The DEEL project aims to develop an interpretable, robust, secure and certifiable artificial intelligence (AI) applied to critical systems in the aerospace and transportation fields. This transatlantic research program is led in Quebec by the Consortium for Research and Innovation in Aerospace in Quebec (CRIAQ) and the Institute for Intelligence and Data (IID) of Laval University, with the collaboration of the Institute for Data Development (IVADO). In France, ANITI, the Institut interdisciplinaire d’Intelligence Artificielle de Toulouse and IRT Saint-Exupéry collaborated on the project.

ANITI

ANITI, (Artificial and Natural Intelligence Toulouse Institute), is the interdisciplinary institute of artificial intelligence of Toulouse. Along with Grenoble, Nice and Paris, it is one of the four interdisciplinary artificial intelligence institutes that have been set up for a renewable 4-year period as part of the Villani Plan’s Future Investments Program (PIA3). Launched in July 2019, it mobilizes 200 researchers from universities, engineering schools and scientific and technological research organizations in Toulouse and its region and more than fifty partners around mobility and transportation and robotics/cobotics for the industry of the future. ANITI signed a partnership with the IRT Saint-Exupéry in 2020 and integrated the project. Nicolas Viallet, ANITI’s operational director explains:

“Thanks to its international and collaborative dimension, the DEEL project has become a reference in the world of research with the objective of developing artificial intelligence adapted to critical systems. Symbolizing the particular complementarity between the Toulouse and Quebec ecosystems, DEEL is a major project to which ANITI teams are proud to contribute.”

IRT SAINT-EXUPERY

The Saint-Exupéry Institute of Technological Research aims to accelerate scientific and technological research and transfer to the aeronautics and space industries for the development of reliable, robust, certifiable and sustainable innovative solutions. A private research foundation supported by the French government, the IRT’s mission is to promote French technological research for the benefit of industry and to develop the ecosystem of the aeronautics, space and critical systems sectors by providing access to its research projects, technological platforms and expertise.

In 2018, the IRT launched the DEEL project and created a branch in Montreal the following year. Magali Vaissière, president of IRT Saint-Exupéry, states:

“This international collaboration allows us to make decisive progress in the development of Artificial Intelligence for critical systems. The DEEL program model, both innovative and ambitious, currently brings together more than a hundred researchers, PhD students and engineers working and publishing jointly on both sides of the Atlantic to participate in the intelligent mobility of tomorrow. To date, the IRT Saint Exupéry is fully committed to this Franco-Quebec collaboration that will allow us to maximize the quality and impact of research. It is moreover to strengthen this beautiful collaboration that, in 2019, IRT Saint Exupéry founded its antenna in Montreal, in order to be as close as possible to its Quebec partners while benefiting from a complete operational autonomy.”

The DEEL project, a transatlantic collaboration

The DEEL (Dependable and Explainable Learning) project was launched in 2018 by IRT Saint Exupéry (Consortium de recherche et d’innovation en aérospatiale au Québec) and IVADO (L’Institut de valorisation des données) took part in the project with a first collaboration agreement signed on March 6, 2018 and DEEL thus became a transatlantic research program. It started on September 28, 2018 in France and on May 15, 2019 in Quebec. With a budget of more than 15 million euros for a period of 5 years, DEEL aims to bring together industrialists and research laboratories to develop artificial intelligence technologies and bring them to the stage of onboarding on new-generation aircraft, spacecraft and ground vehicles. Major aeronautics, space and automotive companies such as Airbus, Thales, Continental and Cnes are partners in the French project. In Quebec, academic and industrial partners are also involved in the project. On the industry side: Thales Canada, CAE, Bombardier Aerospace and Bell Helicopter Textron Canada, and on the academic side: McGill University, Université Laval, Polytechnique Montréal, Université du Québec à Montréal and Université de Montréal. Christian Gagné, director of the Institute for Intelligence and Data (IID) at Laval University explains:

“With the signing of this agreement, we confirm the collaboration of strong forces in Quebec and France that will work together to develop knowledge on the explainability of AI. This is in addition to a rich Quebec collaboration that brings together a wide range of expertise, both academic – Laval, McGill, UdM, UQÀM, Polytechnique Montreal – and industrial – Bell, Textro Hélicoptère, CAE, Thales, Bombardier. IID is proud to be involved in this major research initiative, the most important one put in place on this key aspect of artificial intelligence.”

Luc Vinet, IVADO’s General Manager confirms:

“The strength of the DEEL project lies in the pooling of diversified Franco-Quebec expertise and skills to support collaborative industrial research in the critical aerospace sector. This agreement makes it a key international AI-powered digital aviation initiative that IVADO is very proud to be associated with.”

Effective collaborations

The DEEL community meets monthly, virtually, at “DEEL Hubs.” The project’s research teams present their work, share their results and discuss future directions.

This year, from May 17 to 19, 2022, the partners will meet at the third edition of the MobiliT.AI public forum in Montreal, which will bring together some thirty speakers on various topics, ranging from AI certification issues to its implementation in embedded systems and the challenges related to its explicability.

The 2021 edition, offered in 100% virtual mode, brought together some 350 participants from Quebec and France. Alain Aubertin, President and CEO of CRIAQ concludes:

“The DEEL project is now the flagship AI project for aerospace applications that will have concrete impacts both in Quebec and internationally. This major international project between France and Quebec marks the leadership of Quebec and CRIAQ on the subject, by expanding collaborations between companies and the academic research community on both sides of the Atlantic.”

Translated from Focus sur le projet DEEL : l’IA pour l’aéronautique, l’espace et les systèmes embarqués