Winner of the #StartUps competition at the Laval Virtual Awards 2026, Metz-based startup PolyFlyx took home the prize awarded on 9 April at the Espace Mayenne. Held in Laval for 28 years, Europe’s largest XR event recognises the most promising XR projects each year across a range of categories.
This year, the #StartUps prize, sponsored by EDF and in partnership with Laval Mayenne Technopole, went to a solution that combines augmented reality and industrial robotics to address a concrete problem: how to automate dangerous tasks without losing human expertise.
Founded in 2024 in Metz, PolyFlyx has fewer than ten employees. Yet the startup won over a jury of innovation, XR and industry experts, beating seven other finalists. Its product: an augmented reality tablet application that allows an industrial operator, with no programming or robotics expertise, to control a robot performing polishing, grinding or deburring operations on forged or cast parts.
The robot executes, the human supervises
The principle is straightforward to understand, difficult to deliver. The operator uses the tablet to indicate, on the 3D model of the part, which areas need to be treated and what type of operation is required. The on-premise server handles the rest: trajectory planning, collision avoidance, real-time adaptation. The robot executes. The human supervises.
On stage, founder Ludovic Freund explained the genesis of the project: “I managed factories with workers operating by hand on very physically demanding tasks. There were a lot of injuries. We looked for a solution to allow them to delegate these arduous operations to a robot.”
But PolyFlyx is not simply a physical protection tool. The solution carries a deeper ambition: capturing the expertise of experienced operators before it disappears with retirements. By defining what needs to be done, where and how, the operator implicitly encodes their knowledge into the system. A discreet but structuring transfer of know-how. The project stands out for its ability to keep workers nearing retirement in employment while bringing in younger professionals still gaining real-world experience.
From patent to industrialisation
The technology is based on a patent developed in partnership with the Arts et Métiers laboratories (LCFC and LAMPA), and is the subject of two ongoing doctoral theses. In 2026, PolyFlyx is entering a maturation phase with industrial clients including Saint-Brieuc Fonderie, SetForge and Saint-Gobain, with the goal of launching its first commercial sales by the end of the year.
The #StartUps competition at Laval Virtual is open to companies less than three years old that have never exhibited at the show. For PolyFlyx, taking part met a specific need: gathering as much user feedback as possible on the ergonomics of the AR interface, from a community already familiar with immersive technologies. The award was an unexpected bonus. “Receiving this prize here, at Laval Virtual, is a real recognition,” said Ludovic Freund as he accepted the trophy. For a project that is anything but trivial.
