The interdisciplinary institute IngéBlue

The French naval engineering ecosystem has created the interdisciplinary institute IngéBlue to bring together the academic players in naval innovation into a single group.
The IngéBlue Institute includes 15 founding higher education and research institutions. It brings together research, innovation and training capabilities in naval engineering and promotes interregional synergies.
In supporting companies and government agencies on technological issues and ecological transition of the blue economy, this academic forum contributes to the performance of the French and European maritime industries.

Purpose of the Ingéblue Institute

This group of higher education and research institutions supplements the French naval ecosystem by providing it with a single point of contact for innovation and naval engineering issues. The IngéBlue Institute aims to ensure greater interregional academic cooperation for the benefit of state agencies, companies and communities.
At the forefront of innovation and sustainable naval development and security issues, IngéBlue contributes to France and Europe's strategic independence in the naval field and to the development of their involvement in the global blue economy.

Ingéblue's ambitions

The IngéBlue Institute is open to all institutions involved in higher education and research in naval engineering.
IngéBlue aims to provide for close, agile and responsive coordination of all the French players involved in the issues of training and research in naval engineering (companies, public organizations, associations, etc.).
Their collective action in naval engineering will foster the emergence of larger national and international interdisciplinary programs.
IngéBlue responds to the need for new knowledge and new skills, and their rapid transfer to companies and public players.
The IngéBlue banner will make work more multidisciplinary, efficient and visible.

The development of the blue economy has flourished over the last few years.

It has been characterized by an increase in the use of all kinds of naval resources (food, energy, etc.), an increase in naval traffic and an ever-greater consideration for environmental and security issues by civil, military, public and private actors. This development is reflected in increased competition, including a global race for technological advances in naval engineering. It is a crucial sovereignty issue for France, which has the world's second largest naval area.

Cooperative projects with the IngéBlue label

6 research projects for the French Defense Innovation Agency

6 research projects are being conducted for the French Defense Innovation Agency (Agence de l’innovation de défense - AID) from the 2022/2023 call for projects :

in mechanical engineering, on new methods of propellant design: SHIVA and RDPROP projects (ENSTA Bretagne, Ecole navale)
in mechanical engineering, on the life cycle of composite materials: RECOVI project (ENSTA Bretagne, UBO)
in mechanical engineering, SOMOS Project (IRDL/ENSTA Bretagne, LHEEA/ENSM)
in information technology, on marine geo-positioning using AI: OAR project (ENSTA Bretagne, the Shom)
in information technology, on new methods of processing acoustic data for sea floor observation: GPA2M project (ENSTA Bretagne, UBS)

Projet SafeBlue (Appel à projets AID 2024)

[in information technology] Détection et Classification d’Objets entre deux eaux à l’aide de Capteurs Hétérogènes et d’une approche apprentissage/IA : projet SafeBlue (laboratoire Lab-STICC/ENSTA Bretagne et Université de Toulon)

Les Objets Flottants Non Identifiés (OFNI) représentent une menace de plus en plus importante pour la navigation civile. L’expansion de l’utilisation de bateaux sans pilotes ou téléopérés est annoncée par de nombreux acteurs de l’économie mondiale pour notre futur proche (2025-2030). L’utilisation des drones maritimes (de surface ou sous-marins) est elle aussi en pleine expansion. Afin d’éviter toute collision et évoluer de façon sécurisée, tous ces appareils devront être équipés de moyens leur permettant de percevoir ce qui se passe autour d’eux, dans un but de localisation et d’évitement de ce type d’obstacles. Parmi les différents OFNI qui peuvent être rencontrés, les mines constituent probablement la menace la plus importante.

SafeBlue cherche à détecter les OFNI via une nouvelle approche dans laquelle les données seront acquises au moyen de différents capteurs hétérogènes et seront traitées par des algorithmes basés sur des techniques avancées en traitement des signaux couplées à de techniques d’intelligence artificielle, notamment des techniques d’apprentissage machine ou d’apprentissage profond. Par rapport aux solutions existantes actuelles, le projet adressera également le cas d’objets totalement immergés et fusionnera l’information issue d’un plus grand nombre de capteurs à la fois optroniques et acoustiques. Un aspect novateur du projet concerne l’étude de l’interopérabilité des différents systèmes d’acquisition.

The Ingéblue Institute is supported by 15 member institutions from all over France:

Engineering schools, universities and scientific institutions:
- ENSTA Bretagne
- ENSTA Paris
- ENIB
- Centrale Méditerranée
- ENSM
- IMT Atlantique
- Ecole navale
- La Rochelle Université
- UBS
- UBO
- University of Toulon
- the Shom (French national hydrohraphic service).
- Centrale-Supélec
- ESTACA
- Cerema