Looking back on 2020 at CRIM: 10 highlights

In a year that was anything but ordinary, CRIM used its expertise and know-how to support Quebec companies in creating economic value from artificial intelligence.

1. A much-needed boost for restaurateurs these days: The takeaway recommendation system developed by CRIM on behalf of UEAT shows a 500% increase in the value of online orders compared to a situation without recommendations. Since then, the project has been winning awards.
2. A back-to-school season anything but ordinary: Over the summer, CRIM quickly adapted the the Solutionneurits high school timetabling software, to take account of the new constraints arising from the health crisis, enabling it to rapidly generate timetables for over 100,000 Quebec students.
3. Quebec SMEs boosting their competitiveness through the development of innovative products using artificial intelligence: among them the company Inbe for which CRIM is developing a chatbot to conduct surveys; the company Mobi724 for which CRIM is developing a system for personalizing promotional offers.
4. Stimulating and accelerating the use of AI by SMEs here: Not all companies are ready to carry out large-scale AI projects, but many are considering doing so and need expert advice to support them in their thinking. Every year, CRIM supports over sixty SMEs through targeted, short-term, high value-added interventions. For example, discover the stories of NovAxis Solutions and Done Technologies.
5. AI and precision agriculture: Thanks to CRIM’s expertise in machine learning and artificial intelligence, Effigis Géo-Solutions improves its platform to predict soil texture from satellite imagery, enabling better management of agricultural land.
6. The environment and adaptation to climate change: the the IABathym project with Effigis Géo-Solutions for accelerated seabed monitoring in a context of climate change; the integration of CRIM’s ClimaticData.ca platform with JMap from K2 GeospatialJMap tool, enabling municipalities and other users of this tool to integrate climate change information into their analysis and planning.
7. CRIM creates the “Special Prize in Artificial Intelligence” at the 30th ADRIQ Innovation Awards Gala, awarded to a young company that has innovated by showcasing the integration of AI into its product. Congratulations to the first first winner, BrainBox.ai!
8. In addition to their publications and scientific outreach activities, CRIM experts speak out in the media and make their research accessible: cybersecurity researcher Fehmi Jaafar talks to Matthieu Dugal on the French TV program Moteur de recherche about the cybersecurity challenges of connected objects; Mohamed Dahmane, computer vision researcher, talks about deep faking in L’actualité and on Téléjournal de Radio-Canada.
9. CRIM’s spin-off company, SOVO Technologiesspecializing in live captioning, is acquired by North American captioning leader VITAC. This acquisition will enable SOVO to pursue its growth and increase its number of employees in Montreal.
10. Teleworking, always there to serve you: It’s impossible not to mention the resilience of the CRIM team who, in the context of the pandemic, brilliantly managed to cope with uncertainties, new constraints and all the ensuing changes to ensure the continuity of all CRIM activities. Many thanks for your rigor and flexibility during this extraordinary year!

CRIM’s role, leveraging our expertise and know-how to support Quebec companies in creating economic value from AI.