Making the World a Better Place — One Robot at a Time

Algonquin's Office of Applied Research, Innovation & Entrepreneurship connects you to the latest technology

Want to make virtual reality your reality? Maybe you’d like to create cool things. Or maybe you’d like to build things that make the world a better place.

Check out Algonquin College’s Office of Applied Research, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, or ARIE, with its research centres and other facilities at our three campuses in Ottawa, Pembroke, and Perth.

The ARIE centres provide spaces to produce cutting-edge products, develop prototypes, do research, and provide services for business, industry and community clients, all while learning to use the latest technology. You gain the hands-on, personalized education that’ll open the doors to your chosen career.

Here are just some of the award-winning projects students have produced with their clients:

• A tool that helps with the safe excavation and extraction of explosive devices.
• A firefighting robot that uses infrared flame sensors to detect fire and then fires a water cannon to extinguish the flames.
• A modern eco-home designed to be off the grid and self-sustaining.
• An emergency response system that allows festival and event-goers to connect via text to emergency services, to reduce the number of sexual assaults often associated with such events.

How can you get involved with the ARIE centres?

All Algonquin students are welcome to create or tinker in the MakerSpace, a hands-on hub with the latest technology — 3D printers, virtual reality headsets, and more. You could find yourself turning out innovative and marketable products!

Students in design and engineering programs can work with clients through the Health and Wellness Research Centre to pursue projects that improve services offered by local health care providers, including hospitals. The Applied Engineering Centre connects students with industry partners to work on cutting-edge projects — from robotics and optics to wireless communications and electrical engineering. The Construction Research Centre lets you use digital technology to build better homes and offices.

And, the first of its kind in the Canadian college system, our Data Analytics Centre allows you to work with local and national partners to harness the power of big data.

Many of ARIE’s facilities are located in Algonquin’s newest building, the DARE District. DARE stands for Discovery, Applied Research, and Entrepreneurship — it’s the kind of high-tech learning space that can’t help but foster collaborative innovations and, maybe, make the world a better place.