Myant Inc., Toronto, has committed $100 million to the advanced manufacturing supercluster that has been short-listed by the Navdeep Bains, minister of innovation, science and economic development, as part of the $950 million national supercluster program from the Government of Canada’s Innovation and Skills Plan.
 
Myant is a partner in the advanced manufacturing supercluster in the Toronto-Waterloo Innovation Corridor (TWIC), which includes companies, universities, health agencies, and not-for-profit organizations such as MaRS, University of Toronto, University Health Network, and IntelliFLEX Innovation Alliance.
 
“Our government’s Innovation Superclusters Initiative has started conversations and created solid partnerships between government, the private sector, academia and communities,” said Bains. “In today’s knowledge-based economy, this collaboration is essential. Together, we are building the economy of the future, creating the jobs of today and tomorrow, and gearing up for global success that will benefit all Canadians.”
 
“This is the kind of foresight innovation the world needs – Minister Bains basically just turned the lights on for Canada’s future as a global leader in advanced manufacturing,” Tony Chahine, CEO and founder of Myant, said. “It’s time to repatriate ‘Made in Canada’ manufacturing solutions.”
 
Myant is a leader in the emerging field of “textile computing” with an R&D facility and full-scale production that includes end-to-end fiber-to-fabric-to-system product design and rapid prototyping capabilities. The infrastructure of expertise, capabilities and secured IP allows Myant to transition from idea to prototype to full-scale production.
 
Myant seamlessly embeds sensors and actuators into everyday textiles allowing for 24/7 connectivity. Working with global partners, Myant develops smart ­textiles for the automotive, aerospace, energy, health/wellness, defense, AR/VR, and other sectors.
 
Myant is expanding its facilities and adding new equipment and staff as it begins manufacturing its own in-house brand, SKIIN (with two ii’s for intelligent interface), a line of smart textile and apparel which includes underwear, bras, base layers, socks, mattress covers, seat covers, etc. that provide a direct conduit to the human body.
 
SKIIN’s smart clothing and textiles, combined with the app and cloud infrastructure, will create access to the Internet of Things and enable a person to continuously monitor the body’s vital signs, measure activity, understand one’s mood, control the connected environment, heat up when you’re cold, anticipate illness, and deliver therapy, with more advanced functionality than the world has ever seen in textiles.
 
Unlike the current market of wearable technology, primarily plastic single purpose gadgets and devices, SKIIN is comfortable, washable, seamless clothing that collects multiple data points from a single garment. The underwear prototype is currently being beta tested and will go to market next year.
 
“We believe that The Supercluster Initiative will address significant gaps in the existing advanced manufacturing ecosystem on which we depend,” added Chahine. “If it’s done right, it will generate tangible results and funding for people who want to create and innovate, right here in Canada.”