Calgary launches Wave Tech Centre to boost innovation across city departments

From 3D-printed concrete park benches to using artificial intelligence to detect pavement problems before a pothole, the city has launched its Wave Tech Centre to explore how innovation could help find solutions across its departments.

The centre is officially open at the Andrew Davison building in downtown Calgary and has displays of robotic arms, 3D printers and an immersion room for augmented and virtual reality.

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Displaying the technology, including innovations from local businesses, allows city staff to test out potential solutions to problems the city is facing.

"We don't know all of the companies that are coming up with great creative solutions that we could deploy as a city. And if an organization comes directly to the city, there is a procurement process as well that we have to go through," said Mayor Jyoti Gondek.

"What this space allows us to do is work with the innovators and figure out how their technology can actually help us improve our service," she said.

The federal government announced $3.1 million for the Wave Tech Centre last year.

A big benefit of having the different technologies accessible to the city is being able to directly supply specialized parts for projects -- from 3D printed screws, bolts and pieces to concrete benches and planters.

"So we'll be printing park benches and when you print a park bench in concrete, you're saving all the shipping, you're just using raw materials," said Jason Cameron with Smart Cities.

"Another experiment we have with the U of C will be for city employees walking through neighborhoods and seeing, oh, this store front or this patio isn't wheelchair accessible...can I scan it with my iPhone? Just using the Lidar on your on your cell phone to send it to the printer and print a ramp for it?," he said.

Augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) could be used for planning future projects, or potentially in public feedback scenarios.

The city is already using AI to spot problems on the streets to detect areas on the pavement that is wearing down faster than others.

"AI that we have deployed on our fleet vehicles is detecting road conditions," said Gondek.

"We are much better able to tell when deterioration is starting, as opposed to only being able to see a pothole that needs to be fixed."

Mayor Jyoti Gondek tests a VR headset on Oct. 21, 2024, one of the many tools available in the city's new Wave Tech Studio.

The city is also exploring ways to expand its emergency alert system to display messages on cell phones and digital signage in areas that are impacted.