DICE Projects

DICE’s ongoing work combining LiDAR, ground penetrating radar, hyperspectral imaging and machine-learning models for underground navigation directly advances Canada’s critical minerals strategy by improving exploration efficiency, worker safety and automated mapping.

As federal budgets allocate billions toward critical minerals development and decarbonized mining, this project provides a ready-made digital backbone that increases productivity for mining firms operating in Saskatchewan and across the North.

The digital twin created by DICE to model a renewable-powered thermal battery system reduces natural gas consumption for industrial dryers, demonstrating the type of industrial decarbonization solution the federal budget seeks to scale.

By integrating physics modeling, energy simulation and process optimization, this project showcases how applied research accelerates clean-tech deployment in heavy industry, helping Canada meet emissions targets while lowering operating costs for major exporters.

DICE’s development of AI-enabled command-and-control systems for autonomous uncrewed aircraft system (UAS), including low-cost attritable platforms and counter-UAS interceptor prototypes, aligns with new federal commitments to defence modernization and dual-use innovation. This technology applies to both agricultural and mineral exploration use cases.

This project strengthens Canada’s NATO relationship through the DIANA Innovation Centre of the North (ICON) while providing domestic industry with exportable intellectual property in a rapidly growing security market.

Through computer vision models that detect assembly errors, verify manufacturing precision and support technician training, DICE delivers the type of AI in manufacturing productivity gains highlighted in federal economic growth strategies.

This project reduces rework, improves safety and shortens production timelines, aligning fully with budget priorities around improving Canada’s lagging productivity through digital adoption in small- to medium-sized enterprises and industrial firms.

By combining large language models, retrieval-augmented search and vector graph databases, DICE is building an intelligent system that identifies supplier capabilities, maps interdependencies and matches companies to procurement needs in the mining and nuclear sectors.

This directly supports Canada’s priorities around supply chain resilience, onshoring of critical supply networks and AI-enabled productivity tools for Canadian industry, especially SMEs in the Prairies.

This project with Peter Lucas Project Management uses supervised machine-learning (ML) models to identify geological features within complex spatial datasets, improving accuracy in mineral exploration workflows. As an AI and ML initiative, it leverages classification models, geoscience datasets and computational modelling to enhance detection capabilities across large-scale geological environments.

The project aligns with 2025 federal priorities supporting critical minerals development, AI adoption in natural resource industries, geoscience modernization and domestic innovation capacity. By enabling more efficient and data-driven subsurface interpretation, DICE directly contributes to Canada’s critical minerals strategy and strengthens the digital foundations of environmentally responsible exploration.

Read more about this project:

• Sask Polytech develops AI-powered tool to pinpoint gravel deposits

The enterprise resource planning (ERP) modernization project with Levis Media Inc. created structured data architectures, integrated storage pipelines and modular information-management systems to support small business growth. As a data storage project, it focuses on designing secure, scalable and interoperable databases that power enterprise operations and analytics.

This initiative aligns with 2025 federal budget themes around small- to medium-sized enterprises (SME) digital adoption, secure data management, digital infrastructure investment and productivity growth. By enhancing the way operational data is stored, governed and accessed, the project directly advances Canada’s objective to boost SME competitiveness through modern digital systems.

DICE’s work in integrating sensing systems for geological interpretation merges spatial data, mapped environmental signals and machine-learning classifiers to improve the detection of underground features relevant to mining and engineering. As a sensor integration project, it highlights DICE’s ability to combine heterogeneous sensor streams such as LiDAR, geological surveys and spatial analytics into unified, actionable insights.

This directly supports 2025 federal priorities related to critical minerals, northern development, clean-growth technologies and sensor-based automation in natural resources. By strengthening sensor fusion techniques for high-value resource sectors, the project bolsters Canada’s industrial productivity and expands sovereign digital capability in mining technology.

The IOTO project developed AI-enabled visualization tools that leverage knowledge graphs to display company relationships, capability mappings and similarity clusters across regional industries. As a data visualization project, it translates complex graph-structured data into intuitive visual interfaces for decision-makers.

This supports 2025 federal priorities in AI-driven productivity tools, supply chain intelligence, innovation commercialization and digital analytics for economic development. By enabling organizations to visually explore industrial relationships and regional innovation capacity, the project strengthens Canada’s ability to plan for supply chain resilience and regional economic growth.

This 2023 initiative with the City of Saskatoon evaluated digital divide patterns in Saskatoon, focusing on connectivity gaps, broadband access and socio-technical barriers experienced by residents. As a networking project, it examined communication infrastructure, regional connectivity data and the digital ecosystem required to support equitable digital participation.

The project results align with 2025 federal priorities surrounding national broadband expansion, digital inclusion, secure connectivity and rural/urban digital infrastructure investment. By identifying connectivity gaps and supporting evidence-driven planning, the project advanced Canada’s commitment to ensuring that all communities, especially underserved ones, benefit from modern digital infrastructure.