SmartICE is a community-academic-government-industry partnership. We are developing a near-realtime sea-ice monitoring and information-sharing system that blends Inuit Traditional Knowledge with state-of-the-art technology. Our pilot programs near Nain, Nunatsiavut, and Pond Inlet, Nunavut, have successfully provided information about sea-ice thickness to community members and industry to help inform decisions about coastal on-ice travel and shipping, improving safety of all sea-ice users.
Growing interest in the service has given SmartICE an opportunity to expand across the Arctic through a northern social enterprise: SmartICE Inc. The project team, including SmartICE’s original research group, has developed a two-year plan to establish a business by northerners, for northerners. The project would see subject matter experts in production, operations, and management transmit skills in each of these three areas to community members, with a particular focus on youth.
SmartICE 