Sport as an Innovation Laboratory for the Industry of Tomorrow

At ALTEN, elite sport is not merely a technological showcase. It is a unique testing ground where extreme constraints accelerate innovation and validate solutions that can be directly transposed to large-scale industry.

From Sporting Challenges to Industrial Solutions

Biomimicry and Eco-Design: The Zephir Project Example

ALTEN collaborated with Antoine Albeau, 27-time windsurfing world champion, as part of the Zephir Project. The goal: to push the limits of speed on water by jointly addressing aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, materials, smart sensors, and biomimicry. This approach integrates eco-design considerations from the research phase, developing solutions that are both high-performance, sustainable, and transferable to industry.

This Zephir Project illustrates ALTEN’s method:

Start with an extreme constraint (in this case, speed and eco-design).
Develop innovative solutions (biomimetic structures, optimised hydrofoils).
Transpose them to industry, such as aeronautics.

Why does it work? Sport imposes tight deadlines and visible results, a pressure that drives faster innovation than traditional R&D.e qu’en R&D classique.

Optimisation Under Constraint: A Proven Method

The sports sector and industry share a common demand: optimising complex systems within tight deadlines. ALTEN applies this approach with the French Cycling Federation, developing algorithms that analyse slope, wind, morphology, and weather to optimise athletes’ efforts. These analyses also enable engineers to adapt the design of sports equipment, such as cycling helmets, to reduce resistance to airflow.

For example, these innovations now have industrial applications in:

Logistics: The same algorithms reduce the energy consumption of trains or logistical flows.
Ergonomics: The study of athletes’ posture, balancing comfort and power, inspires workplace ergonomics.

Digital Twin: From the Track to the Factory

Tool for Limitless Testing

The digital twin is one of the key technologies derived from sport. Initially designed to replicate an athlete in a virtual environment, it allows configurations to be tested without physical constraints and accelerates development cycles under competitive pressure.

Benefits for industry:

Cost reduction: Fewer physical prototypes and real-world tests.
Time savings: Faster development cycles and quicker time-to-market.
Practical applications: Modelling production lines, improving workplace ergonomics, or optimising vehicle energy efficiency.

Skills Transferable to Industry

AI, Aerodynamics, and Materials Serving Clients

Sports projects develop expertise directly applicable to industrial missions:

AI video analysis: Applied to athletes’ movements, it optimises risk prevention in the workplace or quality control in production.
Aerodynamic simulation: Derived from cycling, it contributes to the design of vehicles or infrastructure.
Composite materials: Explored in sport, they guide eco-design choices for clients committed to decarbonisation.

Result: Skills tested in real-world conditions, ready to be deployed in industry.ndustrie.

Explore our sports innovation projects