Independent Robotics wins $2.28m Canada contract

Independent Robotics has won a USD $2.28 million contract from the Government of Canada to fund operational testing of its IMPAC software for autonomous robots.

Awarded under the Innovative Solutions Canada programme, the contract will support a year-long testing effort at the DRDC Atlantic Research Centre in the Halifax region. The work centres on IMPAC, a natural-language command-and-control system designed for uncrewed systems.

Montreal-based Independent Robotics says the software allows human operators to direct complex robotic systems using conversational language rather than code or tightly structured instructions. It translates those commands into executable plans across multi-agent and multi-domain environments.

Testing scope

The testing programme involves autonomous marine vehicles and is intended to examine how natural-language AI can be used in operational settings. The focus is on remote, low-connectivity environments, where communications and computing constraints can limit the use of such systems.

The contract adds to growing defence and public-sector interest in tools that help people oversee multiple autonomous machines at once. Command and control remains a central issue for military and civilian operators as uncrewed systems move from single-platform tasks to larger coordinated missions.

Independent Robotics is positioning IMPAC as a human-machine interface rather than a replacement for operators. The aim is to help users manage synchronisation and mission alignment across robot teams while reducing the need for specialist technical inputs.

Operational challenge

Chief Executive Officer Julian Ware outlined the company's view of the software's role in operational conditions.

"We are fundamentally changing how humans interact with machines in paced environments. We leverage AI to improve operator decision making under pressure, rather than replacing it," said Julian Ware, Chief Executive Officer, Independent Robotics.

Natural-language control for robotics has drawn attention across research and industry, but reliable deployment outside laboratory conditions remains difficult. Systems must interpret intent accurately, preserve context, and continue to function when connectivity is weak or unavailable.

That challenge is especially acute in field operations, where marine, aerial, and ground platforms may need to work together across dispersed environments. A command system for those settings must handle ambiguity in language while still producing clear instructions for machines operating with limited bandwidth or at the edge.

Technology focus

Chief Technology Officer Gregory Dudek said the current work is intended to test those conditions directly.

"Building natural language processing that is both context-aware and capable of functioning in remote, low-connectivity environments is a significant challenge. This partnership allows us to stress-test our systems in operational environments," said Gregory Dudek, Chief Technology Officer, Independent Robotics.

Dudek is a Distinguished James McGill Chair in Computer Science at McGill University and previously held senior research roles at Samsung Electronics. The company's background in field robotics and autonomous systems is likely to draw attention as the Canadian programme evaluates whether conversational interfaces can be used securely and reliably in real-world missions.

Although the immediate focus is defence testing, the approach has potential in sectors where operators manage robotic assets in the field. Independent Robotics has identified infrastructure inspection and environmental monitoring as possible applications, alongside search-and-rescue work referenced in background material around the announcement.

The broader commercial question is whether natural-language interfaces can move beyond demonstrations and become dependable tools for organisations running mixed fleets of autonomous machines. That would require accurate interpretation of spoken or written commands and systems that preserve operator oversight while functioning with limited communications support.

For Canada's public innovation programme, the contract reflects continued use of government procurement to test domestic AI and robotics technology in practical settings. The DRDC Atlantic Research Centre trial will serve as an operational proving ground for whether conversational control can support multi-agent autonomous marine vehicles in the field.