Droïds in Occitania – DRiOC

The joint laboratory DRiOC, resulting from the collaboration between the IRIT research Laboratory and the company SOBEN, was established following collaborative work initiated under the autOCampus Regional Research and Innovation Platform project. This project, funded by the Occitanie region (2021 – 2025) and by industrial partners, including SOBEN, equipped the platform with three SOBEN droids.

The objective of DRiOC is to develop enhancements for SOBEN's droids to augment them and expand their capabilities, thereby enabling the company to maintain its technological lead.

Several research teams from IRIT will participate in DRiOC. The scientific issues addressed will include predictive maintenance, management of sound interactions, human-system interactions, connectivity, and cybersecurity. Predictive maintenance aims to ensure safe, reliable, and efficient operation of the droids by detecting early signs of potential failures through the application of machine learning models and algorithms.

Interactions of the droid with its environment will include sound and human aspects. With the integration of new functions on board, as well as changes in driving modalities, specific human-machine interfaces will be developed for autonomous and connected vehicles. Furthermore, the effective deployment of autonomous and connected vehicles will require a deep adaptation and securing of telecommunications networks, as well as a thorough understanding of their environment based on data captured by their sensors.

The main partners include the Institut de Recherche en Informatique de Toulouse (IRIT), a research unit covering a wide range of topics in computer science and interactions, and the company SOBEN, which specializes in the design, development, prototyping, validation, and mass production of autonomous mobile droids for last-mile delivery in urban environments.