Project Overview
High confidenceUpdated 26 Apr 2026 by David Olsson
Project at a glance
Ai26.10 — AI-Enabled Autonomous Fermentation Control System is a 12-month PIC-funded R&D project building an AI supervisory layer over industrial fermentation control.
| Funder | Protein Industries Canada (PIC) — PCAIS Program |
| PIC Project Number | Ai26.10 |
| Total Project Value | $1,942,002 CAD |
| PIC Co-Investment | $607,255 CAD |
| Consortium Co-Investment | $1,334,747 CAD |
| Project Window | 2026-04-01 → 2027-03-31 |
| Governing Document | Master Project Agreement (MPA) |
Consortium
- Crush Dynamics Inc. (CDI) — fermentation operator. Provides facility access, historical data, pilot/industrial trial sites, baseline KPIs.
- Atomic47 Labs (A47) — AI/software lead. Builds data infrastructure, soft sensors, hybrid digital twin, MPC controller, anomaly detection, SaaS packaging.
Technical concept
A supervisory AI layer that sits over existing PLC/SCADA systems. Four layers:
- Soft sensors — neural networks inferring fermentation state from cheap sensors.
- Hybrid digital twin — first-principles + ML model predicting batch trajectories.
- Model-predictive control — MPC controller computing setpoint changes with constraints.
- Real-time anomaly detection — flags batch-failure precursors for operator intervention.
Validated on CDI's grape-pomace fermentation. Commercialized two ways: (1) CDI premium ingredient sales enabled by improved yield/cycle, (2) A47 SaaS licensing to other fermentation operators.
Phases
| Phase | Description | Months |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Data Infrastructure & Baseline | Apr 2026 |
| 2 | Pilot Trials & Data Engineering | May–Jul 2026 |
| 3 | AI Model & Digital Twin | Aug–Oct 2026 |
| 4 | MPC Development & Validation | Nov 2026–Jan 2027 |
| 5 | Industrial Demo & SaaS Packaging | Feb–Mar 2027 |
| 6 | Commercial Integration & Final Reporting | Mar 2027 |
See Milestones on the main site for the full breakdown.
Where to find things
- Live structured state: the dashboard, milestones, risks, decisions pages on this site.
- Baseline planning artifacts: Baseline Reports — all the foundational documents from April 24.
- Long-form reference: this wiki.
- Updates and weekly notes: the blog.
- Project skills (for AI-assisted updates):
project-state,project-status-reporter,project-blog-publisher,project-claim-prep,project-sc-meeting.