Section: Partnerships and Cooperations

National Initiatives

EMOA project

Participants : Georges Dumont [contact] , Zhaoguang Wang.

EMOA project [2007-mid2011] of the competitiveness cluster ID4CAR is funded by The french ministry of industry. This project involves seven industrial partners (PSA as project manager, ARCELOR, CETIM, ESI Group, Gruau, Cerizay, E. Leclerc) and five academic partners (CROMEP, UBS, ENS Cachan, IrCCyN, IRISA-ENS Cachan). The goal of this project is to improve the quality of stamped parts of car bodies. We are involved in the work package 11 with the purpose of proposing quality validation methods based on virtual reality project reviews. This could allow the industrial partners to verify and to improve the stamping tools design. The aim of Zhaoguang Wang PHD thesis [3] was to propose models and simulation methods for computation of the parts deformation in interactive time compatible with haptic manipulation by the user. This method is based on modal analysis and mode recombination.

FUI SIFORAS

Participants : Valérie Gouranton [contact] , Bruno Arnaldi [contact] .

SIFORAS (Simulation for training and assistance), based on GVT  5.2 , aims to propose Instructional Systems Design to answer the new objectives of training (Intelligent Tutorial System, mobility, augmented reality, high productivity).

SIFORAS involves Academic partners 4 (INSA Rennes, ENIB, CEA-List, ENISE) and 9 Industrial partners (Nexter Training, Delta CAD, Virtualys, DAF Conseils, Nexter Systems, DCNS, Renault, SNCF, Alstom).

In this project, INSA Rennes-VR4i aims ensuring consistency with respect to CORVETTE project (see section  8.1.4 ) in particular for the global architecture based on STORM and LORA models.

ANR Collaviz

Participants : Thierry Duval [contact] , Valérie Gouranton [contact] , Cédric Fleury, Laurent Aguerreche.

Collaviz is an innovative multi-domain remote collaborative platform (project ANR-08-COSI-003-11 funded by the french national research agency) for the simulation-based design applications.

Collaviz involves 6 Academic partners (ECP, EGID, INPT, INSA Rennes, LIRIS, Scilab) and 11 Industrial partners (Artenum, BRGM, Distene, EDF, Faurecia, Medit, MCLP Consulting, NECS, Oxalya, TechViz, Teratec)

The major value brought by Collaviz to the scientific and industrial community is to make remote analysis and collaboration easily available and scalable. Web-based technologies, on the top of shared high-performance computing and visualization centers, will permit researchers and engineers handling very large data sets, including 3D data models, by using a single workstation, wherever in the world. Just a "standard" internet connexion will be needed. The classical approach is not adapted anymore: simulation-based design applications tend to generate Terabytes and even Petabytes of data.

We are leading the WP4 about Collaborative Virtual Environments and Techniques, whose aim is to manage the 3D collaborative interactions of the users. During 2011 we contributed to the second Collaviz prototype by providing the final version of a collaboration service, and by building upon it new collaborative interaction metaphors. We also improved the Collaviz software architecture in order to provide interoperability, making it possible to share a virtual universe between heterogeneous 3D viewers.

Scientific contributions are presented in [17] , [16] .

We have also deployed the Collaviz framework between London (in the immersive room of the University College of London) and Rennes (in our Immersia room). We setup an experiment of collaborative manipulation of a clipping plane inside 3D scientific data within VISIONAIR project. This first real deployment of Collaviz is a success, it has allowed efficient co-manipulation of a shared 3D object between two really distant users.

ANR Corvette

Participants : Bruno Arnaldi [contact] , Valérie Gouranton [contact] , Florian Nouviale, Andrès Saraos-Luna.

Corvette (COllaboRative Virtual Environment Technical Training and Experiment) aims to propose a set of scientific innovations in industrial training domain (maintenance, complex procedures, security, diagnostic, ...) exploiting virtual reality technologies. This project has several scientific axes : collaborative work, virtual human, communication and evaluation.

Corvette involves 3 Academic partners (INSA Rennes, ENIB, CEA-List) and 3 Industrial partners (Nexter Training, Virtualys, Golaem). We (INSA Rennes) are leading the ANR Corvette.

The project seeks to put in synergy a number of scientific axes:

• Collaborative work that can handle representative complex scenarios of industrial training

• Virtual Human for its ability to embody the user as an avatar and acting as a collaborator during training

• Natural communication between users and virtual humans for task-oriented dialogues

• Methodology in cognitive psychiology for the assement of the effectiveness of the collaboration of users and virtual humans to perform complex cooperative tasks in a virtual environment.

Some directions are emerging to address the projects goals. We define the specifications to achieve the creation of our new architecture for training applications. We also study the states of the art in the fields : collaborative work, virtual human, communication, scenarios. We specify the two industrial scenarios of the project. We propose an architecture that permits the solutions of the main breakthroughs to be integrated.

For further information: http://corvette.irisa.fr/

ANR Acoustic

Participant : Maud Marchal [contact] .

The main objective of the project ACouStiC is to develop an innovative strategy based on models for helping decision-making process during surgical planning in Deep Brain Stimulation. Models rely on different levels involved in the decision-making process; namely multimodal images, information, and knowledge. The project aims at developing methods for 1) building generic and patient specific models and 2) automatically computing optimal electrodes trajectories from these models taking into account possible simulated deformations occurring during surgery. VR4i is involved in the project with Shaman INRIA project-team and aims at providing models of deformations of the cerebral structures and electrodes for the surgical planning. The objective is to propose a biomechanical approach to model the brain and electrode deformations and also their mutual interaction.

ANR Open-ViBE2

Participants : Laurent Bonnet, Alain Chauffaut, Thierry Duval, Laurent George, Anatole Lécuyer [contact] , Jozef Legény.

OpenViBE2 is a 3-year project funded by the French National Agency for Research. The objective of OpenViBE2 is to propose a radical shift of perspective about the use of Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI). First, in OpenViBE2 we consider the possibility to merge a BCI with traditional peripherals such as joysticks, mice and other devices, all being possibly used simultaneously in a virtual environment. Therefore, BCI is not seen as a replacement but as a complement of classical HCI. Second, we aim at monitoring brain cognitive functions and mental states of the user in order to adapt, in real-time and in an automated fashion, the interaction protocol as well as the content of the remote/virtual environment (VE).

One major strength of OpenViBE2 consortium relies on the fact that four partners were already involved in the previous ANR project OpenViBE1 (2005-2009): INRIA, INSERM, GIPSA-LAB, CEA. In addition, six partners have joined OpenViBE2 to bring their complementary expertise required by the scope of our proposal: CHART, CLARTE, UBISOFT, BLACK SHEEP, and KYLOTONN.

In parallel, the OpenViBE2 consortium contributes to the free and open-source software OpenViBE, which is devoted to the design, test and use of Brain-Computer Interfaces (see Section  5.3 ).

BRAINVOX

Participants : Anatole Lécuyer [contact] , Jozef Legény [contact] .

The BRAINVOX project is a project funded by Brittany region in the frame of the CREATE call. It is a 4 year-project (2008-2012), on the topic of Brain-Computer Interfaces.

The "blue-sky" vision of the BrainVox project is a "mental language", more elaborated, and richer, for BCI applications. We want to study the possibility for a single user to exploit various mental activities, in order to achieve more varied operations in the BCI-based application within novel hybrid BCI schemes. In the end, this novel mental language would enable a practice of BCI richer and more intuitive, with more potential actions in the real world. This should improve the spreading of BCI technologies in numerous applications such as multimedia and video games, but also assistance to disabled people.

NIEVE

Participant : Anatole Lécuyer [contact] .

The collaborative research initiative (ARC) NIEVE aims at:

• Studying the modulation of emotion in audiovisual VEs, focusing on the case of phobia of dogs in the iCube.

• Studying appropriate representations, view combinations/transitions and auditory feedback for effective navigation in VEs

• Developing novel immersive audiovisual interfaces for navigation in VEs

• Developing an innovative emotion-based methodology for the evaluation of immersive navigation interfaces.

This research initiative involves two INRIA teams, REVES and VR4i, and IRCAM. It is supported by DREAM service at INRIA Sophia-Antipolis.

ADT Loic

Participant : Anatole Lécuyer [contact] .

This ADT is a collaboration on OpenViBE software between two INRIA teams: VR4i team at INRIA Rennes and Cortex team at INRIA Nancy  5.3 .