ESI Group and the DesCartes Program Aiming at Transforming Singapore Into a Hybrid, Ethical and Sustainable Smart Nation
25.1.2022 10:00:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
Regulatory News:
ESI Group, Rungis, France, (ISIN Code: FR0004110310, Mnemo: ESI), a global player in virtual prototyping for industries, is collaborating in the launch of the DesCartes project in Singapore by providing its scientists, its expertise in hybridization methods and its virtual prototyping software solutions to the various stakeholders.
DesCartes a 5-year and a 35 million euros budget collaborative program, has been selected by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Singapore and is based on the CREATE campus, "Campus for research excellence and technological enterprise", the international research hub of Singapore. Behind this very French name lies one of the largest collaborative programs of the CNRS: the "Program on Intelligent Modelling for Decision-making in Critical Urban Systems", dedicated to Hybrid Artificial Intelligence.
A smart city project to a better extent: A smart nation project
For many years, many smart cities projects have been launched. The principle of these smart cities is to collect data generated by sensors, to deploy specific applications, such as sensors indicating air pollution, alerts on accidents, traffic conditions in real time... However, the concept of smart nation carried by Singapore differs from the others because it pushes the concept to its paroxysm: from the digitization of an entity, a building, a single system to the digitization of a whole city interacting in real time.
From electrical grid optimization to delivery drones
DesCartes is developing hybrid AI methods, combining AI with knowledge-based models (physics, engineering), to enable trusted, real-time decision-making that is "people-centric" and "in harmony with society." All in response to complex situations related to critical urban systems in the context of Singapore's "Smart Nation." This research will be applied, for example, to urban mobility or energy management, or to anticipate the needs of future transportation networks, smart industries, or smart buildings. "For example, we aim to develop solutions to optimize the supply and demand of the electricity network, or solutions to improve the flow of cab drones or delivery drones, or to develop intelligent predictive maintenance applied to industrial tools," explains Dominique Baillargeat, director of CNRS@CREATE. Systems in the city that will be able to analyze data on the use of services by the population and then make optimization decisions.
ESI's role in this project.
ESI, recognized worldwide for its predictive physics modeling and virtual prototyping expertise, will play several roles in this program. First, its Scientific Director, also a member of CNRS and ENSAM, Prof. Francisco Chinesta, will be the program director. In addition, the Group will make its performance simulation solutions (VPS, VA One, Simulation X, etc.) and its expertise in hybridization and model reduction methods available to the partners and the program. ESI will thus be able to predict material behavior in real time, anticipate incidents (associated with damage, cracks, corrosion, etc.), model the wind for better use of drones, and make city management more intelligent and human-friendly. Finally, ESI will bring all its engineering expertise to optimize the platform in which the data will be used to make the right decision at the right time.
Dr. Francisco Chinesta, leader of the engineering activity for ESI in this project, says: "The goal of the Singapore program is to think and design an interconnected smart city with features that will revolutionize the concept of smart cities. In this project, it is essential to place the citizen - the human, but also more generally the living - at the heart of the hybridization devices. All the partners in this project aim to make Singapore an ethical, responsible and secure new city."
The Descartes program partners
The Descartes project involves on the French side:
- CNRS
- 13 universities and prestigious schools : Université Paris-Saclay, Université Toulouse Paul Sabatier, Université Lyon III Jean Moulin, Université de Bordeaux, École Nationale de l'Aviation Civile, Université Paris Sciences & Lettres, Université de Strasbourg, Arts et Métiers, INP Grenoble, INP ENSEEIHT, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Paris-Saclay, Université Grenoble-Alpes, Université Côte-d'Azur.
and, on the Singaporean side:
- 3 universities: Nanyang Technology University, National University of Singapore, Singapore University of Technology and Design.
- A*STAR: Agency for Science, Technology and Research. A*STAR is the national R&D agency of Singapore.
It is developed in collaboration with five industrial partners: ARIA, CETIM MATCOR, EDF, ESI Group and Thales.
About ESI Group
Founded in 1973, ESI Group is a leading innovator in Virtual Prototyping solutions and a global enabler of industrial transformation. Thanks to the company’s unique know-how in the physics of materials, it has developed and refined, over the last 45 years, advanced simulation capabilities. Having identified gaps in the traditional approach to Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), ESI has introduced a holistic methodology centered on industrial productivity and product performance throughout its entire lifecycle, i.e. Product Performance Lifecycle™, from engineering to manufacturing and in operation. Present in more than 20 countries, and in major industrial sectors, ESI employs 1200 high level specialists around the world and reported 2020 sales of €132.6 million. ESI is headquartered in France and is listed on compartment B of Euronext Paris.
For further information, go to www.esi-group.com.
Follow ESI: LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220124005770/en/
Contact information
ESI - Press & Shareholders
Florence Barré
investors@esi-group.com
+33 1 49 78 28 28
Verbatee – Press & Investors Relations
Jérôme Goaer, j.goaer@verbatee.com, +33 6 61 61 79 34
Aline Besselièvre, a.besselievre@verbatee.com, +33 6 61 85 10 05
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Transition Industries and Mexico’s CFEnergía Sign Natural Gas Supply Contract Enabling Construction of Pacifico Mexinol, the World’s Largest Ultra-Low Carbon Methanol Plant16.2.2026 15:00:00 EET | Press release
Transition Industries LLC, a developer of world-scale, net-zero carbon emissions methanol and hydrogen projects, and CFEnergía, a subsidiary of Mexico’s Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), announced the signing of a long-term firm natural gas supply contract for the Pacifico Mexinol (“Mexinol”) project, located near Topolobampo, Sinaloa. Under this agreement, CFEnergía will supply approximately 160 million cubic feet per day (MMcfd) of natural gas over the long term, ensuring a critical input for Mexinol’s production of ultra-low carbon methanol. The supply will be provided by CFEnergía at market prices and will optimize the use of existing infrastructure. CFEnergía will source the natural gas from the USA. The agreement is subject to customary conditions. The contract signing with CFEnergía represents the final outstanding commercial milestone, enabling the start of the construction phase, and confirming the timeline for Mexinol’s operational readiness in late 2029 to early 2030. Wh
Compass Pathways to Announce New Clinical Data from Two Ongoing Phase 3 Trials16.2.2026 15:00:00 EET | Press release
Compass Pathways plc (Nasdaq: CMPS), a biotechnology company dedicated to accelerating patient access to evidence-based innovation, announced that tomorrow it will report new clinical data from two ongoing Phase 3 trials evaluating COMP360, a synthetic, proprietary formulation of psilocybin, for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). The company will be disclosing new clinical data from Part A and Part B from COMP005 and Part A from COMP006. The results are scheduled for release on February 17th at 6:30 am ET, followed by a webinar hosted by Compass management at 8:00 am ET. Live Webcast Compass management will host a live audio webcast on February 17th at 8:00 am ET. The webcast will be accessible at this link: https://lifescievents.com/event/hz02j0rpw/ A replay of the webcast will be accessible for 30 days following the event. About Compass Pathways Compass Pathways plc (Nasdaq: CMPS) is a biotechnology company dedicated to accelerating patient access to evidence-based innovation in m
K2 Partnering Solutions Appoints Srinivas Rao as Chief Executive Officer16.2.2026 11:00:00 EET | Press release
K2 Partnering Solutions, a global leader in consultative technology and talent solutions, today announced the appointment of Srinivas Rao as Chief Executive Officer. Srinivas is a seasoned global executive with more than 28 years of experience driving value creation, scalable growth, and operational transformation across digital, consulting, IT services, and business services. He brings deep expertise in leading complex, multi-market organisations and has successfully scaled $800M+ P&Ls, working closely with boards, sponsors, and executive leadership teams across the USA, UK, Europe, the Middle East, and APAC. Most recently, Srinivas served as Chief Business Officer and a member of the Executive Council at LTIMindtree, where he was accountable for growth acceleration, market expansion, strategic customer relationships, and operating performance across a highly complex regional footprint. During his tenure, he played a pivotal role in strengthening go-to-market execution, driving margin
Klarna Launches on Google Pay in the UK16.2.2026 10:00:00 EET | Press release
Klarna, the global digital bank and flexible payments provider, is now available on Google Pay in the UK. Google Pay users in the U.K. can choose Klarna’s interest-free payment options at checkout. Raji Behal, Head of Western and Southern Europe, UK & Ireland at Klarna, said, “We’re really excited to bring Klarna’s fair, flexible and interest-free payment options to Google Pay users. This is a big moment for us and a major step towards our goal of being available at every checkout, everywhere. Together with Google, we’re making it easier than ever for millions of shoppers to choose Klarna and pay in a smarter, more transparent way — all from their phone.” Lisa Yokoyama, Director of Product Management at Google Paysaid: "Expanding our collaboration with Klarna to the U.K. underscores our goal to empower more people with the flexibility to pay how they choose. With people shopping on Google over a billion times a day, this broader footprint provides even more checkout options to help bus
Italy Sees Economic Boost From the Opening Weekend of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 202616.2.2026 10:00:00 EET | Press release
Visa, the Official Payment Technology Partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, today released new data revealing consumer spending patterns in the Winter Games host locations1 during the opening weekend of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. VisaNet data analysed by Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA) shows the positive impact that Milano Cortina 2026 is having on commerce: Overseas Visa cardholders visits rose by more than 60%, with the largest share of visitors coming from the U.S. (+160% year-on-year), followed by China, Brazil, Canada and Japan. In Europe, Visa cardholders from Germany represent the largest share of visitors (31% year-on-year increase), followed by Switzerland, France and the UK. International Visa cardholders spent more than in the previous year, with the U.S. leading the year-on-year growth with a 125% increase in their spending, followed by Canada and Switzerland. Visitors from Germany, China and the U.S. ranked as the top spenders, with an av
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom