 |
TERRA NUMERICA: DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY SERVING SOCIETY
 The Terra Numerica project is a core project for the Cap Digital Paris Région cluster. This cooperative project relating to the digitalisation of regions and their resources aims to develop multimedia-based use of this information.
« Undertaken and led by Thalès in Cergy-Pontoise, at the heart of the Val d'Oise, « Terra Numerica is a set of technologies applied to the life of the general public to prepare people for living in the cities of the future, » explains Hervé Rochard, in charge of the project for Thalès. « Animated digital computer-generated imagery is the key to the whole system. Scanning every square metre of an area from an aircraft enables the production of a geospecific representation of whole cities (even on the scale of Paris or the equally large urban district of Cergy-Pontoise). » With Terra Numerica, a company wishing to locate to the Val d'Oise or for example in the heart of the urban district in the Prefecture city of Cergy-Pontoise, will have huge advantages. The animated electronic model of the entire urban district will enable them to locate the site which is best suited to make their business profitable (access, transport, etc.), and meet both their industrial needs (emissions, waste, etc.) and also those of their employees, taking into account human requirements and criteria for sustainable development. Everything can be examined in minute detail: noise, pollution and the amount of sunshine or rain, simulated in images based on real-life mapping data and photos of existing sites.
Backed by the driving force of the Thalès group, which manufactures flight simulators in its Val d'Oise plant, and its partners in the Cap Digital Paris Région cluster, this project involves both laboratories at engineering schools like the ETIS and the ENSEA and SMEs working with Thalès. It opens the way for many different applications such as transport management and navigational aids, civil security and environmental risks, and more fun aspects such as museography and cultural and tourist information services.
|
ENGINEERS WHO ARE EXPERTS IN THEIR SPECIALIST FIELD
The Val d'Oise Research and Innovation Week, held every year in the Val d'Oise, is an opportunity for researchers in the département to present their projects to companies with lectures and round tables. The EPMI* and ITIN often take part in this kind of exercise.
Protection from the hazards of electrical transformers
The EPMI works in the field of fire protection for power equipment. Transformers are considered to be the most dangerous components in electrical installations. Several experts even expect an increase in the number of breakdowns by 1 - 2% from 2008 onwards. Moumen Darcherif, director of the EPMI, gives the example of hazard status report and suggests solutions. Studies quantifying phenomena resulting from electrical defects have been conducted to this end. Amongst other things, the EPMI is developing a multiphysics model of a transformer.
The contribution of new technologies (such as Virtual Reality) to public services
In one example, Florent Michel, a Virtual Reality engineer at the ITIN, is working on the benefits of new technologies in the practice of medicine, demonstrating the benefits that can be forthcoming for the general public – including the elderly and those less able to cope on their own – through online services implemented by all the administrative departments of a municipal council.
* EPMI: School of Electricity, Production and Industrial Methods
|
