ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Note: This story has been edited.
A St. John’s-based company is taking virtual reality technology out of the world of video games and onto the bridge of ships at sea.
For nearly four years, Engage Creative Technologies has been working on a system that uses augmented reality (AR) to allow the crew on a ship’s bridge to ‘see’ through fog, blinding rain and snow, and darkness, to spot navigational hazards like icebergs, land and other ships.
According to company president Aaron Dawe, their prototype, dubbed bridgeVUE, is a “first-of-its-kind” for the marine industry. It involves collecting data from traditional radar and turning it into virtually augmented images in real-time.
The product is not at commercial stage yet, but it’s getting close, Dawe told SaltWire.
So they were excited to be invited to a Seattle event that will link them up with people who can provide advice on product development, and connect the company to potential customers.
Just 10 companies from across Canada were selected for the inaugural Canadian XR (Extended Reality) Startup Market Accelerator, a partnership of Global Affairs Canada, British Columbia Trade and Investment and the Washington Technology Industry Association (WITA).
The eight-week event is designed to prepare virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) start-up companies for expansion into the American market.
“Extended reality is on the cusp of re-imagining legacy industries like healthcare, construction and hospitality, and these 10 companies represent some of our industry’s best and brightest” said Michael Schutzler, CEO, WTIA, in a press release. “Through this program, each participant will receive tailored, individual guidance as they work to expand into the U.S. market, bringing unparalleled innovation into the rapidly developing industry.”
Dawe may hold the title of company president but he prefers to call himself a creative.
“I’ve got a big imagination,” he said, acknowledging a love of sci-fi and movies like Iron Man.
His interest in digital technology began in the 1990s thanks to his dad, well-known local photographer Randy Dawe.
And around the time Aaron was finishing up high school, his father was switching from film cameras to digital technology.
“He was one of the first photographers in Canada to transfer over to digital,” he recalls.
“One of the projects he worked on back then was with Karl Kenney and a company called Telepix.”
“I’ve got a big imagination." — Aaron Dawe
The younger Dawe was just 16 or 17 years old at the time, and through his father’s work he witnessed the digital technological revolution in person.
“People from around the world were coming into my father’s studio, asking all kinds of questions. So it was a real eye-opener for me; I learned a lot about the digital world.”
He went on to complete a business degree from Memorial University, bent on being an entrepreneur.
Around 10 years ago, he launched a digital marketing company, Robot Interactive + Marketing, when digital advertising was a concept so new “it felt like we were talking a different language,” he said.
He was working as a server at a local restaurant at the time and used his tip money to fund some of the business costs in those early days.
“We started the company with next to nothing,” he said. “I was paying my staff with my tip money because we weren’t bringing in enough money.
“But we stayed in the game and now we’re a thriving marketing company.
It was through his marketing company that Dawe connected with Rutter Technologies, and its CEO Fraser Edison, that kicked his imagination into high gear, and led to the creation of Engage Creative and the focus on augmented reality.
His partners in that business include Anthony Paul, Donald Clarke, as well as Edison.
Having a man like Edison as a partner has been important, said Dawe.
In addition to being CEO of Rutter Technologies, Edison was also chairman of the provincial government’s Research and Development Corporation, an entity created in 2009 and operated until 2017, providing funding for technology businesses and academic research.
Edison is well-connected in the technology industry and his experience and expertise have been valuable, says Dawe.
“He gives me shit sometimes,” Dawe chuckles, “but that’s good. He’s been a good mentor to me.”
Imagination and hard work have brought Dawe and his company to the brink of commercialization of a product to help navigators and ships' crews stay safe.
Coincidence seems to be taking them the rest of the way.
He says he learned about the Startup Market Accelerator by chance, by surfing the Internet.
They decided to apply and were chosen.
“This gives us the opportunity meet the right people, at the right time.”
Meanwhile, the company continues to work on the bridgeVUE prototype, aiming to have it ready for market in 12-14 months.
