Nicolas Heriveaux joined the JENII team at the Institut Arts et Métiers Laval in September 2022 as an XR* development engineer.
How did a training project manage to attract this young entrepreneur, who already had a start-up in the field of gaming and photorealistic avatars under his belt?
Over the three years of the JENII project, more than a hundred teachers, researchers, engineers, project managers, doctoral students, and Arts et Métiers students Arts et Métiers on this ambitious research program conducted in partnership with CEA List, CNAM, and CESI. This wealth of complementary skills and talents will come together to give a major boost to training through immersive and collaborative environments in the industrial field.
Focus on Nicolas Hériveaux, an active member of JENII: an unusual career path and a candid approach!
* XR = eXtended Reality = Virtual Reality or Augmented Reality or Mixed Reality
Hello Nicolas, what attracted you to the JENII project?
It's true that I never imagined myself working in a laboratory. My academic background didn't predestine me for it. For me, research was something a bit abstract, but here we're working on something very concrete.
In two years, I have to develop the immersive 3D collaborative platform that will support the virtual campus. In concrete terms, this involves transforming the 15 physical twins that make up the project into virtual reality.
The brick I'm working on is very specific: it's open source. So it will be available to everyone. Sharing is, after all, the original DNA of the web!
More generally, being part of a public research team means working for the common good, which is rewarding and motivating.
What are the technological barriers you need to overcome?
The first step is to identify the technologies to ensure that the same interactions will be possible, regardless of the user's device. Right now, I'm mainly working on the "multiplayer" version, as gamers call it.
This is truly innovative because the technological building blocks for constructing this project on the web are not yet mature.
On a personal level, what have you gained from these first few months working on the JENII project?
Undeniably, I have improved my skills in web XR.
I also love being able to collaborate with very different people, each of whom brings unique skills to the table. It's extremely enriching both personally and intellectually.
What's more, the atmosphere at the Laval Institute is really inspiring. The team is great, and the many projects intersect and feed off each other. It's a real gem in terms of XR skills, and I'm extremely lucky to be able to benefit from this environment.
What's next?
First, we're going to finish this project, and that will be a source of great pride. Once the virtual campus is up and running, others will be able to use it, enrich it, and help it grow... but we will still be the ones who planted the first seed of the tree to come.
I'm not thinking about life after JENII yet, but I'm certain that my work will never be lost because it will be open source. Personally, whatever my professional future holds, I will probably be one of those who continue to nurture the branches of the tree.
