Browse Exhibits (5 total)
Precision Making in Canada Before 1918
In the 19th century, most precision making in Canada was connected to surveying and navigation, such as sextants, theodolites and maritime instruments. As the 20th century arrived, a larger population increased local demand for other types of precision-made technology, such as clocks and medical supplies.
Makers were often settling families bringing skills with them from Europe. As makers of scientific equipment, many were central to early scientific society in their communities.
The artifacts in this exhibit represent the types of artifacts, and types of makers, that typified the emergence of precision manufacturing in Canada.
Precision Making 1918 to 1945
The period between the First and Second World Wars was a period of dramatic development in Canadian science and manufacturing.
The First World War triggered an increase in Canadian science and innovation which benefitted from instruments made nearby. At the same time, new protectionist measures enacted during the war contributed to increased Canadian-based manufacturing, especially in electrical apparatus.
When World War Two arrived, small electronics and navigational instruments companies grew quickly to fullfill wartime military demand.
This exhibit showcases artifacts that reflect this moment of opportunity and challenge.
Precision Making in Canada After 1945
After World War Two, science and technology in Canada developed quickly in government and industry.
In government labs, new post-war science required newly designed equipment, leading to numerous innovations in peacetime scientific equipment. New and existing precision manufacturing companies seized on new inventions and invested in the development of technologies with commercial possibilities, selling them to an increasingly global market.
This exhibit includes artifacts from many stories of Canadian scientific innovation that resulted in technologies--especially those focused on environmental measurement--still used today around the world.
Spotlight on Alberta
At the turn of the 20th century, cities were blossoming in Canada's western provinces. In Alberta, main industries--agriculture, forestry, and the beginnings of the province's oil industry--were driving steady population growth. Technical education was growing as well: The University of Alberta's Engineering Department was founded in the 1910s, signalling government investment in training necessary for supporting and growing the province's technical needs. In 1921, Alberta was the first province to found its own Research Council, the The Alberta Research Council, now the provincial company Alberta Innovates.
Imagenex
Begin Date
Active From
Location
Port Coquitlam, BC
V3C 4Z1
CANADA
Product Areas
Activities
Imagenex was founded in 1988 by pioneers in the development of high-resolution imaging and profiling sonar. Within two years the company had produced its first sonar– an imaging head for the commercial underwater industry that was the unheard-of size of a coffee mug and rated for 300 metres depth.
Company milestones include introducing the industry’s first digital colour imaging sonar that could be operated from a computer without a dedicated processor in 1995; introducing a sidescan sonar in 2000 with a revolutionary price/performance ratio; and developing a high quality, compact and cost-effective multibeam sonar with obstacle avoidance or profiling configurations and optional depth ratings to 6,000 metres.
It is the company’s development of the lightweight, cost-effective Delta T multibeam sonar unit that is successfully bringing the benefits of real-time, high-resolution, 3D visualization within reach of operators that previously had to settle for mechanical scanning single-beam devices.
The combination of reduced cost, high quality imaging and functionality of the Delta T and other Imagenex products has been increasing its popularity in the scientific market, and for commercial, recreational, and search and rescue (SAR) applications around the globe.
Search tools like sidescan and sector-scan imaging sonar are indispensable in finding shipwrecks, downed aircraft, pipelines, cables, anchors or lost cargo. Other applications include inspections, underwater engineering and construction, offshore oil and gas exploration support, underwater archaeology and environmental surveys.
Timeline
1995 - Introducing the industry’s first digital colour imaging sonar that could be operated from a computer without a dedicated processor
2000 - Introducing a sidescan sonar
Sources
Profile in Marine Technology News, Posted by Irina Tabakina, August 25, 2014, https://www.marinetechnologynews.com/news/imagenex-technology-498758