Olivier Orfila has been appointed Scientific Director and Director of Development and Training at ITE VEDECOM. An engineer from ISAT (Institut Supérieur de l’Automobile et des Transports), he has a doctorate and is qualified to direct research at the University of Evry Paris Saclay. He has developed a multidisciplinary vision of mobility and its challenges.
Oliver Orfila was previously deputy director of the LIVIC (autonomous vehicle) laboratory from 2015 to 2020 and then PICS-L (mobility from a multidisciplinary perspective) from 2020 to 2022 at the Gustave Eiffel University, in laboratories located near the mobiLAB in Versailles.
He joined VEDECOM on 21 March 2022, and according to him, his three new functions – science, development and training – form a “virtuous triptych” that he particularly likes.
An interdisciplinary vision to support the energy transition
Convinced of the relevance of cross-fertilisation of disciplines from the very first phases of conception and definition of research questions, he co-directed the development of the LIVIC and PICS-L scientific projects. His work focused on the problems of vehicle energy consumption, the automation of functions to limit it and the understanding of eco-responsible driver behaviour.
Entrepreneurship and training as a result of research
As an entrepreneur, in 2008 he created a start-up company offering driver monitoring in natural conditions for the insurance sector. He also supported the emergence of the Stanley Robotics startup in the valet parking sector.
Lastly, passionate about transmitting knowledge and much appreciated by his students, he is involved in several courses: either with academic partners such as the University of Evry Paris Saclay, or ENSTA and IFPSchool, or with professionals such as Renault Group.
Knowledge of the challenges of mobility on an international scale
Internationally, he has been the scientific leader of numerous European research projects such as ecoDriver, GamECAR and Trustonomy. He has been a laureate of two Hubert Curien Partnerships with Australia and China where he was an associate professor at Tongji University in Shanghai from 2016 to 2022. Finally, he was an expert for ACEA (The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association) on the subject of CO2 emissions reduction and an expert for the Ministry of Ecology on driving automation in China.
“I have found a dynamic and very professional teams at VEDECOM. They know how to take into account environmental issues and the final needs of the market and users. In the coming months, our objective is to co-construct answers to these new mobility needs, to accelerate the transfer of research results to the industrial world”.