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On the occasion of the visit of the Minister of Defense to the École Polytechnique, the General Directorate of Armaments (DGA) and the X reaffirm their commitment to cooperation in research. Since 2003, this three-year agreement has enabled École Polytechnique to benefit from significant support for its research in connection with the scientific challenges of Defense.
Through its support for École Polytechnique research, the General Directorate of Armaments benefits from very high-level scientific expertise for current and future defense technologies.
For 12 years, 15 of the School's laboratories have benefited from this agreement and more than 35 research projects have been successfully completed. In general, the research carried out within the framework of this agreement is closely linked to the interests of Defense and concerns a wide range of scientific fields common to the X and the interests of the DGA:
• Information engineering and robotics;
• Fluids and structures;
• Acoustic and radio waves;
• Nanotechnologies;
• Photonics;
• Materials, chemistry and energy;
• Biology and biotechnologies;
• Environment and geosciences.
This agreement focuses on three priority research projects for the DGA:
- The XCAN project: towards a new generation of lasers
In collaboration with Thales, the XCAN project, X-Coherent Amplifying Network, aims to develop lasers based on fiber optic networks. This technology is a promising way to achieve the high speeds and high energy efficiency required for many defense and societal applications. The application perspectives cover X-UV photolithography, the neutralization of dangerous chemical compounds, the cleaning of satellite debris in space or even the design of “sub-critical” nuclear reactors.
- The dependability of cyber-physical systems
There are many industrial systems, but also those used in the defense sector, which require adaptability, autonomy, efficiency, functionality, reliability, security and ease of use. All these functions must be checked beforehand using “proof of proper functioning” tools which are developed by scientists at l'X, in partnership with ENSTA ParisTech and ENSTA Bretagne. The progress of this project will also have applications in the energy fields - and in particular in the context of energy transition with the development of “smart grids”, the automobile and transport and health sectors.
- Additive manufacturing for new design processes
A real opportunity for innovation, the new manufacturing processes by adding material make it possible to design innovative materials and original prototypes that were not conceivable by standard manufacturing processes. They are also revolutionizing operational maintenance issues. Thanks to modeling and numerical simulations, l'X, in collaboration with ENSTA ParisTech, tests and optimizes materials that can be designed by these new manufacturing techniques. The analysis of the structure and reliability of materials or microstructures complete their studies. This booming field arouses very strong industrial interest with an immense field of applications.
Find out more: www.polytechnique.edu
