Archive (2013-01-21)
Bruno Maisonnier, founder of Aldebaran Robotics, is awarded the 2012 Marius Lavet Prize, named after the eponymous engineer and inventor
Founder and CEO of Aldebaran Robotics, Bruno Maisonnier is the creator of NAO, the best-selling humanoid robot in the world today.
In recognition of his scientific career, his innovations in the emerging sector of humanoid robotics, his ambitious future projects including Romeo, a robot designed to provide assistance to people with dependency needs, and the international scope of his company, Bruno Maisonnier was awarded the 11th Marius Lavet Prize, in a ceremony conducted at the Musée des Arts et Métiers on January 21, 2013.
Nominated alongside René Chelle and Bernard Didier, founders of AB7 and Morpho System respectively, Bruno Maisonnier was delighted to receive this prize from the hands of Xavier Fontanet, member of the Board of Directors of the L'Oréal Group and of Schneider Electric .
The Marius Lavet Prize rewards excellence in research and in scientific and industrial innovation in France, as embodied by its most talented engineers. With "productive recovery" the byword, it is vital to draw on these creators and their so precious innovations in order to be able to count on high-performance cutting-edge industry to serve as one of the main levers for economic recovery.
The prize was jointly awarded to Bernard Didier, founder of Morpho System, today the world's leading company in biometric identification.
About the Marius Lavet Prize
Created by Marius Lavet to reward every year a French engineer whose innovation constitutes an acknowledged technical and commercial breakthrough, the Marius Lavet Prize, named after the eponymous engineer and inventor, is worth €15,000. It is intended to highlight the merits of the prize-winning engineer-inventors, their capacity to anticipate needs on the new markets and their determination. The Prize also helps to disseminate the culture of innovation, particularly with respect to young people looking to pursue a career as scientists or engineers. The Marius Lavet Association keeps alive the memory of Marius Lavet, an alumnus of Arts & Métiers and Supélec, and inventor of the stepper motor, which he subsequently developed to incorporate quartz movement. Leading by example as an exponent of these dual skills, a passionate advocate of invention and inventors, and keen to encourage young people to take up scientific studies, he bequeathed part of his legacy to a Foundation, so that a prize perpetuating these values might be created in his name.
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