NRC-IIT plays a key role in the Information Technology (IT) landscape in Canada. This video highlights many of the innovations and successes that have been developed at NRC-IIT over the last 20 years.

Learn more about NRC Institute for Information Technology.

Video length: 4:52 min
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Video Transcript

Narrator: Immersive, lifelike training to help protect our troops. Advancing space technologies and making terrestrial flight safer.

Uncovering the secrets of the world's cultural treasures and powering the digital animation behind the biggest Hollywood blockbusters.

All have their roots in innovations that began at the National Research Council Institute for Information Technology.

From four state-of-the-art locations, NRC-IIT develops revolutionary ideas into technologies with far-reaching impacts.

Our mission is to stimulate economic success through technological leadership, innovation and collaboration – transferring groundbreaking technologies into the hands of companies that can take them to market.

For example, Portage – an innovative software technology that allows computers to 'learn' multiple languages and translate fluently between them.

The Portage solution is poised to knock down communication barriers in the global economy, and improve education and business communication.

Polyworks – a software offering from Canada's Innovmetric – integrates with manufacturers' metrology and inspection systems to rapidly and cost-effectively analyze complex parts at the finest levels of detail for safer, more precise engineering.

Built on intellectual property developed at NRC-IIT, Polyworks is used today by companies in the aeronautics, automotive and consumer goods industries – including Volvo, BMW, Boeing, NASA, Honeywell, Apple, Braun and Rolex.

The Atlantic Cancer Research Institute is putting NRC-IIT technology to work in the fight against disease. It's using software technologies to analyze complex gene expression data and discover biomarkers that can quickly and accurately identify diseases in tissue samples, like colon and prostate cancer.

With this technology, healthcare providers may eventually be able to rapidly diagnose all cancers and other diseases earlier on – and plan more specific, effective courses of treatment to improve patient outcomes.

Research into health applications represents up to 80 percent of the work being done at NRC-IIT. From text mining of medical records to radiation exposure tracking systems to virtual reality simulators for cancer treatment, information technologies will be critical to delivering timely, effective and economical healthcare – minimizing cost and strain on the health system as the population ages.

No matter what the sector, our goal is to leverage our annual research budget into technologies that companies can sell into the global market for a much greater return – as much as five times over.

Jeff Nesbitt, VP, Government Relations and Strategic Programs Agfa HealthCare: "NRC, IIT brings innovation, world class talent and a collaborative mindset in working with industry... it's second to none".

Narrator: The sales generated by companies using NRC-IIT technology are good for the Canadian economy, as they create jobs, yield taxes for governments, and return licensing fees to the Institute. Everybody benefits, and the cost of the initial research is fully recouped.

NRC-IIT's commitment to excellence in research, technology transfer and commercialization has earned recognition through numerous nominations and awards. But the most important reward comes from enabling Canadian companies to stimulate ongoing economic growth through sales, year after year.

Transforming innovative ideas into real-world impacts that benefit all Canadians.