People

Biography

François Blais obtained his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Laval University, Quebec City. Since 1984, his research in 3D has resulted in the development of the prototypes for the widely recognized NRC patented 3D range-sensing systems, an important contribution to NRC's having become one of the leading research organizations in 3D. Under his supervision, several of the technologies generated from this research (Biris, Synchronized Laser Scanner to name a few) have been licensed to industry and are now being commercialized in various industrial sectors: automotive, electronics, forestry, mining, biometrics, and heritage. He played key roles in the development of several new companies' products in the emerging 3D imaging market. In 1997, he joined Vitana Corp. as Directory of R&D, before returning to NRC to continue his research and supervise the technology transfer to Neptec that resulted in the 3D laser scanner technology used in space onboard NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery in 2001 and 2005.

François led important projects in various sectors of robotics and automation. Using the 3D sensors he developed, NRC has able to build a world-wide reputation in the field of heritage. In 2004, he led the development of portable 3D color scanners and software and supervised the scanning in Paris and the 3D modeling of famous paintings by Renoir and Leonardo Da Vinci. In September 2005, he was recognized among the top 10 Canadian Innovators by the Globe and Mail, one of the most important newspapers in Canada. He also received several awards from NRC, and from the Association de la recherche industrielle du Québec (ADRIQ).

His research interests cover various fields in real-time digital and image processing, optics and electro-optics, control, 3D, sensor and vision systems and their applications. He is very active in the field of 3D and the scientific community, and has given many tutorials and conference papers throughout the world on active 3D vision and heritage applications. He has more than 100 publications and 12 patents, of which several have been licensed to Canadian Industry. François Blais is a member of the Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) and Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC).

Additional Information

• Research Project Portfolio:
  • Digitizing and Tracking in a Dynamic Environment
  • 3D Examination of the Mona Lisa