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Whether we think they intend to annihilate us, replace us in factories or become our slaves (or even our friends!), robots have fuelled our fantasies for centuries... Especially when they look like us. Except that actually we don't come across many of them other than in fiction. So in this episode of #VaSavoir we asked what is ultimately the point of trying to create humanoid robots? And scientifically, what is really hidden behind this seemingly Promethean desire? To gain a better…

There is a branch of mathematics capable of modelling epidemics: finding the point of origin, studying the spread according to the characteristics of the virus, but also thinking of ways to limit the spread in very specific situations. For instance, mathematicians are working on models to adapt a school's timetable, optimise the layout of hospital beds and even study the places most affected by contamination. More importantly, the study of epidemics could create new ways for mathematicians to…

Episode 33: Even though confined, like all French people, the Zeste de Science team is mobilising to continue its mission of popularising science (and entertainment!) in this particularly difficult period for our loyal subscribers. In this special video made in accordance with the confinement measures, we discuss drones, which may soon no longer need us to fly around...

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…

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…

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.

The Youtube channel Zeste de science explores all aspects of scientific research, proving that even the most complicated scientific facts can be explained in less than 5 minutes, and that even the most seemingly trivial events of everyday life, if thoroughly studied, can contribute to the biggest technological advances. Episode 8: You are in the mood to tile your bathroom with pentagonal tiles? Sure, why not, but how do you do it? The question may seem silly, but has…

For amputees, controlling a robotic prosthesis is far from a perfect solution. It can take months of training before they can perform basic day-to-day operations. In France, a team of researchers, engineers and medical doctors are developing a more natural method for controlling such a prosthesis using a phenomenon known as phantom limb sensation.

A l'occasion de la remise de la médaille de l'innovation 2018 du CNRS, retour sur le parcours de Daniel Le Berre, enseignant chercheur en informatique. Ses travaux de recherche portent sur le domaine de l'intelligence artificielle et il s'intéresse en particulier à la conception et à l'évaluation d'algorithmes pour l'inférence et la prise de décision. Il est également passionné de génie logiciel, qu'il enseigne aux étudiants de l'université d'Artois. Daniel Le Berre mobilise les deux facettes…

On the occasion of the 2017 CNRS innovation medal award ceremony, this film is a look back on Raphaèle Herbin's career, a mathematician specialized in the numerical analysis of partial differential equations who heads the Marseille Mathematics Institute (a joint research unit between CNRS/École centrale de Marseille/University of Aix-Marseille). The research she conducted with her colleagues on the theoretical analysis of finite volume methods and computerized simulation of compressible flow…

As a 2016 CNRS Innovation Medal laureate, Ali Zolghadri looks back on his career. At age 53, Zolghadri is an automation specialist internationally renowned for his research on the theory of complex dynamic systems. His work led him to develop innovative diagnosis and surveillance methods for aerospace technologies. He has also been granted 14 patents, one of which has been implemented on the A350 Airbus aircraft flying since January 2015.

As a specialist in image analysis and processing, the 61 year-old mathematician Jean-Michel Morel would never have reckoned when starting his research career that it would change the life of industrialists and the public at large. Since then, his powerful image denoising algorithms (to filter out disturbances, aka noise) have improved the miniaturisation of video cameras in cell phones, especially those produced by the DxO Labs Company. Additionally, in partnership with the CNES, his research…

In an effort to alleviate the ever mounting traffic jam congestion in large cities, a team of researchers developed the "Grenoble Traffic Lab", an experimental traffic management system. Federica Garin, an automation engineer, shows how this system operates, as it is installed by Grenoble's Southern bypass road. There is a dual objective. First, the motorway traffic flow is measured with a network of sensors along the bypass road and second, traffic is regulated by using variable display road…

This film draws the portrait of Gérard Berry, computer scientist, awarded the 2014 CNRS Gold Medal Gérard Berry, holder of the first chair in computer science at the Collège de France since 2012. From the formal processing of programming languages to the computer-assisted design of integrated circuits and parallel real-time programming, Berry's achievements have led to major advances in information technology, finding myriad applications in the daily lives of computer users the world…

Stéphane Mallat, mathematician and professor at the École Normale Supérieure de Paris, winner of the 2013 CNRS innovation medal, looks back on his research. He is one of the pioneers who introduced orthogonal wavelet bases and parsimonious representations. This theory has been applied in many scientific and industrial fields. In particular, he introduced wavelet image representation and compression algorithms, which led to the international JPEG-2000 standard. Stéphane Mallat subsequently…