Eclairer boites noires, algorithms

Shedding some light on black box algorithms

/0 Comments/in , /by

In recent decades, algorithms have become increasingly complex, particularly through the introduction of deep learning architectures. This has gone hand in hand with increasing difficulty in explaining their internal functioning, which has become an important issue, both legally and socially. Winston Maxwell, legal researcher, and Florence d’Alché-Buc, researcher in machine learning, who both work for Télécom Paris, describe the current challenges involved in the explainability of algorithms.

What skills are required to tackle the problem of algorithm explainability?

Winston Maxwell: In order to know how to explain algorithms, we must draw on different disciplines. Our multi-disciplinary team, AI Operational Ethics, focuses not only on mathematical, statistical and computational aspects, but also on sociological, economic and legal aspects. For example, we are working on an explainability system for image recognition algorithms used, among other things, for facial recognition in airports. Our work therefore encompasses these different disciplines.

Why are algorithms often difficult to understand?

Florence d’Alché-Buc: Initially, artificial intelligence used mainly symbolic approaches, i.e., it simulated the logic of human reasoning. Logical rules, called expert systems, allowed artificial intelligence to make a decision by exploiting observed facts. This symbolic framework made AI more easily explainable. Since the early 1990s, AI has increasingly relied on statistical learning, such as decision trees or neural networks, as these structures allow for better performance, learning flexibility and robustness.

This type of learning is based on statistical regularities and it is the machine that establishes the rules which allow their exploitation. The human provides input functions and an expected output, and the rest is determined by the machine. A neural network is a composition of functions. Even if we can understand the functions that compose it, their accumulation quickly becomes complex. So a black box is then created, in which it is difficult to know what the machine is calculating.

How can artificial intelligence be made more explainable?

FAB: Current research focuses on two main approaches. There is explainability by design where, for any new constitution of an algorithm, explanatory output functions are implemented which make it possible to progressively describe the steps carried out by the neural network. However, this is costly and impacts the performance of the algorithm, which is why it is not yet very widespread. In general, and this is the other approach, when an existing algorithm needs to be explained, it is an a posteriori approach that is taken, i.e., after an AI has established its calculation functions, we will try to dissect the different stages of its reasoning. For this there are several methods, which generally seek to break the entire complex model down into a set of local models that are less complicated to deal with individually.

Why do algorithms need to be explained?

WM: There are two main reasons why the law stipulates that there is a need for the explainability of algorithms. Firstly, individuals have the right to understand and to challenge an algorithmic decision. Secondly, it must be guaranteed that a supervisory institution such as the  French Data Protection Authority (CNIL), or a court, can understand the operation of the algorithm, both as a whole and in a particular case, for example to make sure that there is no racial discrimination. There is therefore an individual aspect and an institutional aspect.

Does the format of the explanations need to be adapted to each case?

WM: The formats depend on the entity to which it needs to be explained: for example, some formats will be adapted to regulators such as the CNIL, others to experts and yet others to citizens. In 2015, an experimental service to deploy algorithms that detect possible terrorist activities in case of serious threats was introduced. For this to be properly regulated, an external control of the results must be easy to carry out, and therefore the algorithm must be sufficiently transparent and explainable.

Are there any particular difficulties in providing appropriate explanations?

WM: There are several things to bear in mind. For example, information fatigue: when the same explanation is provided systematically, humans will tend to ignore it. It is therefore important to use varying formats when presenting information. Studies have also shown that humans tend to follow a decision given by an algorithm without questioning it. This can be explained in particular by the fact that humans will consider from the outset that the algorithm is statistically wrong less often than themselves. This is what we call automation bias. This is why we want to provide explanations that allow the human agent to understand and take into consideration the context and the limits of algorithms. It is a real challenge to use algorithms to make humans more informed in their decisions, and not the other way around. Algorithms should be a decision aid, not a substitute for human beings.

What are the obstacles associated with the explainability of AI?

FAB: One aspect to be considered when we want to explain an algorithm is cyber security. We must be wary of the potential exploitation of explanations by hackers. There is therefore a triple balance to be found in the development of algorithms: performance, explainability and security.

Is this also an issue of industrial property protection?

WM: Yes, there is also the aspect of protecting business secrets: some developers may be reluctant to discuss their algorithms for fear of being copied. Another counterpart to this is the manipulation of scores: if individuals understand how a ranking algorithm, such as Google’s, works, then it would be possible for them to manipulate their position in the ranking. Manipulation is an important issue not only for search engines, but also for fraud or cyber-attack detection algorithms.

How do you think AI should evolve?

FAB: There are many issues associated with AI. In the coming decades, we will have to move away from the single objective of algorithm performance to multiple additional objectives such as explainability, but also equitability and reliability. All of these objectives will redefine machine learning. Algorithms have spread rapidly and have enormous effects on the evolution of society, but they are very rarely accompanied by instructions for their use. A set of adapted explanations must go hand in hand with their implementation in order to be able to control their place in society.

By Antonin Counillon

Also read on I’MTech: Restricting algorithms to limit their powers of discrimination

 

La Ruche à vélos, bicycle parking

La Ruche à Vélos is developing secure bicycle parking throughout France

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Innovative and appropriate parking solutions must be created for the long-term development of cycling. The La Ruche à Vélos start-up incubated at IMT Atlantique offers an automated, secure and easy-to-use parking facility. This modular concept is connected to a mobile application and is intended for all users via acquisition by local authorities. For this solution, La Ruche à Vélos won the 2020 Bercy-IMT Innovation Award on February 2nd.

In 2020, many French people got back on their bikes. In its annual report published last October, the Vélo & Territoires association reported an average increase in bicycle use of 9% between January and September 2020 (compared to 2019) [1]. In a year strongly marked by strikes and the health crisis, exceptional circumstances strongly supported this trend. The attraction for bicycles shows no signs of slowing down. While local authorities support these practices, they also raise new issues in terms of security and parking. How many cyclists have already found their bike without a saddle, without a wheel, or perhaps not found their bike at all? To meet these challenges, the start-up La Ruche à Vélos, incubated at IMT Atlantique, proposes an innovative secure bicycle storage solution.

Automatic and secure parking

The increase in the number of cyclists is due in part to the emergence of electric bicycles. These bikes are heavier, bulkier and require a significant financial investment by their users. They therefore pose new constraints and require more security when parking. La Ruche à Vélos has developed a product that meets these expectations. Their solution consists of a secure bicycle parking facility which is connected to a mobile application. Its three founders were particularly attached to its ease of use. “It takes between 20 and 30 seconds to drop off or pick up a bike,” says Antoine Cochou, co-creator of the start-up. But how does it work?

The application allows the user to geolocate a parking facility with available spaces and to reserve one in advance. After identifying themselves on site, cyclists have access to a chamber, and deposit their bike on a platform before validating. There are also compartments available allowing users to recharge their batteries. Inside the parking facility, a machine stores the bike automatically. The facility covers several floors, thus saving ground space and facilitating integration of the system into the urban landscape. It can hold about 50 bikes over 24 square meters, dividing the bicycle parking space otherwise required on sidewalks by four! In addition, the size of the parking facility is flexible. The number of spaces therefore varies according to the order.

In June 2021, a first prototype of about ten spaces will be installed in the city of Angers. The young innovators hope to collect enough feedback from users to improve their next product. Two more facilities are planned for the year. They will have 62 to 64 spaces. “Depending on the location, a balance must be struck between user waiting time and the demand for services. These two parameters are related to the number of sites and the flow of users at peak times (train station, shops, etc.),” says Antoine Cochou.

Strategic locations with adapted subscriptions

La Ruche à Vélos is aimed directly at local authorities who can integrate this solution into their mobility program. It also targets businesses and real estate developers wishing to offer an additional service to their employees or future residents. Depending on the needs, the parking facilities could therefore be installed in different strategic locations. “Local authorities are currently focusing on railway stations and city centers, but office or residential areas are also being considered,” says Antoine Cochou. Each zone has its own target and therefore its own form of subscription. In other words, one-off parking in the city, daytime offers for offices, and evening and weekend passes for residents.

Initially, subscriptions for the prototype installed in Angers will be managed by the start-up. However, future models are expected to couple parking passes with local public transit passes. Subscriptions will thus be taken care of by the cities. The start-up will focus on maintenance support. “In this sense, our next models will be equipped with cameras and it will be possible to control them remotely,” says Maël Beyssat, co-creator of La Ruche à Vélos. Communities will have a web interface to monitor the condition and operating status of the parking facility (rate of use, breakdowns, availability, etc.)

For the future, the company is considering the installation of solar panels to offer a zero-electricity consumption solution. Finally, other locations could be considered outside of popular touring sites on cycle routes.

[1] Result obtained with the help of sensors measuring the number of bikes going past.

By Anaïs Culot

Corenstock Chair: a Trial Cylinder for the Heating Industry

/0 Comments/in /by

As 2021 begins, IMT and elm.leblanc launched the Corenstock Industrial Chair to address issues in energy and digital transition in the domestic heating industry. What is the objective? Within four years, to present a demonstrator for the hot water tank of the future: more resistant, efficient and durable. Behind this prototype lies the development of new economic models for the global transformation of the industry.

The principle of Corenstock Chair (Lifecycle design & systemic approach for energy efficiency of water heating and storage devices), launched in early 2021, is to consider an equipment of the everyday-life to be optimized and used as a model for the transformation of an entire industry. The objective is to present within four years a demonstrator for an innovative hot water tank, more energy efficient, more sustainable and more connected to its users. The project is however not limited to the design of a new domestic hot water tank: it covers the transition problematics of the heating industry as a whole. In line with new business models development, the underlying interest is to redefine the dedicated design methodologies, to generalize sustainable production and end-of-life recovery to implement new economic balances.

The Chair lead by IMT is co-funded in equal parts by the ANR (French Research National Agency) and elm.leblanc, a company specialized in the production of water heaters and boilers. The project relies on the complementary skills of the academic and industrial partners. “We are exploring two key avenues: on the one hand, technological innovation, involving design, materials and smart controls issues” says Mylène Lagardère, a researcher at IMT Lille Douai. She holds the Corenstock Chair, which is jointly coordinated with Xavier Boucher, a researcher at Mines Saint-Etienne. He is responsible for the operational management of the Chair and adds:  “on the other hand, we are working on innovation capabilities, decision-making support for new design methods and the transformation of the production chain together with the company organization”. The two researchers mention that they have “established a trusting and long-term partnership with elm.leblanc, with the goal of pursuing future projects in this area”.

What would be the tank of the future?

“The goal is to improve the energy efficiency of a product that everyone owns at home,” says Mylène Lagardère. Moreover, this equipment is crucial for various thermal systems; whether gas, oil or electricity is used as a source of energy, all of us need to store domestic hot water. To find ways to improve thermal performances, or to select materials to make the cylinder as efficient as possible, involves a significant amount and diversity of research actions. The Chair will thus benefit from the recruiting of 5 PhD students, 4 post-docs and 3 engineers.

Product durability is one of the main areas for improvement. In this sense, predictive maintenance is promising. The use of smart sensors is essential, both to better evaluate the tank performances and to foresee necessary repairs before it breaks down. Mylène Lagardère specifies that the objective is to have “the best compromise between each component, each function of the tank, while taking into account its integration in the environment and the management of the end-of-use”.

Behind the project’s targeted product, general reflection on the entire product life cycle is emerging and address the resources needed for its production, the product durability or the management valorization at the end of use. The project advancements on the improvement of the value chain are expected to be generalized to the entire industry :“The work conducted on the hot water storage tank tank is the entry point for more general work on the economic model itself,” says Xavier Boucher, and these questions are completely integrated in the Corenstock Chair program.

Evolution of the industry

Xavier Boucher emphasizes that “these hot water storage tanks are at the heart of a variable system and a transformation of this sector involves industrial actors at different levels, including the customers as well the maintenance providers”. As a result, the relations to the customers will naturally be modified. The two researchers mention: “this is part of a fairly strong phase of transition in the industries business. It is no longer simply a matter of selling a hot water storage tank, but of including the tank in a multi-actor performance contract.”

From the point of view of companies, they now need to develop customer loyalty and sustainability. “These different levers are necessary to establish a win-win relationship between the customer and the manufacturer,” says Xavier Boucher. Intelligent management offers opportunities to improve energy costs, reduce maintenance costs, and ultimately reduce the final energetic bill. This also reduces for manufacturing and maintenance internal costs.

Mylène Lagardère reports that they aim “to enlighten decision-makers on their economic transformation, particularly through the research for more sustainable indicators”. Her colleague from Saint-Etienne adds “virtualization proves to be a key tool in planning this transition”. The Corenstock Chair assumes the role of simulator of this transformation by observing the behavior of users and various partners. The project combines several routes of innovation, whether aiming towards digital, networking or what is known as digital servicing. This is a strategy converging towards a long-term customer relationship through digital services. “The challenge lies in the evolution of value creation mechanisms,” says Mylène Lagardère.

The Chair is also driven by the dissemination of the results generated and knowledge acquired towards students and future engineers in the field, but also towards the technical and innovation staff of elm.leblanc through professional trainings. Xavier Boucher notes “there are two aspects of training: short modules to increase professional skills, and a specialized master’s degree to integrate more largely the solutions into the industrial framework.” One of the objectives of the specialized master’s degree is to mutualize the skills of each school to encourage interaction between the different expertise domains required.

“Generally speaking, the Chair cannot be simply reduced to technological innovation. On the contrary it covers a global reflection on what the industry of the future is” says Xavier Boucher. This includes facilitating collaboration and opening among different sectors: industrial, technological, and economic. This collaboration is essential to ensure that these transformations are a lasting part of tomorrow’s industry. “The Chair marks what elm.leblanc is building with IMT: a new way of approaching these innovation processes, through a strong collaboration and a relationship of trust to increase the capacity for innovation,” concludes Xavier Boucher.

Tiphaine Claveau.

e-VITA

e-VITA, a virtual coach for seniors

/0 Comments/in , /by

Virtual coaching can play a crucial role in maintaining healthy and active ageing through early detection of risks and intervention tailored to the individual needs of senior citizens. However, current technologies do not meet these requirements. Instead they offer limited interaction and are often intrusive. The 22 European and Japanese partners of the e-VITA project will develop a “multi-modal personal voice coach” to assist and safeguard the elderly person at home. With a budget of €4m funded by the European Union and of an equivalent amount funded by the Japanese MIC (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications), the project began in January 2021 for a duration of 3 years. Interview with Jérôme Boudy, researcher at Télécom SudParis, and project partner.

How did the European e-VITA project come about?

Jérôme Boudy – In a context of ageing populations, the idea of this project gradually took shape from 2016 onwards. Initially, there were ongoing projects such as EMPATHIC, of which Télécom SudParis is a partner, followed by a collaboration with Brazil, and finally the e-VITA (European-Japanese virtual coach for smart ageing) project with Japan, which aims to develop tools to ensure active and healthy ageing (AHA) through the early detection of the risks associated with old age. 

Read more on I’MTech: AI to assist the elderly

What is the goal of e-VITA?

JB – The aim is to keep the elderly at home in a secure environment. Founded on international cooperation between Europe and Japan, e-VITA offers an innovative approach to “virtual coaching” that addresses the crucial areas of active and healthy ageing: cognition, physical activity, mobility, mood, social interaction, leisure… enabling older people to better manage their own health and daily activities.

What method will be used?

JB – By taking  into account different cultural factors in European countries and in Japan, in particular the acceptability of interfaces used preferentially in these countries (smartphones, 3D holograms, social robots, etc.) e-VITA will develop an automatic multi-modal human-machine interface. Based on Natural Language Processing (NLP) and automatic spoken dialog management, it will also be equipped with several complementary non-verbal modalities such as recognition of a person’s gestures, emotions, and situation.

This “virtual coach” will detect potential risks in the user’s daily environment and how these risks could be prevented by collecting data from external sources and non-intrusive sensors. It will provide individualized profiling and personalized recommendations based on big data analytics and socio-emotional informatics. Interoperability and data confidentiality will be guaranteed through FIWARE and a federated data AI platform.

What expertise will Télécom SudParis and IMT Atlantique researchers involved in e-VITA bring to the table?

JB – Researchers from IMT schools will mainly ensure the interoperability and processing of the data provided by the different sensors, as well as the automatic monitoring of emotions on the face. In addition, our two living labs – Experiment’HaaL for IMT Atlantique and Evident for Télécom SudParis –  will be made available to project partners. Finally, we will be in charge of the management of the “dissemination and exploitation” work package.

The project brings together a large number of partners. What are their roles in this project?

JB – The consortium brings together 12 partners in Europe and 10 in Japan, each with their respective complementary roles. Siegen University (Germany) and Tohoku University, are co-ordinating the project for Europe and for Japan, which brings together three major groups: end users responsible for needs specification and field assessment, such as APHP (France), AGE Platform Europe (Belgium), IRNCA (Italy), Caritas Germany, NCGG and IGOU (Japan); Academics and research organizations specializing in AI algorithms (automatic learning, fusion, expression recognition, etc.): alongside the IMT schools are Fraunhofer and INFAI (Germany), UNIVPM (Italy), Tohoku University, AIST, Waseda University (Japan)… ; and lastly, industrialists in charge of technical definition and process integration, mainly SMEs: IXP (Germany), Ingegneria Informatica (Italy), Delta Dore (France), Gatebox and NEU (Japan), and a single large group: Misawa (Japan)

What are the expected results?

JB – The creation of a “multi-modal personal voice coach” whose job is to assist, accompany and safeguard the elderly at home, and the operation of this system through several physical interfaces (smart-phones, robots, etc…) thanks to the integration of start-up incubators in our living labs and structures.

The coaching system will be installed into the living environments of healthy elderly people in France, Germany, Italy, and Japan to evaluate its feasibility and effectiveness. The results of the e-VITA project also include new standards and policies beyond technology, and will therefore be explored and transferred across Europe, Japan and worldwide.

What are the next big steps for the e-VITA project?

JB – The next step is the phase of specifying user needs according to cultural factors, and defining the architecture of the targeted system, which requires the organization of several workshops.

Find out more about e-VITA

Interview by Véronique Charlet

personnel hospitalier

Do hospital staff feel prepared?

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Marie Bossard, a specialist in the social psychology of health, has been studying the feeling of preparedness among hospital staff in the face of exceptional health situations in her PhD since 2018. She explores the factors that may influence this feeling to better understand the dynamics of preparation in health systems.

The Covid-19 crisis is a case in point: our care system must sometimes confront exceptional health situations. Hospital staff are trained to respond to such situations, but there is little scientific literature on the way in which those concerned perceive their preparation. So how do caregivers, medical doctors, administrative staff and medical center directors feel in the face of these exceptional situations? This is the subject of Marie Bossard’s PhD at IMT Mines Alès and the University of Nîmes.

When she began her work in 2018, the Covid-19 crisis and pandemics were not yet a major concern. Exceptional health situations include anything that goes beyond the usual functioning of healthcare services. “We originally had in mind the emergency services being overwhelmed after an attack”, explains Gilles Dusserre, a researcher in risk sciences at IMT Mines Alès and joint supervisor of Marie Bossard with Karine Weiss at the University of Nîmes. Whatever the cause, this research fits into a global reflection on the current problems in emergency medicine. This is what the researchers want to understand better in order to provide operational responses to special users or hospital staff.

The feeling of “preparedness“

“The idea is to start with the individual and study how each person perceives his or her level of preparedness, and then develop these reflections on a collective scale,” says Marie Bossard. The aim is to measure the feeling of “preparedness” and identify the factors that influence it, as well as to apply psychosocial models to the level of preparedness of hospital staff. The PhD student is exploring the social representations of hospital staff through interviews with medical doctors, paramedics, health executives and administrative employees in different French university hospitals.

“We can differentiate the feeling of preparedness, the perception of our preparation, and the reported preparation”, explains Marie Bossard. If hospital staff consider that exceptional health situations are only linked to an attack, for example, they might never be prepared for a fire,” she continues.

And, although the preparation received has an influence on the feeling of preparedness, she insists that “there are many other aspects to take into account. The feeling of self-efficacy is important, in particular.” This psycho-social concept represents, in a way, the power to act: the individual perception of having sufficient skills to manage a situation and knowing how to apply them. The perception of preparation, whether positive or negative, also affects the feeling of preparedness. The role of the collective is also undeniable. “A common response is that, individually, the person doesn’t feel ready, but they still have confidence in the collective, she adds. There’s a certain resignation”, says the joint PhD supervisor. “Hospital systems are already going through a difficult time and are coping, so collectively they feel capable of facing one more challenge.”

In a second phase, the aim is to propose hypotheses on the structure and content of these social representations. For example, health executives do not give the same type of spontaneous responses as paramedics when asked to list words in connection with exceptional health situations. The former generally talk about the practice of preparation (logistics, influx), while the second generally mention everyday examples or emotion (danger, serious, disaster).

The context of the Covid crisis

Given that the development of an exceptional health situation was completely unforeseeable, it initially seemed impossible to carry out a field study. However, the pandemic caused by the new coronavirus in early 2020 provided a characteristic field of study for the researchers. Marie Bossard and her joint supervisors reorganized their methodology and two new studies were prepared. The first before the arrival of the virus in France, which studied the preparedness of more than 400 participants among personnel and collectives. The second after the first peak of the epidemic and before a potential second wave, which was still an uncertainty at the time. The questionnaires from the study carried out among 534 participants provide a comparison between the feeling of readiness before and after Covid-19.

The post-Covid study confirmed that the feeling of preparedness depends on psycho-social variables and not just the level of preparation. Age and years of professional experience also influence this feeling, as do the profession and any previous experience of managing an exceptional health situation. These are individual variables, but the role of the collective was also confirmed. “The more ready and prepared others are, the higher the perception of personal preparedness, says Marie Bossard. Similarly, perceiving the hospital as ready, with sufficient human and material resources, has a great influence.” The PhD student is currently studying the results of the latest study conducted in September.

The situation, although difficult, provides “a context for the answers given during the first interviews,” says the PhD student. For example, it confirms that all hospital staff are involved, not just those considered on the front line. Indeed, the mobilization affects every hospital department. She admits that “the Covid-19 health crisis has given us a new perspective on this PhD subject, which is now topical and concretely demonstrates the need for a better understanding in this field“. It is also an opportunity to explore the effect of this exceptional health situation on the feeling of preparedness among those first concerned and the factors that influence this feeling with a concrete application of the subject.

“We haven’t found any previous studies that have explored this subject from the same angle, says Marie Bossard. We’re starting from scratch. The aim is to remain as open-minded as possible to identify initial indicators, and then dig deeper into more specific questions,” she concludes. It could lead to new studies, for example to understand why the feeling of auto-efficacy plays such an important role in the feeling of preparedness.

 Tiphaine Claveau

Circular economy, environmental assessment and environmental budgeting

/0 Comments/in , /by

To implement a robust and durable circular economy strategy, it is important to assess its environmental impacts. Valérie Laforest and Natacha Gondran, both researchers at Mines Saint-Étienne, explain the reasons for incorporating an absolute environmental sustainability assessment method and the underlying concept of “environmental budgeting“.

The lifestyles of our contemporary societies are exerting constant and unsustainable pressure on the balance of our planet. One of the proposed strategies for protecting the Earth’s resources is the circular economy. The concept may seem simple – to encourage recycling and reuse to limit the consumption of raw materials – but environmental impact assessment involves a large number of variables and makes things complicated. This is why researchers are working to design more effective assessment methods for these impacts than the current tools, which are still insufficient. In particular, they are developing a systemic approach that integrates absolute environmental impact assessment.

This issue is at the heart of Valérie Laforest and Natacha Gondran’s work, both researchers at Mines Saint-Étienne1 and members of the Environmental Assessment of Waste, Effluents, Materials, Sediments and Soils (EDEEMS) Scientific Interest Group (SIG). Bringing together seven regional institutions, the EDEEMS SIG carries out, among other things, research on the health and environmental impacts of the circular economy. “The aim is to show that our collaborations can offer the economic world scientific support to overcome the obstacles that still pose a problem”, says Valérie Laforest. The researcher is a specialist in environmental assessment and focusses on the evaluation methods for these impacts. At the heart of the issue, it is important to define the indicators to assess pressure on natural resources and environments caused by humans.

A systemic approach

“This can be very experimental,” says Valérie Laforest. Within the SIG, “we’re starting out on a laboratory scale, then we’ll progressively move up to a pilot level to demonstrate the validity of our work on an industrial scale”. Let us consider the building sector and its impact on ecosystems as an example. Analyses and monitoring are done through ecotoxicology studies or environmental impact assessments from the source of pollutant emissions to their final destination. At the same time, the different transfers constituting all possible interactions between the source and the target, such as groundwater or soils, are also studied.

In the context of the circular economy, evaluating the “source” elements of pollution requires meticulous characterization of the materials produced from recycling. For example, besides the composition of the recycled materials itself, their reactivity must also be studied, with biodegradation tests for sources of organic pollution. These indicators are essential for assessing the different types of pressure on the ecosystems in greater detail.

“There is a growing interest in research into the planet’s limits today. The idea is to compare this work with the impacts generated by production systems using what are known as absolute environmental sustainability assessment methods,” says Valérie Laforest. The Earth not only has a limited amount of resources, but also a limited capacity for absorption. We must therefore take account of all the impacts, both positive and negative, across all sectors. The researcher adds that in order to implement a sustainable circular economy, it is necessary to have “robust and transparent methods that allow us to act with knowledge of the consequences and perfect control of the risks.”

Environmental budgeting

“It is essential to integrate a systemic approach to standardize indicators for the evaluation of environmental impacts,” says Valérie Laforest. And, ultimately, to understand the impact of anthropogenic activities in relation to our planet’s capacity to absorb them. To avoid exceeding this capacity, one idea is to put in place an “environmental budget”. “We are aiming to break down the planet’s absorption capacity by type of activity according to the needs and contribution of each one”, explains Valérie Laforest. “Imagine allocating to each sector of activity a level of emissions that can be absorbed by the planet without too much disruption to the natural balance.”

However, distributing the planet’s total budget across the different activities of society raises various scientific, ethical and political questions. In addition, the total environmental budget for a given sector would have to be able to be broken down between the different brands or companies to see what they consume out of the available budget. “As part of a PhD by Anastasia Wolff, we adapted existing models and tested these methods for the food industry branch of a major retail group. For some indicators, such as climate change, they had already exceeded the allocated budget. Just for eating, this brand and its clients were already exceeding the environmental budget available to them,” explains Natacha Gondran.

Valérie Laforest and Natacha Gondran’s team focuses its work on the choice of relevant indicators, the definition and allocation of this ecological budget to a sector of activity and the evaluation of a given sector’s consumption of and contribution to this budget. It is a mammoth task. This global approach also aims to raise awareness of the scope of the issues in order to target which points to work on to efficiently reduce the environmental impact.

Besides this, there are other essential dimensions for implementing a sustainable circular economy. “The participation and involvement of local actors in the process is essential. It is a key factor of success”, says Valérie Laforest. While the researchers are developing the right tools, it is still vital to work with local actors to understand the situation and implement the process. “At IMT, the circular economy is one of the priority actions on the theme of renewable energy and resources. In addition, IMT is at the heart of numerous projects within its different schools. IMT also supports platforms such as the Plateforme Territoire at Mines Saint-Étienne, which aims in particular to help local actors visualize information through a spatial representation and target priority issues,” says Valérie Laforest.

1 Valérie Laforest and Natacha Gondran carry out their research in the framework of the Environment, City and Society laboratory, a joint CNRS research unit composed of 7 members including Mines Saint-Étienne.

Tiphaine Claveau

David Gesbert, PERFUME

PERFUME: a scent of cooperation for the networks of the future

/0 Comments/in , /by

The ERC PERFUME project, led by EURECOM researcher David Gesbert and ending in 2020, resulted in the development of algorithms for local decision making in the mobile network. This research was tested on autonomous drones, and is particularly relevant to the need for connected robotics in the post-5G world.

Now that 5G is here, who’s thinking about what comes next? The team working with David Gesbert, a researcher specializing in wireless communication systems at EURECOM, has just completed its ERC PERFUME project on this subject. So what will wireless networks look like by 2030? While 5G is based on the centralization of calculations in the cloud, the networks of the future will require, on the contrary, a distributed network. By this, we mean the emergence of a more cooperative network. “In the future, the widespread use of robotic objects and devices to perform autonomous tasks will increase the need for local decision making, which is difficult in a centralized system,” says Gesbert. Nevertheless, the objective remains the same: optimizing the quality of the network. This is especially important since the increase in connected devices may cause more interference and therefore affect the quality of the information exchanged.

Why decentralize decision making on the network?

Under 5G, every device that is connected to the network can send measurements to the cloud. The cloud has a very high computing capacity, enabling it to process an immeasurable amount of data, before sending instructions back to devices (a tablet, cell phone, drone, etc.). However, these information transfers take time, which is a very valuable commodity for connected robotics applications or critical missions. Autonomous vehicles, for example, must make instant decisions in critical situations. “In the context of real-time applications, the response speed of the network must be optimized. Decentralizing decisions closer to the base stations is precisely the solution that was studied in our PERFUME project,” explains David Gesbert. As 5G is not yet equipped to meet this constraint, we have to introduce new evolutions of the standard.

EURECOM’s researchers are thus relying on cooperation and coordination of the computing capabilities of local terminals such as our cell phones. By exchanging information, these terminals could coordinate in the choice of their power and transmission frequency, which would limit the interference that would limit the flow rates, for example. They would no longer focus solely on their local operations, but would participate in the overall improvement of the quality of the network. A team effort that would manifest itself at the user level by sending files faster or providing better image quality during a video call. However, although possible, this collaboration remains difficult to implement.

Towards more cooperative wireless networks

Distributed networks pose a major problem: access to information from one device to another is incomplete. “Our problem of exchanging information locally can be compared to a soccer team playing blindfolded. Each player only has access to a noisy piece of information and doesn’t know where the other team members are in their attempt to score the goal together”, says David Gesbert. Researchers then develop so-called robust decision-making algorithms. Their objective? To allow a set of connected devices to process this noisy information locally. “Networks have become too complicated to be optimized by conventional mathematical solutions, and they are teeming with data. This is why we have designed algorithms based on signal processing but also on machine learning,” continues the researcher.

These tools were then tested in a concrete 5G network context in partnership with Ericsson. “The objective was for 5G cells to coordinate on the choice of directional beams of MIMO (multi-input multi-output) antennas to reduce interference between them,” says the researcher. These smart antennas, deployed as part of 5G, are increasingly being installed on connected devices. They perform “beamforming”, which means that they direct a radio signal in a specific direction – rather than in all directions – thus improving the efficiency of the signal. These promising results have opened the door to large-scale tests on connected robotics applications, the other major focus of the ERC project. EURECOM has thus experimented with certain algorithms on autonomous drones.

Drones at the service of the network?

Following a disaster such as an avalanche, a tsunami or an earthquake, part of the ground network infrastructure may be destroyed and access to the network may be cut off. It would then be possible to replicate a temporary network architecture on site using a fleet of drones serving as air relays. On the EURECOM campus, David Gesbert’s team has developed prototypes of autonomous drones connected to 5G. These determine a strategic flight position and their respective positions in order to solve network access problems for users on the ground. The drones then move freely and recalculate their optimal placement according to the user’s position.  This research notably received the prize for the best 2019 research project, awarded by the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region’s Secure Communicating Solutions cluster.

This solution could be considered in the context of rescue missions and geolocalization of missing persons. However, several challenges need to be addressed for this method to develop. Indeed, current regulations prohibit the theft of autonomous aircraft. In addition, they have a flight time of about 30 minutes, which is still too short to offer sustainable solutions.

“This research is also adapted to issues relating to autonomous cars, adds David Gesbert. For example, when two vehicles arrive at an intersection, a protocol for coordination must be put in place to ensure that the vehicles cross the intersection as quickly as possible and with the lowest likelihood of collision.” In addition, medicine and connected factories would also be targets for application of distributed networks. As for the integration of this type of standard in the future 6G, it will depend on the interests of industrial players in the years to come.

By Anaïs Culot

Learn more about the ERC PERFUME project

In search of a future for fast neutron reactors

/0 Comments/in , /by

In August 2019, it was announced that the Astrid project for sodium fast reactors (SFR) was to be abandoned. In late 2020, Stéphanie Tillement, a researcher at IMT Atlantique, analyzed the rationale behind this abandonment in an article for I’MTech. But what is the global situation? Does this technology still have a future? Stéphanie Tillement and her colleague Frédéric Garcias analyze the prospects for this industry.

In 2000, fast neutron reactors returned to center stage, after years of being forgotten. The United States Department of Energy (DOE) organized a very important event for the nuclear industry at the global level, the “Generation IV International Forum” (GIF). This forum sought to help the nuclear industry recover by kick-starting research and innovation based on what were described as “revolutionary” reactors, which had to fulfill a number of very general objectives: safer, more cost-effective, reduce the risks of proliferation, save natural resources and minimize waste. And sodium fast reactors (SFR) fulfill these five criteria.

It was during this forum that this notion of generations of nuclear reactors was first defined. Those currently in operation in France – all of which are Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR) – are referred to as generation II. The European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) being built in Flamanville is referred to as a generation III – as are those being built in England and in Finland and the two EPRs in operation in Taishan in China. Generation IV reactors refer to reactors that are able to fulfill the previously-mentioned objectives. The members of the Generation IV forum agreed on six concepts of reactors referred to as generation IV, three of which are SFR. Among them, one is lead-cooled, another is gas-cooled, and the third is sodium-cooled, like the Astrid prototype introduced by France.

Saving uranium

“We have to put ourselves in the context of the 2000s,” says Frédéric Garcias, a researcher in organizational management at the University of Lille. “The nuclear industry was going through a lull in the construction of new reactors, in particular in the wake of the Chernobyl accident, but many believed that it remained a solution for the future. In what form, and within what timeframe? Growth was anticipated in China and in emerging countries, which could give rise to a high level of uranium consumption. Thus the interest in seeking uranium-efficient sectors.” Fast neutron reactors are able to consume depleted uranium and plutonium, which are waste products of previous generations of reactors.  

Today, Russia and China are at the forefront of the SFR sector. Russia has two (BN-600 and BN-800, respectively 560 and 820 megawatts of electricity) that are based on an earlier design, which are not considered generation IV. China started out in 2011 with an experimental generation IV low-power sodium-cooled fast reactor (20 megawatts of electricity). France, which had also been at the forefront, has fallen behind since the Astrid project was abandoned in 2019. As for the United States, after kick-starting research efforts through the Generation IV Forum, it abandoned nuclear energy for a while, enticed by the prospects of shale gas and oil. But the prospects of a controllable, zero-carbon energy offered by nuclear power has led the country to turn its attention to this industry once again. While many start-ups are working in this area, there are no plans to build reactors at this time.

Towards small, modular reactors

If nuclear energy is struggling to revive itself, especially in countries like France and the United States, it may be that the prevailing approach to development throughout the second half of the 20th century is now outdated. It focused on building ever-bigger, more powerful, more complex reactors. This meant that they were more expensive and harder to fund. This race to build giant reactors may have reached its limitations with the EPR. “Big reactors are, or were, developed in highly-centralized countries like Russia or China, or like France was in some ways in the 1980s,” observes Stéphanie Tillement, a researcher in industrial sociology at IMT Atlantique. “It’s clear that historically, nuclear energy has been less successful in decentralized countries. With the rise of decentralized methods of governance, stakeholders wondered, ‘Why not consider smaller, modular reactors built to respond to needs – in short, decentralized?'” This is precisely the principle of Small Modular Reactors (SMR), which are anywhere from three to one hundred times less powerful than Generation III reactors. They do not have the same business model or organization: smaller reactors require less funding, and seem to be easier to deploy when there is less long-term visibility. SMR concepts are extremely varied: some are inspired by known tried and tested technologies while others are more “exotic.” They all use fission, and can be pressurized water (like generations II and III) or fast neutron reactors.

Read more on I’MTech: Nuclear: A Multitude of Scenarios to Help Imagine the Future of the Industry

Will we see a resurgence of nuclear power in France, whether through SMR or otherwise? “So far, the French government has been quiet on these issues,” says Stéphanie Tillement. “Neither the decision to launch (and then stop) a project to build a reactor like Astrid, or the launch of new projects have been debated or voted on in Parliament. There is no real industrial strategy for nuclear power in the multiannual energy program, a tool designed to steer France’s energy policy.” Clearly, no government, current or previous, seems to want to discuss these issues, as they are deemed to be too risky from a political viewpoint. And yet, nuclear energy is built over time, requiring long-term strategies and public investment. Without this, there is a risk that there will be a massive loss of skills, which will have definite consequences on the industry.

Loss of skills

“The French project to build EPR was started in 2007, after ten years without any building in France,” explains Frédéric Garcias. “The longer we go between projects, the more skills we lose, along with the entire industrial fabric. Industrial capacity requires upkeep! But politicians are unaware of this question of skills – they think that we can stop for twenty years and then just flip a switch to start up again.” Moreover, when there are few construction projects, and few prospects, the nuclear industry becomes less attractive, which impacts recruitment.

Politicians and the nuclear industry do not operate on the same timeframe. A presidential term lasts five years, while nuclear power take decades to develop. Could SMRs be an answer to this short-term vision? “We don’t yet know the answer to this question,” say the two researchers. SMRs would certainly be better- suited to a more volatile, less centralized world, with more participatory democracy. But we would also lose some of the advantages of the sector, such as its small physical footprint. And there would still be safety issues. France currently counts 18 nuclear power plants (56 reactors) – far more SMRs would be needed to produce the same amount of energy. This is unlikely to gain wide public acceptance!

Learning to innovate again

The nuclear industry is struggling due to its difficulty to plan for the future as it awaits government decisions that never come. Perhaps it should also reconsider the way it works. “The abandonment of the Astrid project raises questions about opportunities for innovation in the French nuclear sector,” says Stéphanie Tillement. “The French nuclear sector depends on a very small group of players, primarily EDF/Framatome for operations and design, the French Atomic and Alternative Energy Commission (CEA) and regulators — the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) with technical support from the French Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN). This provides stability, but also a certain inertia. The system has a hard time innovating and breaking away from pre-established models and modes of operation. This was seen in the work on Generation IV: only CNRS dared to develop a concept that was truly a radical breakthrough from previously-developed technologies, a concept for a molten salt reactor, which had never been built in France.” A debate has therefore been set in motion within the nuclear sector: is it still capable of innovating and changing?

By Cécile Michaut.

RAMP UP Seed

Supporting companies in the midst of crisis

/0 Comments/in , , /by

The RAMP-UP Seed project is one of 9 new projects to have been selected by the German-French Academy for the Industry of the Future as part of the “Resilience and Sustainability for the Industry of the Future” call for projects. It focuses on helping companies adapt their production capacities to respond to crisis situations. The project relies on two main areas of expertise to address this issue: ramp-up management and artificial intelligence (AI). Khaled Medini and Olivier Boissier, researchers at Mines Saint-Étienne,[1] a partner of the project, present the issues.

Can you describe the context for the RAMP-UP Seed project?

Khaled Medini The RAMP-UP Seed project is one of 9 new projects to have been selected by the German-French Academy for the Industry of the Future (GFA) for the call for projects on the sustainability and resiliency of companies in the industry of the future. This project is jointly conducted by Mines Saint-Étienne and TUM (Technische Universität München), and is a continuation of work carried out on diversity management, ramp-up management, and multi-agent systems at Institut Fayol related to the industry of the future.

What is the project’s goal?

KM The health crisis has highlighted the limitations of current industrial models when it comes to providing a quick response to market demands in terms of quality and quantity, and production constraints related to crisis situations. Ramp-up and ramp-down management is a key to meeting these challenges. The goal of RAMP-UP Seed is to establish a road map for developing a tool-based methodology in order to increase companies’ sustainability and resilience specifically by targeting the adaptation phase and production facilities.

How do you plan to achieve this? What are the scientific obstacles you must overcome?

Olivier Boissier The project addresses issues related to the topics of production systems and artificial intelligence. The goal is to remedy a lack of methodology guides and tools for strengthening companies’ sustainability and resilience. Two main actions will be prioritized for this purpose during the initial seed stage:

  • An analysis of existing approaches and identification with industrial stakeholders of needs and use cases, which will be conducted jointly with two partners;
  • Development of a proposal for a collaborative project involving Franco-German academic and industrial partners in order to respond to European calls for projects.

From an operational standpoint, work meetings and workshops are held regularly with teams from Mines Saint-Étienne and the TUM in a spirit of collaboration.

Who are the partners involved in this project and what are their respective roles?

KM We started RAMP-UP Seed in partnership with the TUM Institute of Automation and Information Systems with a focus on two main areas: ramp-up management and artificial intelligence. Expertise from the Territoire and IT’M Factory platforms from Institut Henri Fayol, and TUM platforms will be used to develop this dynamic further.

Who will benefit from the methods and tools developed by RAMP-UP Seed?

OB The purpose of the multi-agent optimization and simulation tools and industrial management tools to be developed through this project is to provide decision-making tools for exploring, testing and better managing ramp-up in the manufacturing and service sectors. Special attention will also be given to the health crisis, with a focus on the health sector.

What are the next big steps for the project?

KM RAMP-UP Seed is a seed project. In addition to analyzing current trends, one of the key goals is to develop joint responses to calls for projects in the fields of artificial intelligence and industrial management.

[1] Khaled Medini is a researcher at the Laboratory of Informatics, Modeling and Optimization of Systems (LIMOS), joint research unit UCA/Mines Saint-Étienne/CNRS 6158). Olivier Boissier is a researcher at Hubert Curien Laboratory, joint research unit CNRS 5516/Mines Saint-Étienne).

Interview by Véronique Charlet

Chiffres nombre de cas et de décès de la Covid-19

Covid-19: putting the figures into perspective

/0 Comments/in /by

Since the start of the Covid-19 crisis we have developed a unique relationship with the abundance of figures reflecting the current state of affairs. They are used as indicators to describe the trends in the pandemic and serve to make major political decisions. Valérie Charolles, a researcher in philosophy at Institut Mines-Télécom Business School, explains her reflections on the epistemological issues with this numerical representation of the epidemic.

Figures on the number of cases and deaths were available early on in the Covid-19 pandemic and have been used to assess the state of the situation and make important political decisions. “Covid-19 is an emblematic illustration of a new form of world, a world in which political decisions are no longer based on words and things but on facts and figures”, says Valérie Charolles, a researcher in philosophy at Institut Mines-Télécom Business School and a member of the Values and Policies of Personal Information Chair at IMT. “This presents several major challenges at the epistemological, methodological and critical levels.”

The epistemological reflection on this unprecedented situation questions, in particular, the way in which the figures are put together and interpreted. For example, the number of cases detected, the trend in which we have been able to follow over time in different countries across the world, depends on the number of tests available and the testing policy used. There is therefore a sample effect: because more tests are carried out today than during the first wave, the number of confirmed cases has increased due to the influence of this bias. Another sampling bias is caused by asymptomatic cases. People with symptoms are more likely to go for a test than others, but it is possible to be positive for SARS-Cov2 without having any symptoms.

Numbers and bias

The role of epistemology in this situation is to question the way in which knowledge of the epidemic is produced and the representation that emerges from the information created. If the biases lead to a distorted image of reality, we must consider ways to diminish them. The best solution would be to have regular measurements on representative samples of the population which would reflect the proportion of infected people rather than the number of cases detected. “This would make it possible to include asymptomatic cases and remove the effects of variation in testing policies and thus have a much better view of the spread of the epidemic. The United Kingdom has been using this kind of monitoring for several months in partnership with Oxford University”, explains Valérie Charolles.

“As far as the number of deaths is concerned, we must not forget to compare it to the number of deaths in previous years”, says the researcher. Worldwide, about 50 million people die each year, including 600,000 in France. The number of deaths by Covid-19 during the first wave and part of the second corresponds to 10% of the annual number of deaths in France. “In terms of excess mortality due to Covid, a study by INSEE published this summer shows that, for the first wave, the number of deaths remained unchanged for people under 49 and only dramatically increased (+40%) for people over 70. It is not a question of ignoring the danger of this virus, which is very real, but of looking more closely at what the figures tell us and putting them in perspective”, explains Valérie Charolles.

For example, the lockdown reduced the risk factors for sudden deaths (accidents). On the other hand, the saturation of hospital services affected the treatment of other life-threatening illnesses. Since Covid-19 has a more serious effect on the elderly, there is also a bias caused by the fact that some people would have died anyway from other causes. According to the researcher, all these factors should be taken into consideration when representing the reality of the epidemic, because they provide a more detailed perspective than the number of cases and deaths.

Even the choice of indicators is a point of interest. Other facts and figures could have been relayed better over time, such as those on the progress in the availability of hydroalcoholic gel and masks, treatments and patient care. These elements were less visible than the statistics on deaths and the number of cases detected. “We could have presented a different story, another version: that of the rapid progress we have made in protection, detecting the virus, treatment and now in the availability of vaccines,” says the researcher. “Not only to have a more relaxed society, but also to better explain what was happening.”

The aim of this analysis is not to undermine through criticism, but to adopt a perspective of reconstruction. Reflection on the issues at stake in this crisis starts with understanding the data presented to us. “Representing figures is a profession in its own right. Today, a large number of people are not trained to understand figures. Giving the population the ability to observe and understand what is said is an essential project for supporting democracy”, concludes Valérie Charolles.

Valérie Charolles’s latest book, “Libéralisme contre capitalisme”, was published by folio on January 14, 2020. More information on the folio website.