Prepare your smart building solution for market entry and adoption

Smart Building Living Labs

Submit Your Project Proposal for Funding and Living Lab Access

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Test, Validate, and Scale Your Smart Building Solution

Accelerate your path to market readiness by testing and validating your cutting-edge sensor, robotic, and AI solutions in real-world environments.

The Smart Building Living Labs provide Canadian startups and scaleups with access to residential, commercial, and retail settings equipped with advanced 5G private wireless connectivity, enabling you to validate solutions for smart energy management, maintenance systems, safety and security applications, and enhanced tenant experiences.

Place Innovation
Place Innovation
Place Innovation
Place Innovation
Place Innovation
The Bay View
The Bay View
Saint-Laurent Shopping Centre
Saint-Laurent Shopping Centre
Saint-Laurent Shopping Centre

Retail, Commercial, and Residential Environments

Powered by Nokia’s advanced infrastructure, each Smart Building Living Lab features cutting-edge 5G private wireless connectivity, fibre Passive Optical Network (PON), and Optical LAN technology, providing the robust connectivity you need to test and validate your solutions in retail, commercial, and residential environments.

The Retail Smart Building Living Lab

Located in the St. Laurent Shopping Centre in Ottawa, ON the Retail Smart Building Living Lab provides a vibrant retail environment perfect for testing solutions that enhance customer experience, optimize operations, and improve safety and security. Powered by Nokia’s advanced connectivity solutions, this lab enables validation of retail-focused innovations in a high-traffic, real-world setting.

The Commercial Smart Building Living Lab

Test your commercially focused smart building solutions in a dynamic environment at Place Innovation in Montreal. This lab provides the advanced connectivity infrastructure needed to validate enterprise-grade applications in a real-world commercial setting.

The Residential Smart Building Living Lab

The Residential Smart Building Living Lab delivers a premium residential testing environment in Toronto’s thriving tech ecosystem at The Bay Club. With state-of-the-art 5G private wireless connectivity and Nokia’s infrastructure, Canadian startups can validate solutions focused on resident experience, building automation, energy efficiency, and security in an authentic multi-residential setting.

Potential Project Types in the Smart Building Living Labs

Each smart building living lab provides the ideal environment to test, scale, and refine your innovations across critical building management and operations applications. Validate your technology in real-world settings that mirror the challenges and opportunities of modern commercial, residential, and retail properties.

Smart Energy Management – Optimize HVAC, lighting, and power consumption based on real-time occupancy and demand patterns
Water Risk Management – Detect leaks, prevent damage, and monitor water usage with real-time alerts
Power Management – Balance electrical loads during peak demand and integrate renewable energy sources
Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) – Integrate with energy monitoring to trigger automated maintenance and maximize equipment efficiency
Operational Safety and Security – Test access control, parking monitoring, and emergency communications powered by IoT and AI devices
Tenant Experience and Services – Deliver seamless, personalized building experiences that attract and retain occupants across all environments

*All project submissions are welcome. Please let us know how your company can leverage the Living Lab.

Submit Your Project Proposal

Complete Technology Development Services

Prepare your innovation for market success with our comprehensive end-to-end list of AI and technology services, designed to support your innovation’s journey from concept to deployment.

Complete AI Development Stack

From data preparation and model development to user interface design and regulatory compliance, you’ll get access to integrated services across all layers of AI development. This comprehensive approach ensures AI solutions are not only technically robust but also user-friendly, compliant, and market-ready.

Specialized Testing & Hardware Solutions

Access cutting-edge testing facilities for robotics, IoT, and communication systems, plus flexible hardware-as-a-service options. Specialized testing services ensure your innovation performs flawlessly in real-world conditions, while rental programs provide cost-effective access to high-performance computing resources.

IP Protection and Certification Support

Navigate the complex landscape of intellectual property and AI governance with confidence. From patent filings to the ISO 42001 AI governance certification, these services help protect your innovations and ensure compliance with industry standards.

Explore the Full List of Services

*All project submissions are welcome. Please let us know how your company can leverage the Living Lab.

Call For Proposals

Explore Available Project Funding and Proposals

View the Full List of CENGN’s Current Call for Proposals

Get the Funding You Need for Your Project

CENGN’s Living Labs initiative provides access to funding through two streams:

Innovation Projects

Startups and scaleups test and validate their solutions for market entry and commercial growth.

Up to $250,000 in funding available

Adoption Projects

Startups and scaleups partner with a prospective customer to validate their innovative solutions for the customer’s specific requirements.

Up to $500,000 in funding available

Learn More about CENGN’s Living Lab Initiative

Take on a Specialized CENGN Intern

Need Extra Support for Your Project?

Accelerate your project by accessing specialized talent through the CENGN Living Lab Internship Program.

Whether you need support before, during, or after your organization’s living lab project, CENGN’s internship program connects you with the critical technology and/or business skills to stay competitive.

Need help? CENGN can direct you to suitable funding agencies that can subsidize your internship costs. CENGN can also support you, from paperwork to student matching.

Learn More about Living Lab Internships

Does Your Company Qualify for a CENGN Project?

✅ Less than $50M in revenue

✅ Based in Canada, with fewer than 500 employees

✅ Technology level must be TRL 4 and above

Apply for Your Living Lab Project

About the Living Lab Initiative and CENGN

Currently supported by the Canadian Government’s Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF), Canada’s Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks (CENGN) helps startups and scaleups bring their solutions to market. CENGN provides the resources and technical expertise to test and validate their innovative solutions while developing tech talent through its internship programs.

Since 2014, CENGN’s programs have created nearly 12,000 Canadian jobs, contributed $1.15 billion to Canada’s GDP, supported over 300 internships with a 97% employment rate, and completed over 230 commercialization projects to build Canada’s position and expertise in the global technology landscape.

Learn More About the Program

Contact

Do you have a question about the Smart Building Living Labs or the CENGN Living Lab Initiative?

With a passion for industry development, Lisa Klimstra is the Senior Manager of Business Development for CENGN. She’s responsible for leading all aspects of the Business Development function and is an advocate for CENGN’s Living Lab initiative, which provides the services, expertise, and infrastructure required to test and validate network technology solutions.

For questions about partnership opportunities or program applications, please contact Lisa at [email protected].