inria - connect 3

03// NEWS BRIEfSAMBITION LOGIcIELLE: SUppORTING SMEs

05 // DEcRYpTIONOpEN SOURcE SOfTWARE: BOOSTING SME pERfORMANcE

10 // INITIATIvESOSEO, A pARTNER IN GROWTH THROUGH THE ISI pROGRAM

07// fOcUS

THE DIGITAL REvOLUTION IN THE MEDIcAL COMMUNITY

03INNOVATING WITH DIGITAL ScIENcE// NOVEMBER 2012

cONNEcT

02_Connect_ Issue 03 // November 2012

The french higher education and research landscape has just undergone a major reorganisation, with the emergence of innovative structures and new calls for projects. The aim is to establish a dynamic ecosystem that enables efficient development of public research and technology transfer to business. In this environment, which involves multiple players, the key to success is networking. It is essential, particularly for businesses, to be able to benefit from the new mechanism in an efficient way. They need to be supported and guided and their future must be secured by a technological and economic vision, in interaction with this ecosystem. The ambition of OSEO and the Inria Research Institute, through their partnership agreement, is to allow businesses to benefit from their combined network. For many years now, OSEO has been a central player in technology transfer, in conjunction with all the protagonists of the ecosystem: the Carnot Institutes, the contracted research companies, the public research institutions, and the organisations providing finance and support for technology transfer, not forgetting, of course, the businesses. OSEO is a driving force in technology transfer from public research. It has an intimate knowledge of the businesses involved and intervenes directly by providing aid to laboratories through public-private partnerships. Aimed at strategic industrial projects, the ISI program is presented in greater detail in this issue of Connect: it is a good example of OSEO’s support for innovative projects and a means of public action to help make businesses more competitive.

03_NEWS BRIEfSRound-up of the latest digital science news.

05_DEcRYpTIONOpen-source software: boosting the performance of SMEs.

10_INITIATIvESOSEO ISI program: a partner in growth.

11_USEfUL INfOCalendar, events, etc.

12_pARTNERSHIpSSiwa, a digital oasis by Inria and Mauna Kea.

Connect magazine is co-designed by OSEO and Inria, the National Institute of Computer Science and Control.connect_N°03 // November 2012. DIREcTOR Of pUBLIcATION: Michel Cosnard. MANAGING EDITOR: Céline Acharian. EDITOR-IN-cHIEf: Marie Gallas-Amblard. EDITORIAL cOMMITTEE: Céline Acharian, Catherine Borg-Capra, Fanny Cantarero, Marie Gallas-Amblard, David Monteau. pHOTO cREDITS: Cabinet d’architecture Nogha Consulting, DR, Groupe Interaction, Inria/C. Dupont, Inria/N. Fagot, Inria/C. Lebedinsky, Institut Carnot, Mauna Kea Technologies S.A., J.-M. Pettina/Caisse des dépôts. DESIGN AND pRODUcTION: . pRINTING: Bergame, PEFC-certified paper.

NETWORKING: A SURE-fIRE ROUTE TO EffIcIENcYcATHERINE BORG-cApRA, DIREcTOR Of ExpERTISE AT OSEO

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Digital simulation: serving the medicine of the future.

cONTENTS EDITOR’S DESK

Connect_ Issue 03 // November 2012 _03

4.5 BILLION

Launched in March by the French government via the Directorate General for Competitiveness, Industry and Services (DGCIS), the call for “Innovation in services” projects aims to boost the competitiveness of SMEs through innovation, based on existing or new service offers and particularly on ICTs*. It is also aimed at newly created SMEs and offers them a competitive advantage over the existing market. Led by OSEO, which is also providing seven million euros of funding in the form of interest-free loans and repayable advances, this call

for projects is open until March 2013 and welcomes submissions from B2C and B2B service companies. The selected projects will be examined by OSEO’s regional divisions, with the assistance of the DGCIS.

*Information and communication technologies.

MORE INfORMATION: HTTp://WWW.OSEO.fR/A_LA_UNE/AGENDA/ AppELS_A_pROpOSITIONS/AppEL_A_pROjETS_ INNOvATION_DANS_LES_SERvIcES

The “Ambition logicielle” program is a collaboration between a number of major players on the French innovation scene (AFDEL*, CDC Entreprises, CNRS, Comité Richelieu, Inria, OSEO and Syntec Numérique). Aimed at companies in the software sector that have come up with an innovative project based on software technology, it acts as a catalyst, boosting the efficiency of existing systems to the benefit of SMEs. The goal is to enable them to increase their capacity to adopt innovative technology resulting from research. Specifically, Ambition logicielle offers personalised support for SMEs, helping them build their project by drawing upon the range of expertise and tools offered by the various partners.

The Ambition logicielle program began in September 2012 in Grenoble and will be rolled out in other towns and cities during 2013.

*French association of software vendors.

AMBITION LOGIcIELLE

AN ExpERT pROGRAM DEvOTED TO SMEs

cALL fOR pROjEcTS

INNOvATION IN SERvIcES

KEY fIGURES

EUROS have been made available through the government’s “Investments for the Future” program to boost the competitiveness of the digital sector in France. Source: France numérique 2012, Bilan et perspectives. [Digital France 2012, Report and Outlook]

700,000

Net number of jobs created by ICT in the last 15 years across all sectors. It is estimated that by 2015, another 450,000 jobs will have been created.Source: France numérique 2012, Bilan et perspectives. [Digital France 2012, Report and Outlook]

5.2% The contribution of digital technologies to France’s GDP. The digital economy is one of the French economy’s most dynamic sectors, accounting for a third of overall growth.Source: France numérique 2012, Bilan et perspectives. [Digital France 2012, Report and Outlook]

35% Annual growth rate of the cloud computing market, which is now worth 5 billion euros. The cloud industry can provide a major boost to the competitiveness of French businesses. It reduces IT costs by 35 to 50% and is, at the same time, creating jobs and value through the development of bespoke tools and infrastructures.Source: France numérique 2012, Bilan et perspectives. [Digital France 2012, Report and Outlook]

cONTAcT: THIERRY vAREINE, MANAGER AMBITION LOGIcIELLE GRENOBLE. E-MAIL: [email protected]

NEWS BRIEfS

DIGITAL SCIENCE NEWS


telexA cLUSTER Of ExcELLENcE

The Grenoble-based Minalogic competitiveness cluster, which specialises in micro- and nano-technologies and embedded software, has just been awarded the gold “Cluster Organisation Management Excellence” label by the European Commission. The award, the highest distinction that can be bestowed upon a cluster, rewards Minalogic’s performance and good governance and puts it among the elite circle of eight European “clusters of excellence”, alongside another French cluster, Systematic.

THE RESULTS Of THE 8TH “BAROMÈTRE DU fINANcEMENT DE L’INNOvATION” [innovation financing survey] show that in 2012, French SMEs, keen to maintain their capacity to innovate even in a period of crisis, relied largely on public financing to fulfil their R&D budgets. The research tax credit is supported by 58% of companies, who consider it to provide a valuable boost to their budget.

ISM MOBILE SERvIcES INITIATIvE MEETS cOMMITMENT This initiative, launched at the end of 2010, aimed at stimulating the innovation ecosystem and to accelerate the creation of innovative products and services in mobility, by bringing together all the national players from the sector. Around twenty projects transferring technology based on academic research to the mobile services market have thus come about. The leaders of the Mobile Services Initiative now wish to intensify its impact on the sector by extending collaboration between researchers and industry (both SMEs and large corporate players).

MORE INfORMATION: HTTp://MOBILE-jUNGLE.ORG

France’s new Public Investment Bank (Banque publique d’investissement or BPI) will have a central role to play in the

government’s economic policy. Its task will be to make it easier for businesses to access credit, to guarantee loans and to provide support to business owners throughout the lifespan of their businesses, helping them with their

exports, supporting their innovation efforts and facilitating energy transition in all fields. The BPI will be a financial holding company, in which the French government and the Caisse des Dépôts will each hold an equal stake. It will be governed by a board of directors chaired by Jean-Pierre Jouyet, CEO of the Caisse des Dépôts, with the assistance of an advisory council chaired by the president of a French region. Parliament will vote on the bill proposing the bank’s creation by the end of the year.

fINANcING

THE pUBLIc INvESTMENT BANK

Four years after launching their joint call for projects named “RIAM”*, OSEO and the French National Centre for Cinema and moving pictures (CNC) made an initial evaluation of the scheme at the start of this year. Designed to support innovative SMEs and offer them the best possible guidance with their ambitious R&D projects, this partnership has proved fruitful in more than one respect. Indeed, it has led to the promotion of major technological breakthroughs and/or innovations in usage in the case of 89% of the projects supported, as well as the creation of 100 jobs in the sector, and the continuation of 100 more. Between 2007 and 2010, no fewer than

OSEO-cNc pARTNERSHIp

RIAM YIELDS pROMISING RESULTS

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58 projects were supported through a mixed funding scheme combining grants and repayable advances. Bolstered by this initial success, OSEO and the CNC used the publication of the report as an opportunity to reassert their shared desire to encourage innovation and economic development in the sector by renewing their agreement for a further two years on 22 November 2011.

*Réseau Recherche et Innovation en Audiovisuel et Multimédia – Audiovisual and multimedia research and innovation network.

MORE INfORMATION: HTTp://WWW.cNc-WEBTv.fR/WEB_pUBLIcATIONS/BILAN_RIAM/

NEWS BRIEfS

DIGITAL SCIENCE NEWS


_What are the particularities of free software?Gaël Blondelle: It is based on several freedoms described by Richard Stallman(3): a piece of software is said to be “free” when it respects the freedom of the community and when users can run the program for any purpose, study its code and modify it, distribute copies and distribute modified versions. It is important, however, to distinguish between “permissive” licences (BSD, MIT, Eclipse), which allow any form of distribution, including inclusion in pro-prietary software, and non-permissive licences, such as GNU, which set out specific conditions for the distribution of modified versions or software that includes licensed code(4).

_Is free software a good tool for technol-ogy transfer and economic develop-ment?Gérard Ladier: Yes, for technology transfer, but also for improving effi-ciency. For example, in the develop-ment of an application, the verification phase is very expensive. For each line of code written, four more lines are required for tests! Inria has been involved in free software for many years and has, for instance, developed highly efficient verification tools that increase not only the productivity but also the security of applications.

_What are the benefits of free software?G. B.: It is accessible and modifiable, which means it can meet businesses’ upgrade needs at a lesser cost. Such software also reaches maturity more quickly, thanks to the interaction between users and developers, whereas vendors of proprietary software only take on board a small proportion of

fREE SOfTWARE

OpEN SOURcE SOfTWARE: BOOSTING THE pERfORMANcE Of SMEsBECAUSE, BY ITS VERY NATURE, IT FACILITATES DISSEMINATION OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER, OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE IS ATTRACTING THE INTEREST OF MANY BUSINESSES.THE TASK NOW IS TO DISTINGUISH WHICH ARE THE KEY ASPECTS THAT MUST BE PROTECTED AND WHICH ARE THE ELEMENTS THAT CAN BE FREELY DISTRIBUTED WITHIN THE DEVELOPER AND USER COMMUNITY.INTERvIEW WITH GAëL BLONDELLE, RESpONSIBLE fOR pOLARSYS(1) AT OBEO(2), AND GéRARD LADIER, DEpUTY cEO AT AEROSpAcEvALLEY.

Gaël Blondelle, responsible for polarsys at Obeo

Gérard Ladier, Deputy cEO at Aerospacevalley

DEcRYpTION


businesses’ most common requests.G. L.: Open source software is a devel-opment model that is of interest to industrial operators and innovative SMEs. In the software development tools sector—a narrow sector in which margins are often tight—companies are small and the support services they offer last no more than ten years, whereas some applications have to be used for forty years (in nuclear power, for example) or even fifty years (in avia-tion). In the meantime, the vendor may also change strategy, be bought out, or even cease to exist. This is what has led major players such as Airbus to support open source projects to ensure that sus-tainable tools are produced.

_What are the risks and opportunities?G. L.: Just because software is free, it doesn’t mean that the user has no obli-gations. For example, because it used Linux components in software for its WRT54G router, the company Lynksys had to make its code public in 2003, even though it was initially the owner(5). Proprietary tools exist to avoid such mishaps, but it is also possible to make use of tools such as those produced by AnteLink, an Inria start-up(6).G. B.: At present, entities built around a specific theme are emerging in parallel with the developer and user communi-ties that are spontaneously forming. For

instance, Polarsys(7), which I am in charge of at Obeo, aims to ensure the sustainability of the development tools used to produce critical embedded sys-tems(8). It is an opportunity for SMEs, which can not only take advantage of the resources made available, but also gain recognition for their own exper-tise. Before taking the plunge, however, it is essential to determine what exactly you want to share free of charge with the other members of the community and what aspects of your expertise you want to preserve. This is a sine qua non for a viable business model. What makes the task more difficult still is the need to redefine this value-added each time there is a change in the technical or commercial environment.

(1) Industry working group working on the development of open source tools for embedded systems and their supports with a long life cycle (http://polarsys.org).(2) Software vendor and consultancy firm dedicated to the industrialisation of developments and assisted redesign.(3) http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html(4) See “Le Guide d’approche et d’analyse des licences de logiciels libres version 2.0” by Sylvain Steer and Magali Fitzgibbon (Inria), p. 11.(5) http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials/article.php/3562391(6) http://www.antelink.com/about-antelink.html(7) or OpenMama, Genivi or OSEHRA.(8) http://wiki.eclipse.org/Polarsys/Pitch

fREE SOfTWARE CAN BE MODIFIED, WHICH MEANS IT IS ABLE TO MEET BUSINESSES’ UPGRADE NEEDS AT A LESSER COST.GAëL BLONDELLE

MONOLIx GROWING IN pOpULARITY IN THE USAMONOLIx SOfTWARE fOR MODELING clinical tests, developed by the Inria Research Institute and marketed by Lixoft, is seeing a rapid increase in its popularity among pharmaceutical companies and research institutes in the USA. This is reflected in the new courses taught at the University of Buffalo and in Boston in October and November 2012, as well as Lixoft’s numerous visits to major pharmaceutical companies on the east coast, who are adopting Monolix at a heady pace. Lixoft, led by its Chairman Jérôme Kalifa, and the Popix team (Inria Saclay), led by Marc Lavielle, are continuing to work together

to develop innovative statistical methods for population analysis. Several tools designed to complement Monolix, including a clinical test simulator that can be used to study the effects of different drugs on virtual patients, are also under development. 18 months after its creation, Lixoft is close to making profit and continues to grow.

MORE INfORMATION: HTTp://WWW.LIxOfT.NET

fREE SOfTWARE NOW USED IN GOvERNMENT ON 19 SEpTEMBER 2012, fRENcH pRIME MINISTER jEAN-MARc AYRAULT announced in a circular that open source software was to be used in his administration, due to the economic advantages it offers. Mr Ayrault pointed out in particular that the Inter-ministerial Department for Information and Communication Systems plans to reinvest 5 to 10% of the licence costs saved in other software-related budgets.

cONTAcTS: GéRARD LADIER, DEpUTY cEO AT AEROSpAcEvALLEY, AND GAëL BLONDELLE, THE pERSON RESpONSIBLE fOR pOLARSYS AT OBEO. E-MAILS: [email protected] [email protected]

DEcRYpTION

UNTIL REcENTLY THE pRESERvE Of AEROSpAcE AND THE NUcLEAR INDUSTRY, DIGITAL SIMULATION IS NOW PLAYING AN INCREASINGLY PROMINENT ROLE IN THE

TRAINING OF HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS. THE EMERGENCE OF A THIRD GENERATION OF DEDICATED APPLICATIONS, COMBINING ANATOMICAL

AND BIOPHYSICAL MODELING, HERALDS A BOOM IN THIS STILL FLEDGLING MARKET.

DIGITAL SIMULATION

SERVING THE MEDICINE OF THE FUTURE

fOcUS


In the 1960s, epic Hollywood movie “Fantastic Voyage”(1) portrayed a future in which, to treat a patient, miniaturized doctors would enter his body aboard a pocket-sized submarine. Now, give or take a few details, this vision has become a reality. The

cardboard has been replaced by algorithms, the subma-rine by an IT tool, and the fictional setting by an infinite number of scientific scenarios. Digital simulation, which involves using a virtual or augmented model of reality to reproduce accurately the internal workings of a com-plex system in order to study changes in it, has also

spread into the field of healthcare, as well as other, lesser known areas.The modeling of molecules, cells and organs began with laparoscopic surgery in the mid-nineties. The screen and the software interface became an integral part of health professionals’ daily working lives, being used for training, to prepare for operations and for the actual performance of these operations. Since then, the meth-ods have been perfected and extended, with increas-ingly powerful tools. “The healthcare applications of digital simulation include assistance with learning, >>>


diagnosis and treatment, be it training healthcare profes-sionals, studying potential scenarios for the development of diseases or conditions, practising treatment procedures or preparing for an operation,” explains Jean-Claude Granry, a university professor, head of the intensive care unit and emergency medicine department at Angers University Hospital and head of the “simulation practices in healthcare” task force at the French Health Authority (HAS).

THIRD-GENERATION TOOLSThis virtual training space offers a unique place for learning and clinical or surgical experimentation that is both realistic and risk-free. It provides healthcare pro-fessionals with exposure to situations and technical pro-cedures before they have to tackle them with real patients, allowing them to perfect their skills in “mock” conditions and practise dealing with a wide range of scenarios, from standard pathologies to the rarest cases,

all the while learning from their mistakes. “Training through simulation can result in real improvements in safety,” says Jean-Claude Granry. “In surgery, it has been shown that this approach brings about a notable improve-ment in the performance of surgeons. The same goes for the treatment of heart attacks that occur in hospital.”In France, digital simulation in healthcare is still an emerging field, but it is a dynamic one. In 2011, OSEO provided financial support to several projects concern-ing surgical applications or 3D modeling of the human body. “The market is still difficult to put a figure on, but it is growing quickly,” explains Rosalie Maurisse, head of the Health sector at OSEO, “particularly in medical imag-ing, cardiology and oncology.”The applications are at a promising stage. “The advent of a third generation of tools will revolutionise hospital prac-tices,” predicts Nicholas Ayache, a senior research scien-tist at Inria(2). In the future, digital models will be both anatomical and biophysical, based on the physical

What is original about the solutions produced by Interaction Healthcare?Created in 2008 with the support of OSEO, Interaction Healthcare specialises in the development of digital tools for interactive healthcare training, based on the concept of the serious game. This approach to teaching uses the fun of video games to facilitate virtual learning, be it through real-time, classroom-based simulation (for students, healthcare professionals and laboratories) or modules to raise awareness among the public as a whole.

What applications do these serious games have?We are developing extremely advanced serious games based on surgical simulation for several university hospitals. They incorporate interactive 3D technology that realistically reproduces the management of clinical situations, in the same way as a flight simulator.

We also train many healthcare professionals (doctors, specialists, etc.) to detect tumours, for example, by recreating laboratory conditions with virtual patients.

How do you work with public research bodies?The areas of expertise of the Inria Research Institute and Interaction Healthcare complement each other. A year ago, we therefore decided together to implement a policy of joint monitoring of our R&D projects and those of our clients. This approach has allowed us to open up potential avenues of support based on the embedding of Inria technology in our solutions or on the ad hoc deployment of components produced through our joint efforts. We currently have two collaborative projects in progress on the medical simulation of chronic diseases. The most promising technology transfer concerns the development of extremely advanced software components for the simulation of heart behaviour in relation to heart failure.

A vIEW fROM... jéRôME LELEU, DIRECTOR OF INTERACTION HEALTHCARE, A COMPANY DEVELOPING SERIOUS GAMES BASED ON MEDICAL SIMULATION.

>>>


properties and biological functions of organs and tis-sues, such as the cardiovascular function or the respira-tory function. They will also incorporate a large number of multi-scale parameters, from molecule to organ level.

AcTIvE RESEARcH: THE INRIA ExAMpLESix Inria research teams are taking part in this revolu-tion, with the challenge, in complex environments, of developing reconstruction and modeling methods tai-lored to and accessible to the medical community, so that the community can incorporate these methods in its practices through reliable industrial applications. The Carmen research team, for instance, is focusing on digital models for the simulation of cardiac electro-

physiology to help understand the mechanisms involved in heart disease. Modeling of living organisms is also occupying an increasingly prominent place in the activities of the Macs team, which is striving to design innovative models such as CardioSense 3D —a tool for electromechanical modeling of the heart that can optimize the fitting of pacemakers. The Bang team, meanwhile, is studying the modeling of cell divi-sion and healthy or tumorous tissue growth processes, with a view to attaining a better understanding of liver regeneration or approaches to cancer treatment. The ERC Med’YMA project, launched by the Asclepios team, is focusing on the design of models that take into account dynamic properties in the modeling of a patient’s organs, by combining the analysis of biomedi-cal images with biophysical models, so as to obtain a personalized interpretation of the evolution of a pathol-ogy. In the simulation of surgical operations, the Shacra research team is developing software libraries for oper-ation simulators for teaching and training purposes, or even for guidance, particularly for cataract surgeries. The Magrit team is working with Nancy University Hospital on learning and simulation systems concern-ing the fitting of coils in aneurysms, by superimposing enhanced images onto those that the neuro-surgeons choose to look at, in real time. Digital simulation in healthcare offers promising prospects for all special-isms within the field, in which a growing number of innovative applications are proving to be runaway successes.

(1) Fantastic Voyage, Richard Fleischer, 1966.(2) Public research institute devoted to computational sciences.

cONTAcT: pHILIppE GESNOUIN, MANAGER Of TEcHNOLOGY TRANSfERS IN THE HEALTH SEcTOR AT INRIA. E-MAIL: [email protected]

HEALTH, LIFE SCIENCES, BIOTECHNOLOGY

Simulation of a cataract operation thanks to the software “Sofa”, developed by the Inria Shacra research team, in partnership with Lille 1 University, the cNRS (france’s National center for Scientific Research) and the LIfL (Lille University computer science research laboratory).

HOSpITAL AND UNIvERSITY cOME TOGETHER TO BOOST INNOvATION IN SURGERYCreated in January 2012, Strasbourg University Hospital Institute (IHU Strasbourg) brings together representatives of different specialities who are keen to innovate in the field of image-guided minimally-invasive surgery technologies, by ensuring rapid technology transfer with and to industrial partners. As a founding member, Inria plays a central role in determining the strategic direction of the IHU. “Working with Inria researchers is very easy, because they are perfectly in tune with the IHU’s entrepreneurial spirit and enthusiasm for technology transfer,” explains Jacques Marescaux, President of the Institute of Research on the Prevention of Cancers of the Digestive Tract (Ircad) and a leader of the IHU Strasbourg project. “We share the same vision and the same objectives.”


Launched in March 2011, the Cascade project involves “miniaturizing the Near Field Communication (NFC) solution to integrate it in the SIM card of any mobile telephone, thus facilitating users’ finan-cial transactions,” explains Nicolas Cordier, Innovation Project Manager at Inside Secure. “It’s our first project sup-ported by OSEO in a leading role. Because we wanted to develop a long-term (four-year) project with a strong industrial focus, OSEO recommended the ISI pro-gram, which finances the research and commercial development phases.”

THROUGH ITS ISI pROGRAM, OSEO IS SUPPORTING THE COMPANY INSIDE SECURE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A TECHNOLOGY ENABLING DIRECT PAYMENT USING A MOBILE PHONE.

OSEO AND ITS STRATEGIc INDUSTRIAL INNOvATION pROGRAM (ISI)

cASE STUDY Of A SEcURE pAYMENTS cOMpANY

An ISI project is a highly innovative col-laboration between at least two businesses and a number of public laboratories. The Cascade project involves 40 people per year on average, over the total duration of the project, representing four partners: the LETI* laboratory of the CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission) as an academic partner; LFoundry, a manufacturer of silicon chips; Inside Secure, a major player in integrated circuits for secure transactions and digital identification; and Nokia. Together, the partners make a contribution of 25 million

euros to the project’s overall budget. OSEO, meanwhile, provides 10 million euros in the form of grants for industrial research work and a repayable advance for indus-trial development work. “This collabora-tive model makes it possible to share costs, accelerate the project’s growth and matu-rity, and even improve our efficiency beyond Cascade,” concludes Nicolas Cordier.

*Laboratoire d’Electronique et de Technologies de l’Information (Electronics and information technology laboratory): based in Grenoble, its activity is centred around the miniaturization of technologies and their applications.

fINANcIAL SUppORT fROM OSEO TO INSIDE SEcURE THROUGH THE ISI pROGRAM

Submission and validation of application for ISI project

Repayable advance of 25% to 50% from OSEO

Repayment with interest and

profit-sharing if successful

OSEO grants of 25% to 45%

proving the concept:

development of the commercial project and demonstration of its technical feasibility.

first version of the product:

Inside Secure delivers the first project reports and prototypes.

Experimental development:

Technical improvements to the most efficient products.

Innovation: Unification

of two solutions,NFC and high-speed NFC, in a single component.

Market release.

Submission to OSEO of the application for funding and

presentation of the innovative aspects and the project stages: OSEO’s technical experts examine the mechanisms and revenues linked to the project before issuing an opinion on its eligibility and deciding to finance part of the work.OSEO also helps the company to approach laboratories and other partners.

Industrial maturity

Submission and validation of application for ISI project

Theoretical research

(not financed by the ISI program).

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INITIATIvES

DIGITAL INNOvATION HUB

In addition to this networking tool, a range of services will be proposed (calendar, monitoring, catalogue of Inria’s technology assets), covering the main themes of the digital industry. Access is free and the platform will be available from the end of 2012.

cONTAcT: DIMITRI TATE, cOMMUNITY MANAGER TEcHNOLOGY TRANSfER & INNOvATION, INRIA. E-MAIL: [email protected]

MORE INfORMATION: WWW.IcOMMUNITY.fR AND ON TWITTER via @IcOMMUNITY_fR

#INfORMATION, #NETWORKING AND #DIGITAL TEcHNOLOGY are the watchwords for iCommunity, the online platform designed to meet the needs of SMEs seeking innovation. Set up to encourage interaction between the software industry and public research, iCommunity is a solution for innovative companies who wish to work with research institutes. SMEs will be offered direct access to experts from the sector (researchers, innovation contacts) via a networking tool (online discussion, sharing of information and experiences through themed communities, etc.).

USEfUL INfO

EvENT pROGRAM

ApRIL 2013 INRIA INDUSTRY MEETING ON THE THEME Of MODELING, SIMULATION AND SUpERcOMpUTING This day of exchanges aims to bring together Inria researchers, who will present the state of progress of their work, and representatives from industry and SMEs in order to identify potential opportunities for technology transfer.cONTAcT: BRIGITTE DUêME, MANAGER Of THE Hpc –pME pROGRAM, INRIA. E-MAIL: BRIGITTE.DUEME@INRIA .fR

27-29 NOvEMBER 2012 OW2cON’12The fourth international forum for the OW2 community and those interested in software development and open source cloud computing.

fOR fURTHER INfORMATION: HTTp://WWW.OW2.ORG/vIEW/OW2cON-2012/

fIEEc pRIZE

DEvELOpING cOLLABORATIONS BETWEEN SMEs AND pUBLIc RESEARcH

In order to strengthen the existing links between academic research and SMEs, the Federation of electrical, electronic and communication industries (FIEEC) has, since 2011, awarded an annual prize to three researchers whose work has given rise to industrialisation by a French SME and generated high-quality jobs.This year, first prize (15,000 euros) was awarded, at the Rendez-vous Carnot,

to David Andreu of the Demar research team (Inria, LIRMM*, CNRS, Université Montpellier 1, Université des sciences et techniques du Languedoc–Montpellier 2), for his work in robotics and applied electro-functional simulation in the field of healthcare.His research has resulted in the development of wireless functionalities on electro-stimulation units for the rehabilitation of patients.This product is now marketed by Vivaltis, a Montpellier-based SME with a workforce of 25.

*Laboratoire d’informatique, de robotique et de microélectronique de Montpellier – Montpellier computer science, robotics and microelectronics laboratory.

MORE INfORMATION: HTTp://WWW.INRIA.fR/EqUIpES/DEMAR

4 DEcEMBER 2012 SEcOND DATAcONNExIONS MEETING A government initiative bringing together open data players through networking sessions to accelerate the development of projects concerning public data. The prizewinning projects from the second Dataconnexions competition will also be presented.

fOR fURTHER INfORMATION: HTTp://WWW.ETALAB.GOUv.fOW2cON-2012/


SIWA, THE DIGITAL OASIS BY INRIA AND MAUNA KEAWHAT LINKS MAUNA KEA, A HAWAIIAN vOLcANO, AScLEpIOS, THE GOD Of MEDIcINE, AND SIWA, AN EGYpTIAN OASIS? TEcHNOLOGY TRANSfER BETWEEN INRIA TEAMS AND AN INNOvATIvE SME!

Mauna Kea Technologies is a French SME that develops and markets cutting-edge endomicroscopic imaging solutions with mini-probes for the world of medicine. Its flagship product is Cellvizio. Supported by OSEO, it has been working with Inria since its creation in 2000.“The Institute’s researchers have helped us

HEALTH, LIFE SCIENCES, BIOTECHNOLOGY

to develop our image processing algorithms,” explains François Lacombe, scientific director at Mauna Kea Technologies. These ties are now taking an industrial turn, as Inria’s Asclepios research team, which specializes in the analysis of medical images and the biophysical modeling of the human body, prepares to help the company to insert new image reconstruction software in its products. The technology transfer is taking place within the framework of an Innovation-Lab, a joint laboratory involving both the company and Inria. Named “Siwa” (Stitching Images and Wisdom into the Atlas), the lab brings together engineers from the SME and the Inria research team to work on a joint program for a period of three years.“Together, we are going to carry out an intelligent mapping of the cell tissue images and develop non-rigid image registration software that will, in real time, produce images similar to those viewed during endomicroscopy,” explains Nicholas Ayache, leader of the Asclepios research team. “Siwa is mutually beneficial: these solutions will prove very useful in our researchers’ subsequent work.”

cONTAcTS:fRANçOIS LAcOMBE / fRANç[email protected] AYAcHE / [email protected]

Nicholas Ayache, Leader of Inria’s Asclepios research team (on the left), and françois Lacombe, Scientific Director at Mauna Kea Technologies.

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