From the laboratory to every day: the art of innovation

Robots are interacting with humans on a daily basis in increasing number. The LIRIS laboratory (Laboratoire d'informatique en image et systèmes d'information/laboratory of image computing and information systems) teamed up with the start-up company Hoomano to develop software integrating artificial intelligence, BEHAVIORS.AI. Funded by a French National Research Agency (ANR) grant, the project is focussed on exploring the path of machine learning, to improve human-robot interactions. Scientists…

A spin-off of the Models and Simulations for Architecture and Heritage laboratory (CNRS/Ministère de la Culture), the start-up Mercurio proposes a scanner to quickly and autonomously create realistic 3D models of art objects of all sizes, ranging from a vase to a sculpture. A new way to enhance museum collections.

The CNRS is a major player in innovation in France and around the world in terms of projects funded each year, its numerous partnerships with the private sector and industry, and the number of patents filed. Researchers, benefiting from the CNRS early-stage program and public-private partnerships, describe and discuss their innovative research and testify to the support provided by the institution.

Curve One specialises in the production of curved sensors for the drone, autonomous vehicle, and photography and video camera markets, as well as for astronomy and scientific instrumentation. Its sensors improve clarity, reduce distortion, and eliminate vignetting (the dark corners present on certain photos). Based on the expertise of the Laboratoire d'astrophysique de Marseille (CNRS/Cnes/Aix-Marseille Université), #CurveOne proposes a comprehensive solution for boosting images, and will be on…

LEAP is a new generation aircraft engine that reduces fuel consumption and carbon emissions by 15%. It was jointly designed in a collaboration between Safran Aircraft Engines and several CNRS laboratories, including EM2C (Laboratoire Énergétique Moléculaire et Macroscopique, Combustion/molecular and macroscopic energy and combustion laboratory). The advantage of this partnership is to improve knowledge on the production of soot, which is fine particles resulting from the incomplete combustion…

Tiamat designs, develops, and produces sodium-ion batteries in a standard industrial format. These batteries could mitigate some of the limitations of the lithium-ion batteries that currently prevail, such as charging speed, lifespan, and the cost of production. Located in Amiens (northern France), this young company emerged from the French Research Network on Electrochemical Energy Storage (RS2E) led by the CNRS, and now has a few dozen functional prototypes available. Some of them, including…

To control the massive use of chemical pesticides in France, a team of researchers believes they have found an alternative in micro-algae. As a result of samples taken from the French coast, several strains of micro-algae showed surprising capacities. Based on a defence mechanism common to many living beings, RNA silencing, researchers have demonstrated the ability of plants to ramp up their immune system. Extract D, a micro-algae discovered in Brittany, has revealed its ability to directly…

Bio Inspir' studies the depolluting qualities of certain land and aquatic plants. This start-up is especially interested in water mint, a small plant native to the southern French Occitanie region that has exceptional capacities for purifying water containing metallic and organic elements. Used in the form of a powder or alive, this plant can purify contaminated water directly at industrial sites. #BioInspir' finds industrial applications for the research conducted by the laboratoire de Chimie…

KeeeX is a spin-off from the LIS laboratory (Laboratoire d'Informatique et Systèmes/informatics and systems laboratory) and develops a universal and unbreakable digital authentication certificate. This technology delivers certified, time-stamped and geolocated data, and protects the integrity of goods, containers, documents, photos and videos as well as documents, photos and videos, thus countering any fraud attempt. The software is made tamper-proof by using the computer support of a Bitcoin…

Nearly one out of every four Netflix online video is viewed on a mobile phone. But even in this case, broadcasting comes in high definition. Delivering 4K images despite low telephone bit rate throughput (100KB/s) is the feat that Netflix was able to achieve thanks to researchers at the LS2N (Laboratoire des Sciences du Numérique/digital sciences laboratory) in Nantes. After interviewing numerous users of the American platform, the scientists developed an algorithm that allowed them to…

Several innovation medallists present their research in areas such as innovative green chemistry, basic research, medicine and mathematics. They discuss the importance of partnerships between research and industry to further scientific knowledge and innovation.

On the occasion of the 2019 CNRS Medal for Innovation award, we look back at the career of Livio de Luca, a researcher in the digitisation of cultural heritage. Originally trained as an architect, then obtaining a degree in Arts and Crafts and Computer Science, Livio de Luca defines himself as a researcher in the digitisation of cultural heritage. Now director of the Models and Simulations for Architecture and Heritage laboratory (CNRS/Ministry of Culture), this CNRS researcher began his work…

On the occasion of the 2019 CNRS innovation medal award, we look back at the career of physics researcher Ane Aanesland. Trained at the University of Tromsø in Norway, then recruited at the CNRS Plasma Physics Laboratory, Ane Aanesland along with her colleague Dmytro Rafalskyi, founded the start-up ThrustMe in 2017, specialising in the propulsion of miniaturised satellites. Together they have developed two major innovations to reduce the size of the propulsion systems used by satellites to…

Miniaturised low-altitude satellites represent the future of global connectivity and real-time Earth monitoring. #ThrustMe enables this new space industry to be economically and environmentally sustainable by developing and marketing electric propulsion systems, which will be on display during the fair. This start-up was founded in 2017, and emerged from the Laboratoire de physique des plasmas (CNRS/Ecole polytechnique).

Based on research conducted at the Laboratoire d'hydrodynamique (CNRS/Ecole polytechnique), #Sensome has developed ultra-miniaturised sensors that use artificial intelligence to identify the biological nature of tissues in real time. Integrated in the intravascular Clotild™ probe, their technology can, for instance, categorise blood clots in order to help doctors during the treatment of an ischemic stroke.

SpinD Gold is an innovative combination of gold and tungsten. This novel material was obtained in connection with research in spintronics (a field seeking to exploit magnetism in electronics), led by Cyrile Deranlot and Albert Fert, winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physics, at the Laboratoire mixte de physique CNRS/Thales. Used by the start-up #DAUMET, this new white gold is the whitest gold alloy ever obtained. Its brilliance and colour are first-rate in comparison to any other white gold on…

From the research lab... to the game room! A team of robotics scientists has developed powerful algorithms that secure drone flights so well that anyone can fly them without risking a crash. The tech startup Drone Interactive tapped into the basic science led at the GIPSA-Lab in the French Alps where researchers and engineers are working hard on creating the future of flying robots.