Meet Alexandre Chalin, selected in the second call with his project Blue Smart Robotics.
Tell us briefly about yourself and your background!
I am currently in my third year at the École des Mines de Saint-Étienne (engineering school) and my first year at EMLYON business school. The Blue Smart Robotics project was launched in 2022 by Antoine, one of the company partners. I joined Blue Smart Robotics in 2024 to work alongside Antoine on finalising the robot’s prototype, which is still under development, and to support its preparation for commercialisation.
How did you find out about SCAIRA?
The project is currently incubated at two incubators: those of the École des Mines de Saint-Étienne and the École des Mines d’Alès. It was the latter, located in the Occitanie region, that introduced us to the programme, as Blue Smart Robotics has a strong industrial focus and aims to be implemented within the rural Occitan ecosystem near Perpignan.
What stage is your start-up currently at?
We are currently finalising the MVP and would like to begin the testing phase before January 2026.
What is the nature of your project, and what problem does it aim to solve?
Blue Smart Robotics is a robotics project focused on the aeronautics sector, specifically on ground logistics for aircraft. We design and develop mobility solutions that enable aircraft to be moved on the ground, with the aim of improving both the safety of ground operations and overall manoeuvrability.
Which SCAIRA services have you chosen?
Service 6 & 7: Proof of concept (POC) and Minimum Viable Product (MVP) development.
Service 9: Measurement and environmental impact of an industrial project.
Service 11: Business plan development and Business Model Canvas.
Service 13: Project preparation for its presentation to industry and investors, including registration on LOOM.
Service 14: B2B meetings between startups and industrial companies, and B2F meetings between startups and investors.
What are your short-term objectives during the acceleration programme?
We aim to complete the prototype and carry out laboratory testing in order to deliver a market-ready product.
Who is your target market and what customer need are you addressing?
Our target market is aircraft ground logistics within the aeronautics sector. We address both safety requirements—given that around two-thirds of aircraft accidents occur on the ground—and efficiency needs by offering solutions that are easy to use and highly manoeuvrable.
What are your main challenges right now?
Completing the robot prototyping.
Do you already have a team?
Yes, the team is made up of engineering students: myself, Antoine Masson (ESTACA), Halil Devrait (ESTACA), and Samuel Marty (42). We have known each other since high school and, despite having pursued different higher-education paths and being based in different regions, we decided to join Antoine on this robotics project in 2024. Antoine and I are responsible for hardware development, while Halil and Samuel focus primarily on software.
Our skills are therefore highly complementary and all essential to the project. Together with the fact that we have known each other for over seven years, this has enabled us to build a team that is both highly motivated and effective.