Canada

Excerpt:

Nisku, Alberta, is a long way from the ocean, but that hasn’t stopped Confined Space Robotics (CSR) from contributing to Canada’s national shipbuilding strategy, thanks to a partnership with British Columbia’s Seaspan Shipyards.

On Feb. 12, CSR, which rents, sells, leases, and trains semiautonomous robots designed to replace human labour in confined or dangerous areas, was awarded a $1.5-million contract to develop and deploy abrasive blasting and painting systems at Seaspan’s Vancouver shipyard.

The $1.5 million is part of Seaspan’s commitment as a partner with the federal government’s national shipbuilding strategy, a long-term, multi-billion-dollar program to revitalize Canada’s domestic marine industry. Under the partnership, Seaspan has invested more than $35 million to support research and skills development in the marine industry. Seaspan has so far delivered four ships under the national shipbuilding strategy, with plans to deliver 23.