13 January 2022
A new step in the collaboration between the French and Quebec components of the DEEL (DEpendable and Explainable Learning) project has just taken shape with the signing of an international collaboration agreement between the various project stakeholders. This signature will allow for the continued development and amplification of the collaborations already in place between the organizations.
The DEEL project is the result of a rich collaboration between academic and industrial partners. It aims to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) that is interpretable, robust, safe, and certifiable, applied to critical systems within the aerospace and transport sectors.
In Quebec, the DEEL project is led by the Consortium for Research and Innovation in Aerospace in Aerospace in Québec (CRIAQ) and Institute Intelligence and Data (IID) of Laval University, with the collaboration of the Institut de valorisation des données (IVADO).
In France, the DEEL project is supported by IRT Saint Exupéry and ANITI, the Artificial and Natural Intelligence Toulouse Institute.
The new collaboration agreement will support existing collaborations between the organisations, as well as provide a renewed framework for the mobility of expertise and knowledge – including the establishment of international student pathways.
Already at work since 2018 (in France) and 2020 (in Quebec), the DEEL community meets monthly, virtually, during the “DEEL Carrefours” – an internal activity that provides an opportunity for cross-presentations of work, perspectives or results by the numerous research teams associated with the project.
The DEEL partners will also meet in Quebec City, from the 17th to 19th of May 2022, for the third edition of the MobiliT.AI public forum (www.mobilit.ai) a major international event that brings together a community of experts in AI applied to critical systems in the field of transport and mobility (aeronautics, automobiles, trains, space, drones, etc.).
The 2021 edition, offered entirely on a virtual platform, brought together some 350 participants from Quebec and France.
Christian Gagné, director of Université Laval’s IID – Institute Intelligence and Data : “With the signing of this agreement, we strengthen the collaboration of forces in Quebec and France, working together to develop knowledge on the explainability of AI. This is in addition to a rich collaboration in Quebec that brings together a wide range of expertise, both academic – Laval, McGill, UdeM, 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 set up on this key aspect of artificial intelligence.”
Magali Vaissière, president of IRT Saint Exupéry : “This international collaboration allows us to make decisive progress in the development of Artificial Intelligence for critical systems. The innovative and ambitious DEEL program model 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 which will enable us to maximise the quality and impact of the research carried out. To strengthen this beautiful collaboration, the IRT Saint Exupéry has founded a branch in Montreal in 2019, in order to be as close as possible to its Quebec partners while benefiting from a complete operational autonomy.”
Alain Aubertin, CEO of CRIAQ : “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.”
Nicolas Viallet, Chief Operating Officer for ANITI : “Thanks to its international and collaborative dimension, the DEEL project has become a reference in the research landscape aiming at developing artificial intelligence suitable for critical systems. Symbolising the particular complementarity between the Toulouse and Quebec eco-systems, it is a major project to which the ANITI teams are proud to contribute.”
Luc Vinet, CEO of IVADO : “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.”