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Alexandre Sauvage / Leosphere

Leosphere, a company specializing in atmospheric measurements, has been working together with Onera since its creation. This collaboration is so close that a researcher from the organization has joined the SME.

06 January 2007

WindCube, a compact lidar intended to measure wind speed profiles, has benefited from the research done by the theoretical and applied optics department at Onera.
How did the Leosphere company come about? Alexandre Sauvage: My brother Laurent and I founded it in April 2004. At the time we were working for the Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences (LSCE) operated by the CEA and the CNRS. The laboratory had perfected a technology but did not intend to develop it, so it preferred to transfer it. This technology was the lidar, a remote measuring instrument, which we thought had a lot of potential. We therefore signed a collaboration and license agreement. Today, Leosphere has 15 employees, 80% of whom work in research and development. Our 2006 turnover (over one million euros) is expected to increase by a factor of 2.5 this year, 90% of which will come from sales from abroad. We are aiming for a turnover of 10 million euros in 2010, with a staff of 50 to 60 people. Today, our chief market is wind turbines, but in the medium term, we are targeting the aeronautics market.
What are the applications for Lidar? AS: It responds to the need for reliable measurement of the upper atmosphere. It can measure both the atmosphere's composition (existence of clouds, type and concentration of pollutants) and its dynamic aspects, such as wind measurements and turbulence. This is of interest to several sectors, including, of course, the environmental sector, for purposes of monitoring pollution: in situ detectors are insufficient to monitor a system as complex as the atmosphere and its pollutants, in relation to weather conditions. Lidar can compile 'maps' of the different pollutants and their respective concentrations. For the time being, we have been focusing on dust levels, but any pollutant can be detected. Another application is meteorological measurements: clouds, wind, humidity, etc. The fact that lidar takes measurements in real-time gives it a considerable advantage over weather balloons, which are released only twice per day. Finally, the wind turbine sector has shown a lot of interest: before setting up a wind farm, you have to know the wind's profile, at several different altitudes.	Lidar measures wind profiles remotely. No more need to stick an anemometer on the end of a long mast!
The ever-increasing height of wind turbines, however, means that before long a mast of 160 meters (half the height of the Eiffel Tower) will be needed simply in order to place the anemometer on it. Our lidar is much simpler: it takes up a total of one cubic meter in space, and takes five minutes to install. Other applications could also be developed, such as improving airport traffic or researching climate change, particularly to gain a greater familiarity with aerosols and clouds. What led you to collaborate with Onera?
Thanks to the measurements of wake vortices, the partnership with Onera demonstrated the existence of a major common interest.	AS: Before we even founded Leosphere, we had identified a potential outlet for the technology in the aeronautics sector. We were approached by Eurocontrol, the European air traffic control regulating body, who were interested in a specification study of its requirements in terms of aircraft wake vortices. We immediately saw the advantage of collaborating with Onera on this issue, and conversely, Onera was interested in having measuring methods in the aeronautics sector.
We pooled our resources and drew up a set of specifications, stipulating the performance levels required. In this way, a joint prototype was constructed together with Onera. This relationship took on a new dimension when Jean-Pierre Cariou, a researcher at Onera, joined us. It was a perfect transfer, as Onera has real client vision and knows how to put together a project.
Clouds with a silver lining SMEs have everything to gain in working with a body like Onera…and vice versa. "Part of the vocation (which is even formalized in the articles of association) of Onera is to help companies, and this is beneficial for its image and its brand", stressed Jean-Pierre Cariou. Onera has everything to gain as well: it receives fees under the license agreements, benefits from the know-how of the SMEs in certain fields (such as logistics), and relies on them when manufacturing prototypes. The public body thus now has lidars that it would not have been able to develop by itself. The SMEs, on the other hand, have better access to numerous calls for tender and new clients. They also benefit from Onera's scientific skills. Thus, the work in the theoretical and applied optics department (DOTA) of Onera on more powerful laser sources will be transferred to Leosphere via another SME, Keopsys, which sells it laser sources on partnership terms. "We are trying to build up a network of partners around Leosphere, which will be much harder to compete against than one single company", according to Jean-Pierre Cariou. Applied researcher "I always wanted my research to be put to use, and to have practical applications", remembers Jean-Pierre Cariou, the former head of the laser application unit in Onera who now works for Leosphere as the technological research director. "I even tried to start a company, and was involved in the creation of Keopsys, manufacturing laser fibers." Today, he gives free rein to his fondness for concrete solutions: two theses in 2002 led to a prototype in 2005. Two years later, ten lidars have been sold. "There is no competition in this niche yet, but it is only a matter of time, and we must continue to innovate", he stresses. His working days are even longer than they were at Onera, and he did not exactly leave the office early even then. "The time restrictions are much harsher than in the industry, which means that we are forced to accept compromise solutions rather than searching for the best possible solution", he revealed. The speed at which decisions can be taken and the sensation of making rapid progress more than make up for these inconveniences, however. Shedding light on pollution Lidar works on the same principle as radar, but instead of using large-wavelength electromagnetic waves (radar waves), it uses light. A laser emits an intense luminous wave. When this wave comes into contact with particles, it is dispersed in all directions.	Simultaneous use of 2 lidars: ALS for the composition and distribution of marine aerosols, and WLS for the wind speed profile.. ALS results [aerosol distribution] Détection de tourbillons de sillages suite au passage d'un avion de ligne Wake vortex detection when an airliner has passed ALS lidar in a campaign to measure urban pollution in Paris
Detecting this refracted light enables several parameters to be calculated: not only the quantity and type of the particles, but also the wind speed, by measuring the speed of the particles using the Doppler effect. In the words of Alexandre Sauvage, "We use the atmosphere like a mirror." These analyses can be carried out at any altitude: every laser pulse is sent out at a specific moment, and since we know the speed of light, we can deduce the altitude of the particles observed. "We can thus analyze the atmosphere's parameters every 1.5 meters", the entrepreneur added.

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