Fields of research

Exploratory actions: opening up new lines of research

Exploratory actions aim to promote the emergence of new research themes. They give scientists the means to test out original ideas. These test runs can then be extended, leading to the creation of a fully-fledged Inria project-team. Presentation of the exploratory actions put in place by Inria.

Exploratory actions provide an opportunity to trust in researchers' intuition. The system allows Inria to mobilise resources to address very innovative, risky subjects that represent a departure from the institute's traditional approaches. It provides the means to examine a subject in detail and prove its scientific relevance: a vital stage before creating a project-team. It can also mean exploring unusual themes at the margins of Inria's sphere of action, such as subjects concerning social sciences or legal issues. This is the case with the ongoing LICIT and STEEP projects.

Exploratory actions provide an opportunity to trust in researchers' intuition

Exploratory actions provide an opportunity to trust in researchers' intuition. The project, which is financed for two years, is led by one heavily involved researcher, who is supported by a small number of teammates. The organisational structure is flexible, as is its assessment. The results are presented during an open day aimed at a wide audience. The first exploratory actions, FLOWERS and NANO-D, have led to the creation of project-teams. Pierre-Yves Oudeyer, head of the Flowers team, has also been recognised by the European Research Council and will receive a grant of 2 million euros for 5 years to launch his project. Stéphane Redon, head of the Nano-D team, was also shortlisted, which shows the quality of his project.

FLOWERS: Baby robot learning

Can a robot learn like a baby and explore the world around it without being programmed by an engineer? This is the incredible proposition being explored by a team at Inria Bordeaux Sud-Ouest. Without imitating human intelligence in the same way as artificial intelligence, these researchers in behavioural and social robotics are trying to create a system capable of learning and developing by itself, in the same way that a child does.

Developmental psychologists have deciphered the logic behind these complex processes, based on spontaneous exploration. Implementing a "curiosity function" of this kind in robots' "brains" would allow them to learn for themselves. The team has already put this concept to the test. It is now attempting to pair this learning about the body and space with language learning, thus paving the way for autonomous social interaction of robots with humans. Such robots would be better able to cope with unknown spaces and situations. They could also be used to test the pertinence of psychologists' theories.

LICIT: An ethical approach to computer science

Information technology is everywhere: in a large number of devices, from washing machines to aeroplanes, in the RFID chips that control access to buildings, in car locking systems and, of course, in Internet systems, but also in transport cards, biometric passports and video surveillance. How can collective and individual freedoms be protected against this wave of new services and uses of information technology?

A team from Inria Grenoble - Rhône-Alpes has decided to tackle this challenge by opening up a new field of research, taking legal and ethical criteria into account when designing computer systems. Along with lawyers, they are revisiting the principles of privacy and inventing a formal framework for a data protection infrastructure. They are also proposing methods for establishing legal responsibilities in terms of software.

NANO-D: Virtual mock-ups on an atomic scale

Many manufactured goods, from cars to aeroplanes, are designed and tested using computers. This approach has undeniable advantages in terms of production costs and lead times. The aim of the researchers at Inria Grenoble - Rhône-Alpes is to design effective algorithmic methods to do the same on an atomic scale. Why? To model and simulate complex nanometric systems, be they natural nano-systems, such as proteins, or artificial ones, such as miniature mechanical structures.

The problem is difficult, given the large number of atoms involved as well as the duration and complexity of the phenomena to be simulated. All these barriers make such simulations too expensive. Efficient methods are therefore a very attractive proposition. In particular, researchers are developing new, adaptive approaches which automatically concentrate computing resources on the most relevant parts of the nano-systems under consideration.

STEEP:  Modelling sustainable development

Making decisions about the construction of a dam, estimating the impact of an urbanisation project, choosing a waste processing technology: all these technological choices will have repercussions in terms of sustainable development. Yet local and regional authorities are cruelly lacking in tools to help them make these choices.

To address this problem, researchers at Inria Grenoble - Rhône-Alpes are exploring two new types of decision aids. The first simulates complex systems in which numerous factors, particularly human factors, interact. The objective is to anticipate the impacts of such policy choices on biodiversity and local resources… based on a variety of scenarios in respect of climate change and global economic developments. The second tool developed aims to optimise choices in terms of costs, not only from an economic point of view but also from an environmental and social perspective.

Keywords: Interaction homme-machine Artificial intelligence Robotics Climat Sustainable development Biodiversité Nano-systèmes

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