SAMSON: Integrating computational nanoscience

Project Information

SAMSON

Grant agreement ID: 713709

DOI

10.3030/713709

Project closed

EC signature date 30 May 2016

Start date 1 June 2016

End date 30 November 2017

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)

Total cost

€ 149 750,00

EU contribution

€ 149 750,00

Coordinated by

INSTITUT NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE EN INFORMATIQUE ET AUTOMATIQUE
France

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SAMSON (SAMSON: Integrating computational nanoscience)

Reporting period: 2016-06-01 to 2017-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

In this ERC Proof of Concept project, we analyzed the commercial potential of SAMSON, the integrated software platform for computational nanoscience developed in the NANO-D group at Inria, and funded in part through the ADAPT ERC Starting Grant project.

The grant has allowed us to a) better understand the market for such software; b) improve the SAMSON Connect platform used to distribute SAMSON; c) develop SAMSON Elements (modules for SAMSON) that will benefit clients; d) determine whether to start a company or not.

The SAMSON software platform for computational nanoscience has three main characteristics that make it unique among its competitors:

a) Universality: SAMSON was built from scratch with universality in mind. The SAMSON data model is generic and adapted to all domains of nanoscience (e.g. drug design, materials, etc.), which lets users design advanced products in a single platform.

b) Flexibility: SAMSON is open and customized through SAMSON Elements (modules for SAMSON) that are distributed on SAMSON Connect, the only marketplace for computational nanoscience. The available SAMSON Software Development Kit makes it easy to develop new SAMSON Elements that add new apps, models, services, etc.

c) Affordability: Thanks to SAMSON Elements, users only install the functionality that they really need, and achieve their objectives in a cost-effective manner.

Users from over 800 labs and companies have registered on SAMSON Connect (https://www.samson-connect.net) and we have decided to start a company during 2018.