2 December 2016

PRESS RELEASE – NGC Aerospace Ltd  has just moved to the Sherbrooke Technopark, doubling the size of its premises. This substantial expansion will allow the Sherbrooke-based high-technology enterprise to eventually consolidate all of its offices and laboratory on one main site.

Jean de Lafontaine, president and founder, and part of the NGC Aerospace team in their new premises.

Newly located at 2995, boulevard Industriel, NGC Aerospace now disposes of 12 000 square feet adapted to its team of 16 employees and to its growing business. The combined offices of NGC Aerospace and NGC International, previously spread on two floors on King Street West, moved to the new location a few days ago. The laboratory, currently located in the Sherbrooke Regional Industrial Park, will be transferred within the coming months.

Driven by growth during the last year, the expansion project became increasingly imperative, explains Jean de Lafontaine, president and founder of NGC Aerospace. « Our team grew considerably during the past year with the creation of six new permanent positions. Whilst increasing our activities in the space domain, our efforts to diversify our markets, notably in what we call aero-terrestrial systems, also bring about new R&D projects, thus our increasing need for space. By repatriating our offices and laboratory under the same roof, we will also make notable gains in efficiency. »

In its new facilities, NGC Aerospace will install a workshop dedicated to the integration of an obstacle detection and avoidance system for drones as well as a drone-embarked 3D cartography and imagery system.

NGC Aerospace has been able to count on Sherbrooke Innopole’s support throughout its relocation project. « NGC is a flagship in innovative engineering in Sherbrooke; its technical prowess and expertise are recognized around the world, and beyond! Over the years, the company has demonstrated resilience and determination to stand out in a highly competitive and technologically advanced market. We are proud that this company continues to grow in Sherbrooke » mentions Josée Fortin, Director General at Sherbrooke Innopole.

For Jean de Lafontaine, Sherbrooke was the logical choice to start this new phase in the company’s history: « It is here that NGC was born, already 15 years ago. Sherbrooke is a city with a humane dimension that offers an exceptional business environment and quality of life, conducive to attracting the specialised workforce we look for. »

Jean de Lafontaine and his team are currently working on several projects related to autonomous guidance, navigation, and control of terrestrial, aeronautical, and space vehicles.

• NGC Aerospace has won a bid to develop the guidance software for an intermediate-class drone with a five-hour flight autonomy for such applications as inspection, cartography, agricultural services, and surveillance, among others.
• The company has also been selected as a subcontractor in the development of a new Earth-observation satellite (the sixth), led by the European Space Agency.
• It is also developing a 3D imagery and cartography system that can be embarked on drones to detect colors, textures, 3D shapes, etc. of the terrain in order to assess the volume of mining wastes, inspect infrastructures (bridges, buildings, etc.) or reconstruct accident scenes.
• NGC is currently developing a planetary landing system, capable of autonomous obstacle detection and avoidance during the last phase of the landing, in preparation for the European Lunar Lander mission, led by Germany, with the goal of landing a spacecraft at the South Pole of the Moon.

NGC Aerospace has had a year filled with projects and accomplishments: in addition to its expansion and the significant increase in the number of its employees as a result of the diversification of activities, the company is also celebrating 15 years of existence. This summer, it hosted the 20^th IFAC symposium on the automatic control in aerospace, an international event attended by some hundred participants coming from 19 different countries.

About NGC Aerospace Ltd

NGC Aerospace Ltd is a Canadian high-technology SME located in Sherbrooke, known for its design and deployment of artificial vision, guidance, navigation and control systems for autonomous land, air and space vehicles. The analyses, algorithms, simulation and real-time control software developed by NGC aim at increasing the autonomy, performance, reliability and security of these intelligent vehicles while reducing their operational costs. Covering the whole spectrum from concepts and theoretical innovations to design, validation and operation, NGC’s intelligent software has accumulated more than 25 years of successful in-orbit operation, demonstrating NGC’s creativity, excellence and performance in line with its mission of bridging the gap between theory and practice.

Sources: NGC Aerospace and Sherbrooke Innopole

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