Archives de la catégorie R&D insights

A gerontology conference in Vancouver, a working meeting in Hong-Kong… Pierre-Marie Chapon, a researcher specializing in innovative solutions for accommodation for seniors, is a very busy man. He tells us about the SIGAAL project, which he is responsible for coordinating on behalf of the Icade company: « SIGAAL is part of a program for creating accommodation for non-dependent seniors. This program is based on three main pillars: housing architecture suitable for people with mobility problems, an urban environment with all the essential shops and services, and a set of services to strengthen social contact. The SIGAAL project provides this third pillar. »

We have committed ourselves to fitting out 500 housing units in the coming years

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Is there a better way to understand the Images et Réseaux cluster activities than to have a look at the 25 R&D projects selected and funded in 2009? The last edition of News introduced four « Serious Gaming » and two « Web 2.0″ projects (see previous article). To complete the panorama, here are the other 19 projects selected in 2009.

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Launched in May 2009 as part of a plan to boost the French economy, the results of the calls for « Serious Gaming » and « Web 2.0″ projects were disclosed a few weeks ago: Six application files out of the ten put forward by the Images et Réseaux cluster have been selected to be funded. Jean-Yves Savary, coordinator of CSV (the selection and validation committee), comments this result.

We have made the Internet of the Future one of our priorities

Jean-Yves Savary

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The Don Giovanni project attempts a world first: recording the Mozart opera played on 2 June at the Rennes Opera and broadcasting the 3 hours of spectacle in 3D, live, to different specially equipped venues in Rennes, Brest and Paris. The operation was complemented by a broadcast of the opera in other formats (SD and HD) in a number of places in Rennes, on the Web and on Mezzo TV channel, a leading classical and jazz music channel broadcasted over 39 countries. From a technical point of view, everything went perfectly. But the best reward came from the spectators who came out in large numbers to see the show and witness the technological prowess at first hand.

Maryline Clare, who was responsible for the Don Giovanni project on behalf of Orange Labs, gives her view of an operation which left all the partners involved with excellent memories.

There is still progress to be made both from the technological and artistic points of view

Maryline Clare, responsible for the Don Giovanni and 3DLive projects

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Haption is an SME based in Laval, a town where there is a concentration of companies in the virtual reality and simulation sector. Haption is specialized in force-feedback systems. This type of system enables operators to act upon virtual or remote objects using a peripheral that gives the impression of acting directly on the object. The peripheral, known as a haptic interface, is made up of an articulated mechanical structure equipped with motors and sensors linked to embedded electronics. By means of force-feedback, the haptic interface sends to the operator all the constraints linked to the interaction between the object and its environment, whether they are virtual or remote.

François Louveau, Haption’s CEO, explains us how the Scale 1 project will make it possible to progress to a new stage: « The innovative feature of Scale 1, is that it gives the operator the possibility to move around, at full scale, in a large working area. The force-feedback system follows him in his movements. The operator uses his arms and hands without any difficulty and with perfect visibility of the object he is handling. »

Our aim is to serve operations on digital models and work in biologically inaccessible areas

François Louveau

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Omega is preparing homes for the Internet of the Future. Its objective: To equip homes with a very high bandwidth network (1 Gbit/s) without additional wiring. Jean-Philippe Javaudin, of France Telecom-Orange, is the coordinator of this European research project that has the Images et Réseaux label. He explains us the outlines of the project: « We would like very high bandwidth access to be as simple and available as access to water or light in all the rooms of the house. To transport data, we have combined several wireless technologies with powerline communications. We use these technologies concurrently so that, at each instant, the most appropriate path is selected depending on the requirements of the application and the specific constraints. »

The international dimension allows us to engage the best experts in every field

Jean-Philippe Javaudin

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Since its creation in 2005, Images et Réseaux has focused its attentions on the question of evaluation platforms. It set itself the goal of making its area a testing ground for new technologies and experimentation of new uses. Dominique Guillois, the cluster’s technical manager, told us of the issues involved: « Our intention of developing test platforms arises from two central ideas. The first is to join forces in order to pool our resources. A test platform is a tool that not everyone can afford but that will benefit all. The second idea is to change our way of working and to put the end user at the centre of the R&D process. New products launched on the market turn out to be failures far too often. A lot of them do not achieve their objectives because of a lack of awareness of the requirements and behavior of the end users. Setting up platforms will enable companies to gain access to users and observe their behavior in real conditions. »

We want our area to become a place known for the quality of its testing facilities

Dominique Guillois

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