From Rigid Automation to Flexible Autonomy

We automated a lot during the 20th century increasing safety, efficiency and comfort in nominal situations,

but leading to rigidity in off-nominal situations.

It is time to develop research and innovation

on flexibility that increases autonomy of

technology, organizations and people.

This is the shift from HighTech to FlexTech.

FlexTech Chair philosophy is based on human-centered design (HCD) and creativity, collaborative work, cognitive engineering, complexity analysis, organization design and management, modeling and human-in-the-loop simulation, artificial intelligenece, advanced interaction media, and the study of life-critical systems.

HCD combined with Systems Engineering leads to Human Systems Integration (HSI).

Mission

FlexTech Chair's mission is to expand human potential through research, invention, education

and community interaction to advance best practices

in human-centered design leading to improved human-systems integration

of complex life-critical systems.

Status

FlexTech Chair is an academic research program sponsored by industry & government contracts.

Origin

FlexTech Chair was founded in September 2019

as a collaborative venture between LGI CentraleSupélec (Paris Saclay University) and ESTIA Institute of Technology. It is modeled to create and develop

a unique new center of excellence in HSI. FlexTech Chair Phase 1 terminated in the end of 2024.

Evolution

FlexTech Chair continues to work on human systems integration with different partners and is led by ESTIA Institute of Technology together with IRIT. Among current members are: SNCF, and Ingenuity.

Members

Working with members from industry, academia and civil society, FlexTech Chair draws on a wide variety

of viewpoints in developing its activities.

Moreover, the results of its work are made available

to its members so that ideas that transform

the way we live and work can move

from the laboratory to implementation.

Our major goal is to make human-systems integration (HSI) concrete and successful, at the intersection

of human and social sciences, systems engineering, human-computer interaction & artificial intelligence