JENII, theArts et Métiers project for distance learning for the industry of the future, based on immersive and collaborative environments built around digital twins of real industrial systems, has been selected as one of 17 winners of the call for expressions of interest (AMI) "Digital Demonstrators in Higher Education " (DemoES) launched as part of PIA4. As such, it benefits from the largest budget of the call for projects: €9.5 million.
An AMI to support the digital transformation of higher education
The objective of the call for expressions of interest, "Digital Demonstrators in Higher Education" (DemoES), launched by the French government as part of the PIA4 program, is to identify and support higher education institutions that are ready to become demonstrators of all aspects of digital transformation (pedagogy, equipment, uses, etc.).
Seventeen projects were selected this year, including JENII ( Digital, Immersive, and Interactive Teaching Twin), an initiative led by a consortium of four members: Arts et Métiers, CEA Tech, the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers CNAM), and the Centre des études supérieures industrielles (CESI).
With this project, Arts et Métiers offer training courses that are even closer to the real industrial context.
The value of digital twins and immersive AR/VR/XR (Augmented, Virtual, and Extended Reality) technologies for education and training lies in their ability to create new types of learning environments that closely mirror real-world professional situations. "JENII enables interaction with the industrial world through a virtual reality headset," explains Xavier Kestelyn, Deputy Director GeneralArts et Métiers, in charge of training. "In its optimized version, the digital twin developed as part of the project will offer a 3D representation that is visually realistic, physically accurate, and functionally synchronous. The simulation will therefore be similar to reality."
To train students in the realities of die casting, for example, the tool developed will make it possible to assess the quality of the part produced or to determine the amount of energy required for its manufacture.
Providing access to real and complex industrial environments
"JENII is part of the response to the training needs of the industry of the future," adds Laurent Champaney, CEO ofArts et Métiers. " It contributes directly to the study of three industrial challenges: the implementation and development of complex industrial behavior, the organization and evolution of manufactured product production via digital twins of Industry 4.0 production lines and cobots, and the eco-design of products and systems (testing different configurations for workstation organization, energy management, materials, etc.)."
The objective is to support the equipping of technological education establishments with resources, digital solutions, and hardware by developing and providing them with digital training environments that are accessible remotely, based on a dozen digital twins representative of the diversity of industrial situations, as well as the physical and human resources necessary for their implementation. The code will be accessible and can be modified to model the system at different levels of detail.
Designing a new training model
"JENII marks a break with traditional technology training through two major advances: the provision of technology training environments that are accessible remotely, without resorting to simplified virtual representations of the industrial world that are more akin to games than training environments, and the rapid development and dissemination of the educational tools needed to support technological developments and industrial professions," summarizes Xavier Kestelyn.
"In addition to providing access to complex and rare environments, virtually manipulating expensive and dangerous equipment allows for other educational approaches, with less fear," emphasizes Xavier Kestelyn. "Nevertheless, not everything can be taught in a virtual environment. We are working on a hybrid training model that can be deployed in other institutions."
A collective project
Arts et Métiers the work of consortium members, enabling them to work together and make faster progress. With a chair in hybrid digital twins and a chair in virtual environment development, Arts et Métiers a recognized research activity in Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR). TheArts et Métiers laboratoryArts et Métiers Laval, which specializes in virtual reality, contributes to the JENII project by focusing on the cognitive aspect of digital twins. The link and proximity to industry is intrinsic to the institution's strategy and allows it to align the content of its programs as closely as possible with the needs expressed by companies.
The CNAM, a higher education institution dedicated to lifelong professional training, is a founding member of the Immersive Learning Lab (an XR skills center dedicated to educational uses and integrated into the French sector led by France Immersive Learning with more than 70 companies).
CESI, a network of higher education and vocational training campuses with strong industrial partnerships (EDF, SNCF, etc.), has digital twin prototypes, feedback, and studies on educational integration.
CEA LIST, one of the three institutes of CEA Tech, is involved in training by developing interactive digital twins for the manufacturing and nuclear industries, and contributes its expertise (immersive AR/VR systems, digital simulation and model reduction, communication systems) and technologies (XDE multi-physics simulation platform).
