Applied research and development for ocean technology, including advanced manufacturing and on-water testing of sensors, acoustics, electronics, energy, vessels and underwater vehicles.
SEATAC is a Technology Access Centre supporting the ocean sector through access to Nova Scotia Community College’s specialized equipment, facilities and subject matter expertise. Our engineers and technologists support every stage of ocean technology research and development from design to deploy. We leverage expertise in on-water operations, product design, prototyping, technology validation and process optimization to assist industry and community with innovative R&D projects.
SEATAC also collaborates on client projects with NSCC Applied Research areas including the Applied Geomatic Research Group (AGRG), Applied Energy Research (AER), Engineered Technologies Applied Research (ETAR) and Information Technology Applied Research (ITAR).
SEATAC offers applied research services via Nova Scotia Community College’s expertise and facilities, including:
- Field testing of in-situ marine equipment and instrumentation
- 3D design, modeling, prototyping and simulation
- Additive manufacturing (metals, polymers and composites)
- Advanced welding (arc processes)
- Manufacturing automation and robotics
- Manufacturing systems control, sensors and electromechanical systems
- Composite part manufacturing
- Composite tooling design and manufacturing
- Design of experiment and process optimization
- Industrial scale prototyping
- Laboratory/pilot scale prototyping
- Manufacturing process design and development
- Measurement, inspection and alignment
- Non-destructive inspection
- Performance monitoring and analysis
- Product design and development
- Reverse engineering
- Technology validation and transfer
- Energy
- Environmental technologies and related services
- Fisheries and aquaculture
- Manufacturing and processing
- Ocean industries
Specialized labs and equipment
| Specialized lab | Equipment | Function |
|---|---|---|
| SEATAC Workshop at Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship (COVE) | Rosborough 9.11m Rigid-Hulled Inflatable Boat (RHIB) | Crewed marine research vessel designed and equipped to carry out inshore and nearshore ocean research. |
| AML Oceanographic Moving Vessel Profiler (MVP) | Hydrographic and oceanographic surveying and seafloor mapping. | |
| VideoRay Pro 3 ROV | Underwater Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV), used for marine survey and research to explore ocean depths. | |
| Global Scuba Pressure Test Chamber | Evaluate equipment for watertightness and pressure resistance. | |
| OceanServer IVER2 AUV | Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), deployed for coastal research, survey work and environmental monitoring. | |
| Sea-Bird Scientific CTD Rosette / Carousel | Instrument package with six bottles for water sampling, CTD (Conductivity, Temperature and Depth) sensors and fluorometric sensors. | |
| Acoustic Zooplankton Fish Profiler (AZFP) | Monitor the presence and abundance of zooplankton and fish within the water column. | |
| Teledyne RD Instruments S100 Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) | Current profiling, wave measurement and precision underwater navigation applications. | |
| Ocean Instruments SG-DX-20 Double Van-Veen Grab | Tool to collect marine sediment samples from the seafloor. | |
| Towed body system | Mount and deploy ocean technology instruments to reduce noise and turbulence from vessel. | |
| Design & Innovation Centre, NSCC Ivany Campus | Renishaw AM250 3D Metal Printer | Prototype complex metal parts, compatible with a variety of metals, max. build size: 250 mm x 250 mm x 300 mm. |
| Design & Innovation Centre | Formlabs Form 2 SLA 3D Printer | Stereolithography (SLA) resin 3D printer used to create functional, waterproof components. |
| Markforged Mark Two 3D printer | Continuous Fiber Reinforcement (CFR) Nylon 3D printer. | |
| FARO ScanArm | Reverse-engineer prototypes by capturing extreme measurement detail on complicated parts and objects with rapid, accurate 3D scans and designs for expedited product development. | |
| Robotic arm | Assemble parts accurately with repeatability functionality. | |
| Omax Waterjet ProtoMAX CNC Waterjet Table | Cut sheet stock in a wide variety of materials with repeatability functionality. |
Private and public sector research partners
- Engineered Technologies Applied Research Lab (Nova Scotia Community College)
- Applied Energy Research (Nova Scotia Community College)
- Applied Geomatics Research Group (Nova Scotia Community College)
- Information Technology Applied Research Lab (Nova Scotia Community College)
- Merinov
- National Research Council Canada
- Clearwater
- Biome Renewables
- Sensor Technology Ltd.