The idea of using nature as inspiration to create different types of technology has always existed, but it has been formalized through a more systematic approach since the 1990s. Frédéric Boyer, a researcher at IMT Atlantique, explains how bio-inspiration can be a source of new ideas for developing technologies and concepts, especially for robotics.   How long has bio-inspiration been around? …

Using nature as inspiration is certainly the oldest scientific approach and one that still has much to reveal. Bio-inspired robotics is a research topic at Mines Nantes that uses this process. It does not aim to simply mimic, but actually to understand the tricks nature has found to solve problems. Researcher Frédéric Boyer’s work is driven by such meticulous observation. …

The field of connected devices is growing at a staggering pace across all industries. There is a growing need to develop a communication standard, meaning a ‘common language’ that different smart systems could understand and interpret. To contribute to this goal, ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) is funding a European project in which Mines Saint-Étienne researchers Maxime Lefrançois and Antoine …

Different techniques are used to study of the functioning of our brain, including electroencephalography, magnetoencephalography, functional MRI and spectroscopy. The signals are processed and interpreted to analyze the cognitive processes in question. EEG and MRI are the two most commonly used techniques in cognitive science. Their performances offer hope and but also concern. What is the current state of affairs …

Within the framework of the German-French Academy for the Industry of the Future, a partnership between IMT and Technische Universität München (TUM), the HyBlockArch project examines the future of the blockchain. This project aims to adapt this technology to an industrial scale to create a powerful tool for companies. To accomplish this goal, the teams led by Gérard Mémmi (Télécom …

Fabrice Flipo, Télécom École de Management – Institut Mines-Télécom The climate is warming and changing: we must act. On the French version of the website The Conversation, climate change specialist Christian de Perthuis recently applauded the introduction of the carbon tax in France in 2014 and its gradual increase. Referring to the “Quinet value” (around 90 euros), the author suggests …

The storage of green energy is an issue which concerns many sectors, whether for energy transition or for supplying power to connected objects using batteries. Thierry Djenizian, a researcher at Mines Saint-Étienne, explains the main problems to us, focusing in particular on how electrochemical storage systems work.   Why is the storage of renewable sources of energy (RSE) important today? …

Nathalie Redon, IMT Lille Douai – Institut Mines-Télécom Last May, Paris City Hall launched “Pollutrack”: a fleet of micro sensors placed on the roofs of vehicles traveling throughout the capital to measure the amount of fine particles present in the air in real-time. A year before, Rennes proposed that residents participate in assessing the air quality via individual sensors. In France, for several …

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