AI Innovation Center »Learning Systems and Cognitive Robotics«

Potential recognized, implementation misjudged? Artificial intelligence and machine learning are key technologies for the future of Germany as a digital location. However, their introduction and implementation in practical applications that are economically viable require a strategic transformation at various levels.

Especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, the KI-Fortschrittszentrum (AI Innovation Center) offers a player that also brings AI methods to SMEs and advises them on how they can benefit from AI and which AI technologies are suitable for the individual problem.

Thus, the AI Innovation Center of the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO and the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA supports companies as part of the Cyber Valley consortium at the interface between application-oriented science and excellent research in developing innovative AI applications and human-centered AI solutions.

A central focus of the AI Innovation Center is direct cooperation with industrial companies. Feasibility studies and projects for the development of first prototypes of AI applications are partly financed by the budget of the Innovation Center. In order to build strategic partnerships, industrial companies have the opportunity to operate and fund so-called Enterprise Labs. In these labs, one or more researchers from the AI Innovation Center can devote their full attention to the specific issues of the respective industrial company.

All of the center's activities pursue the goal of developing human-centered AI that people trust and accept. Only when people interact intuitively with new technologies and cooperate in a trusting manner can their potential be optimally exploited. Therefore, research activities focus, among other things, on the topics of explainability, privacy, security and robustness of AI technologies.

The AI Innovation Center is a central point of contact for application-oriented AI research for companies in Baden-Württemberg. It conducts research projects relevant to the production and service sectors and serves as an interface between industry and basic research within the existing Cyber Valley consortium, which includes several industry partners in addition to the aforementioned research institutions. The AI Innovation Center can thus enable technology transfer to industry beyond the existing partners.

An overview of which industries and topics are particularly suitable for innovative AI applications in operational practice and how these can be implemented is provided by ten studies that are being produced as part of the AI Innovation Center. These are available free of charge on the website of the AI Innovation Center.