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. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n This year, the #StartUps prize, sponsored by EDF and in partnership with Laval Mayenne Technopole, went to a solution that combines augmented reality<\/a> and industrial robotics to address a concrete problem: how to automate dangerous tasks without losing human expertise.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\nThe robot executes, the human supervises<\/h2><\/h2>\n\n