On Wednesday, July 6, Atos presented the three winning teams of the Atos IT Challenge, an international student competition whose theme was ” How data from space can advance humanity”. The company also announced, in partnership with GENCI (Grand Equipement National de Calcul Intensif), the winners of the 2022 edition of its annual scientific competition, the Joseph Fourier Prize.
Atos, one of the world’s largest NSEs, is committed to providing secure, decarbonized digital solutions to its customers. Its Managed Detection and Response (MDR) solution with the next-generation AI-based platform “Alsaac”, a cloud-native solution with hybrid and multi-cloud support, provides threat intelligence, detection and blocking, incident analysis and response to combat cyber attacks and ransomware.
One of the pillars of its raison d’être is to contribute to scientific and technological excellence, notably by organizing the Atos IT Challenge and the Joseph Fourier Prize, whose winners have just been announced.
The Atos IT Challenge
Since its creation in 2012, the Atos IT Challenge has enabled students from all over the world to develop applications related to the major trends of the digital revolution, such as AI, blockchain, smart mobility, the connected car, interactive media, connected life and the right to be forgotten. The teams are mentored by the Atos Scientific Community, which provides technical and practical support, advice and encouragement.
The award ceremony for the 2022 edition of the IT Challenge took place in a virtual setting: the Atos Scientific Community was gathered at the Group’s headquarters in Bezons and the finalists were online.
More than a hundred teams from 19 different countries competed against each other on the theme: “Targeting the Moon… then Mars… and finally the stars” .
The challenge to the competitors was to ” think about how data from space can advance humanity, both in space and on Earth, when integrated into a data-driven digital ecosystem”. Students were encouraged to develop space-related applications, with a particular focus on the Atos Mundi platform that hosts Copernicus Earth satellite imagery.
For their projects, students could apply various technologies and techniques such as AI, machine learning, analytics, image analysis, APIs and platforms, with the objective of developing a space-related mobile or web application that will benefit society at large
The three finalists of the 11th edition of the IT Challenge
Of the 19 teams selected to develop their projects under the supervision of Atos Scientific Community mentors, 13 teams qualified for the final selection phase. The Atos IT Challenge jury, composed of experts and Atos executives, has chosen three finalists:
- 1st prize and winner of the IT Challenge: “Sargassum Detector”, from the University of Orleans, France
This application helps manage large areas of sargassum algae. It detects floating clusters of algae using satellite images, and then estimates on which coasts they will run aground. The objective is to be able to warn local authorities in advance in order to facilitate the rapid collection of seaweed and limit the impact on the coast. The project also includes an application that allows users to participate in the collection of seaweed, by connecting them with partner associations or collection services. The team wins 10,000 euros.
- 2nd prize: “Lumø”, from the National University of Singapore
This application, primarily intended for firefighters, provides various descriptive data, such as GIS maps and dashboards with graphs and reports that facilitate quick decision-making in the event of a forest fire. In addition to the descriptive statistics provided on the current situation, the application has two additional features: a real-time analysis of a location’s vulnerability to a spontaneous wildfire, as well as a simulator to model the spread of a wildfire. The team wins 5,000 euros.
- 3rd prize: “RiverEye”, from the University of São Paulo, Brazil
Protecting the vegetation that borders rivers surrounding wildlife is crucial for the sustenance of the ecosystem and the well-being of human life. This web-based platform automatically inspects and detects areas of vegetation that need to be preserved along rivers using satellite images combined with Machine Learning and Computer Vision techniques. It also includes a tool that allows users to compare an area at different acquisition periods. The team wins 3,000 euros.
Each student from these three finalist teams will be eligible for an internship or other opportunities within Atos.
Sophie Proust, Chief Technology Officer of Atos Group, said:
“There is no doubt that the theme tackled this year was a great success: harnessing the power of satellite Earth observation data to advance humanity. More than 100 teams presented their projects, covering the areas of deforestation, agriculture, climate, energy and pollution. The winners of the 2022 edition of the Atos IT Challenge demonstrated true originality and creativity with their innovative solutions, which address some of the biggest issues we are currently facing in our ecosystem, such as the destruction of natural habitats and solutions that help protect them. Congratulations to the winners, as well as to all the participants!”
The Atos-Joseph Fourier Prize
The Atos-Joseph Fourier Prize was launched in France in 2009 by Bull, now part of Atos, and GENCI. It pays tribute to Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier (March 21, 1768 – May 16, 1830), a French mathematician and physicist whose work made a major contribution to the mathematical modeling of physical phenomena.
The aim of this prize is to contribute to a positive acceleration of research and innovation by rewarding work in the fields ofAdvanced Computing (supercomputing, quantum computing, edge computing) and AI, with particular emphasis on decarbonization.
The jury, composed of independent personalities representing the French scientific and industrial world, chose to reward several innovative projects:
- The1st prize in advanced computing is awarded to Jean-Christophe Hoarau, currently a post-doctoralresearcher at ONERA (Office national d’études et de recherches aérospatiales) for his research on the atomization of liquid jets.
The applications are numerous, including: a more economical dispersion of water in fields, or a better combustion of gasoline or hydrogen. The rewarded work has allowed to run simulations up to 86000 cores and to generate a huge amount of simulated data on which other researchers can rely.
- The2nd prize in advanced computing is awarded to Ivan Duchemin from the CEA’s Fundamental Research Department.
His research concerns the description of matter by means of so-called “ab-initio” calculations, i.e. based exclusively on the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics. His work makes it possible to develop fundamentally more efficient algorithms, while implementing them on parallel machines with up to 23,000 cores.
- The1st prize in artificial intelligence was awarded jointly to junior researcher Danilo Carastan-Santos and senior researcher Denis Trystram from Grenoble Alpes University.
They are interested in improving the operation of high-performance computing platforms, using machine learning to optimize the order, placement and configuration of applications to be executed. Energy consumption is a key parameter in this optimization.
The1st prize winning teams in Advanced Computing and1st prize winning teams in AI each receive €10,000 for their research while the2nd prize winner in Advanced Computing will benefit from 200,000 GPU hours of machine time on GENCI supercomputers.
Philippe Lavocat, CEO of GENCI, states:
“This 2022 edition of the Joseph Fourier Prize once again shows the importance of the contribution of fundamental research and science to solving societal challenges, and today particularly, that of decarbonization. This orientation demonstrates the constant attention paid to the energy optimization of simulation processes by researchers on the application side, and by manufacturers and agencies like GENCI on the hardware side. GENCI and Atos share the ambition of putting computing power at the service of scientific excellence. This is also why we are collaborating within the framework of EuroHPC on EUPEX projects and the EPI initiative, designed to optimize the architectures of future Exascale-class machines.
Translated from Atos présente les lauréats du Prix Joseph Fourier et de l’Atos IT Challenge
