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REQUEST* programme launched

The REQUEST project, funded as part of France's Investing for the Future project for 2014-2017, aims to explore and develop technologies in the areas of Big data, Big Analytics, Visual Analytics and cloud computing. Project partners include Thales, SNCF, Talend, Syllabs, Altic, Aldecis, Isthma, and six university research institutes: ERIC (Lyon), LIP6 (Paris), LIMSI (Orsay), LABRI (Bordeaux), L2TI (Paris) and UTT (Troyes).

Through the REQUEST project, Thales and its partners are trying to establish organic links between the different tools that can be used to exploit Big data repositories and the NoSQL (Not Only SQL) storage architectures that have emerged with the Big data revolution. The project will also examine issues related to cloud computing and distributivity rules.

The partners aim to develop advanced, scalable algorithms that can process large quantities of complex, heterogeneous, dynamic data, enabling the Big data community in France to emerge as a major competitive force in the Big data applications market.

The REQUEST project has chosen not to engage in yet another technical discussion of the best strategies for storing and indexing next-generation databases – which Thales and its partners believe would have marginal intrinsic added value compared to the considerable efforts already being made by researchers at companies like Google, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Instead, the project is focusing on the potential of scalability algorithms and the role they can play in the much more open and fast-evolving field that some are now calling Big Analytics.

The REQUEST project in three points:

  • Innovative query techniques: intelligent, iterative recursive queries, streaming analysis, etc.
  • New applications of analytical algorithms (linearisation, parallelisation and distributivity)
  • New visual analytics techniques (toolbox approach)

The overarching objective is to work with end users not only to lay the groundwork for new application development but to address some of the societal challenges associated with the cybercrime, cybersecurity, smart cities and multimedia markets, including universal access, citizen protection, infrastructure security, transport and the environment, and access to education, training and culture.

* REcursive QUEry and Scalable Technologies