Inria – Simulation and Robotics Teams¶
Inria is the French national research institute for computer science and applied mathematics, with a strong focus on innovation and technology transfer.
Website: www.inria.fr Team: Defrost Team
Overview¶
The Inria contribution to SPECULAR comes primarily through the Defrost team (formerly in the MANAO team), which specializes in deformable robotics and interactive simulation. The team has extensive experience in real-time physics simulation, model order reduction, and soft robotics.
Research Focus¶
- Real-time simulation of deformable systems
- Soft robotics modeling and control
- Model order reduction techniques
- Haptic rendering and interaction
Role in the Project¶
Work Package Leadership¶
Inria leads Work Package 2: Advanced Simulation Methods
Key Responsibilities¶
- Model Order Reduction
Development of hybrid hyper-reduction methods for real-time simulation
- Haptic Coupling
Stable coupling schemes for force feedback devices
- Contact Mechanics
Constraint-based formulations for needle-tissue interaction
- Performance Optimization
GPU acceleration and parallel computing strategies
Team Members¶
Core Team¶
| Name | Role | Expertise |
|---|---|---|
| Christian Duriez | Senior Researcher | Soft robotics, simulation |
| Olivier Goury | Researcher | Real-time physics, haptics |
| PhD Student | PhD Candidate | Model reduction methods |
Collaborators¶
- Postdoctoral researchers
- Research engineers
- Visiting scholars
Key Contributions¶
Methodological Advances¶
1. Hybrid Hyper-Reduction
Novel method combining: - Global reduced basis for fast approximation - Local full-order model for accuracy - Adaptive transition between representations
2. Energy-Consistent Coupling
Stable haptic coupling achieving: - 1kHz update rate - Passivity guarantee - No artificial damping
3. Contact Solver
Efficient constraint-based solver for: - Sliding contact - Friction modeling - Complex contact scenarios
Software Development¶
SOFA Contributions: - ModelOrderReduction plugin enhancements - SoftRobots plugin extensions - Performance optimizations - Documentation and tutorials
Resources¶
Infrastructure¶
- Computing: GPU cluster for simulation
- Haptic Devices: Phantom Omni, Force Dimension
- VR Setup: HTC Vive, motion capture
Related Projects¶
- SOFA: Simulation Open Framework Architecture
- SoftRobots: Soft robotics simulation
- Defrost: Deformable robotics team projects
Publications¶
From SPECULAR¶
- "Contact Reduction for Soft Robotics" - RoboSoft 2025
- "Energy-Consistent Haptic Coupling" - Eurographics 2023
- "Hybrid Model Reduction" - MICCAI 2023
Previous Work¶
- SOFA framework (1000+ citations)
- Soft robotics simulation methods
- Real-time deformation algorithms
Contact¶
Address Inria Lille - Nord Europe 40 avenue Halley 59650 Villeneuve d'Ascq, France
Email christian.duriez@inria.fr olivier.goury@inria.fr
Website www.inria.fr/en/defrost
Inria's contributions to SPECULAR were funded by ANR as part of the collaborative project.