Aquila Data Enabler, a French consulting firm specialized in artificial intelligence, in collaboration with the Quartz laboratory of ISAE Supméca, won the “AI for Industry 2021” challenge. This challenge was co-organized by the Île-de-France region and Dassault Aviation. For two months, a dozen pre-selected candidates proposed a multitude of algorithms to respond to a problem defined by the organizers.

A challenge co-organized by the Île-de-France Region and Dassault Aviation

The “AI for Industry 2021” Challenge is an event organized by Dassault Aviation and the Île-de-France region, in partnership with Startup Inside, the Île-de-France competitiveness clusters Astech and Systematic, as well as the Université Paris-Saclay. It allows a dozen pre-selected candidates to use AI algorithms to develop, with the help of machine learning, virtual sensors capable of estimating the local stresses experienced by a Falcon business jet, based on data provided by the available on-board instruments.

Between November 18, 2020 and December 31, more than 1,000 algorithm submissions were deployed. Éric Trappier, chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, had specified the expectations around these algorithms:

“The algorithms must enable us, through a more detailed knowledge of the mechanical stress suffered by aircraft in service, to optimize our maintenance programs and to propose lighter and therefore more fuel-efficient structures.”

It was as part of its regional IA2021 plan launched in 2017 that the Île-de-France Region decided to launch this AI challenge for industry. Valérie Pécresse, President of the Île-de-France Region, said of the links that territorial players and companies are forging in terms of AI:

“The Île-de-France Region is determined to play its part in giving our economic fabric the keys and resources to access the formidable assets of the Île-de-France AI ecosystem. We have to play collectively to win; that’s what we’ve done by working with Dassault Aviation, our Astech and Systematic clusters, as well as Paris Saclay University and Startup Inside.”

Eric Trappier also spoke about the organization of this challenge with the Ile-de-France Region:

“We are very happy with our collaboration with the Ile-de-France Region and its ecosystem dedicated to artificial intelligence. We met some very successful teams, thanks to which this Challenge was able to achieve all its objectives. The algorithms proposed by the winners will enable us to optimize our maintenance programs and propose lighter, more fuel-efficient structures, thanks to a more detailed knowledge of the mechanical stress suffered by aircraft in service. […] It is through innovation that the industry in general and the aeronautics industry in particular will overcome the crisis of today and meet the challenges of tomorrow.”

A challenge won by Aquila Data Enabler and ISAE Supméca

The consortium made up of the R&D consultancy Aquila Data Enabler and the Quartz laboratory at ISAE-Supméca is the winner of the “AI for Industry 2021” challenge. They succeed Quantmetry, the winner of the “AI for Industry 2019” challenge, which was co-organized by the SNCF and Michelin.

The algorithms developed by the two entities were considered the most successful by the challenge jury. Stéphane Georges, CEO of Aquila Data Enabler, spoke about his company’s victory in his words:

“This victory rewards our R&D Lab, which has been working for more than 3 years on the concrete applications of AI in the world of engineering and industry. We would like to thank the Île-de-France Region for its support for companies in the Paris region and look forward to building an industrial and concrete solution with Dassault Aviation and Supméca that will democratize the AI approach to virtual sensors, not only to the aeronautical sector, but to all industries.”

Teams from ISAE-Supméca and Aquila Data Enabler will work for 18 months with Dassault Aviation on this project, with financial support from the Île-de-France Region to the tune of €500,000. Thanks to this grant, researchers from these two organizations will be able to accelerate the development of tools for processing temporal data using AI. They will also be able to conduct cutting-edge research on this subject.

Translated from Challenge “AI for Industry 2021” : Aquila Data Enabler et l’ISAE Supméca vainqueurs