The French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 research association “Réseau Dirisoft” explores the functionality of airship

Airship

An airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...

s for transporting heavy loads. It was founded the 23rd March 2007 at the École Normale Supérieure de Cachan

École Normale Supérieure de Cachan

The École Normale Supérieure de Cachan is one of the most prestigious French Grandes Écoles. Like all the other Grandes Écoles, this higher education institution is not included in the mainstream framework of the French public universities...

 in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, with support from the Directorate for Research and Innovation MEEDAT (the Ministry for ecology, energy, sustainable development

Sustainable development

Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...

 and spatial planning

Spatial planning

Spatial planning refers to the methods used by the public sector to influence the distribution of people and activities in spaces of various scales. Discrete professional disciplines which involve spatial planning include land use planning, urban planning, regional planning, transport planning and...

). The study and the structure of the network Réseau Dirisoft develops according to market research

Market research

Market research is any organized effort to gather information about markets or customers. It is a very important component of business strategy...

. The network is a partner of the companies PEGASE, ASTECH and System@tic.

Opportunities of action

• Organisation of conferences
  Academic conference
  An academic conference or symposium is a conference for researchers to present and discuss their work. Together with academic or scientific journals, conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers.-Overview:Conferences are usually composed of various...
  
  , workshops, seminar
  Seminar
  Seminar is, generally, a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some particular subject, in which everyone present is...
  
  s, training sessions, scientific and socio cultural working groups, as well as sporting events and airship competitions
• Administration of research contracts, including the financing and recruitment of graduate and postdoctoral students
• Marketing of the "airship" vector to the public, policy makers and socio-economic Media
• Management of research centers, integration and flight test
  Flight test
  Flight test is a branch of aeronautical engineering that develops and gathers data during flight of an aircraft and then analyzes the data to evaluate the flight characteristics of the aircraft and validate its design, including safety aspects...
  
  ing of experimental airships
• Publication of books and magazines dealing with airships and the hosting of scientific publications and Web sites
• Experimentation and implementation of research prototypes
• Acquisition, maintenance, replacement and provision of test equipment and experiments that can be used by members of the association
• It can make arrangements with government, semi-public as well as private authorities.

The motivation

France has a glamorous past with regard to "airships", but not (or rather not anymore) the corresponding culture. The airship is seen as a complementary approach to other technological possibilities. All the resources and efforts invested in the development of new generations of airships, led only to mediocre results. Several countries are currently involved in the research of airships, including France, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

, the USA

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 and China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

.

Scope of duties

• The merger of French research institutions participating in the research projects related to the new generation of airships.
• The definition of a coordinated policy of scientific research on airships.
• The availability of scientific communities with academic clusters, research institutions, governments and other foreign networks.
• The management and promotion of integration and research centers.
• The initiation of the curriculum for training in a new industrial and economic sector.
• Participation in the promotion of the “airship” vector.

The MC 4

The MC 4 is an idea born at the "Exposition du Bourget” 2009 in Paris. It is a motorized balloon

Balloon

A balloon is an inflatable flexible bag filled with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. Modern balloons can be made from materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene, or a nylon fabric, while some early balloons were made of dried animal bladders, such as the pig...

 of 4 m in length, 4 m ^ 3 in volume and equipped with a camera

Camera

A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...

, which was floating around the lounge at the exhibition. The engine is mounted on a board behind the balloon. The direction control is ensured by focusing on the two axes of the engine. This balloon can even, thanks to its powerful engine and its batteries, fly out and transmit its videos directly.

The MC 25

The MC 25 is the result of collaboration between LCPC Heudiazic IBISC and Hervé Kuhlmann. This model is a work of art created for urban and suburban areas. Due to the orientation of its ultra-fast engine and 9 to 16 sensors, each equipped with 15 megapixels, it is capable of identifying cracks as little as a tenth of a millimeter wide. This project received a grant from the DRI, an application for ANR is submitted.

The MC 500

The MC 500 is a reduced version of the model "Ballon Paris région”. It is intended solely for use by network researchers.

The"Balon Paris Région"

The “Balloon Paris Région” is designed for the noise and emission-free control of the Paris Air space.
It replaces the helicopter on routes of short distances and can carry sensors with a weight of up to 300 kg for monitoring purposes. Possible tasks include monitoring the quality of thermal insulation

Thermal insulation

Thermal insulation is the reduction of the effects of the various processes of heat transfer between objects in thermal contact or in range of radiative influence. Heat transfer is the transfer of thermal energy between objects of differing temperature...

 of buildings, traffic monitoring, pollution control, detection of air pollutants

Air pollution

Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....

and production of aerial photographs.