marine sensor network and associated expertise," says IBM President Dan Fortin. "IBM is making significant investments in technology and skills-training to ensure ONC has the capacity to analyse data from the new sensors coming online, which will allow modeling systems to better support disaster planning and drive Canada's economic future through the development of big data skills and associated digital expertise." ONC said it will use an IBM, on-premise cloud to run simulations on earthquakes and tsunamis with a goal of predicting their behaviour and potential impact on coastal areas. This information will benefit a broad spectrum of audiences from public safety agencies to public transportation, tourism, and other industries operating in the area. Researchers will also employ a suite of IBM visual analytics, data streams processing, machine learning and data exploration software to develop, test and run decision-support systems with commercial viability that could aid industrial and governmental agencies in sea state, pollution monitoring, spill response and other aspects of ocean management. ONC added that it estimates the global market for smart oceans systems technology will grow from $4 billion to at least $6 billion by 2020. Part of IBM's commitment will go toward internships for over a dozen students from BC universities to build subject matter expertise and practical experience in this emerging industry. The students will represent a broad cross-section of disciplines including MBAs, researchers, programmers and biologists. "Through IBM's contribution, we're able to draw insights and conduct analysis of a massive amount of new data that will be critical in the implementation of a world-class marine safety system," says ONC president Dr. Kate Moran. "The expertise we'll gain will help develop new commercial opportunities, as well as support provincial, federal and First Nations priorities." ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |