FLEXTECH

The FlexTech Chair is a wide-ranging research programme in the field of HUMAN-SYSTEM INTEGRATION, with the aim of developing STUDIES AND RESEARCH INTO COMPLEX SOCIOTECHNICAL SYSTEMS WITH INCREASING AUTONOMY. THE FLEXTECH CHAIR IS BOTH THE DRIVE AND THE FRUIT OF THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN CentraleSupelec through its Industrial Engineering Laboratory (LGI) AND ESTIA.

FlexTech Chair website: https: //www.flextechchair.org/home/index.html

On 10 September 2019, in partnership with CentraleSupelec through its LGI laboratory, ESTIA launched the FlexTech chair. FlexTech is a wide-ranging research programme in the field of Human Systems Integration. The holder of the FlexTech Chair is Professor Guy André Boy.

The aim of this international chair is to develop applied research into complex systems with increasing autonomy. In this context, after a brilliant thesis with TotalEnergies, two theses are in progress with Safran, CS Group and SNCF. These research activities will provide tangible solutions to the problems faced by our industrial partners, particularly in the areas of human-systems integration, mobile robotics, feedback, maintenance and safety. The FlexTech Chair, based on the innovative Human Centered Design (HCD) approach, places people and organisations at the heart of industrial and societal issues. This approach has proved its worth over the last twenty years in high-tech sectors requiring a certain degree of flexibility (particularly in the aerospace industry), and needs to be developed further in scientific and technical terms. Manufacturers are faced with an explosion of complex systems with increasing autonomy in the life cycle of their products. They now require more integrated work and engineers specialising in these areas. As a training and research institute, ESTIA is positioning itself, through the FlexTech Chair, within a global vision of Human Systems Integration. Launched for five years, the FlexTech Chair aims to take better account of Human Systems Integration on industrial sites where digital technologies and robotisation are playing an increasingly important role.

Thanks to its work, the FlexTech Chair is developing a team of around twenty researchers at ESTIA and CentraleSupélec, developing initial and continuing education to train students and professionals in this new discipline, disseminating research results within the international community, and disseminating the knowledge acquired through events: colloquia, conferences and summer schools.e double inauguration between Bidart and Paris. To mark the inauguration of the Chair, Professor Guy André Boy gave a first inaugural lesson on Tuesday 10 September 2019 at ESTIA, on the eve of the launch of the HSI2019 international conference under the aegis of INCOSE (International Council on Systems Engineering), an event dedicated to Human Systems Integration. The second inaugural lesson took place on 18 September 2019 at CentraleSupélec, Université Paris Saclay, the science and technology cluster ranked 16th in the Shanghai rankings and first in Europe. In this spirit of excellence, since its creation, the FlexTech Chair has helped to raise its profile in France and around the world, with active participation in INCOSE and the IEA (International Ergonomics Association).