photographist

“I was interested in many scientific fields, and did a year of medicine then a degree in biology before realising that mathematics-related careers were really my thing. So I took a degree in maths, which introduced me to information technology and computers. They are two closely related fields, since for algorithmics you need mathematics and the same logical mindset as for maths. I did a master’s in IT and found it suited me down to the ground to have to understand things rather than learn them. I needed to be able to think about a problem, to look for a solution, to bring all my abilities into play to understand something. My IT master’s was focused on software development and project management. I am now an engineer at Inria (the National Institute for Research in Information Technology and Automation), on a research team working on the Internet of Things and sensor networks.

To me, it is the job of the engineer to confront a variety of issues that have never been addressed before, find solutions using the resources available and be able to adapt to evolving technology. Our project aims to put in place a platform, with sensors and robots, which researchers can use remotely – for instance, via a web interface. I am trying to find practical solutions, for example to enable moving robots to identify their own location. If I have a camera and infrared sensors, what solution can I come up with to enable robots to know their location? We are trying to make objects communicate, to give objects intelligence so that they can share information and react to a situation, without human intervention. There will be applications in the environmental sphere and in the fields of surveillance, home automation and personal care.”

Anne-Sophie Tonneau
Information Systems Engineer, Inria Lille Nord Europe

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