Funding: through the BMBF as part of the funding announcement “Funding of AI laboratories and qualification in the context of research projects in the field of artificial intelligence”

Funding period: 01.10.2019 bis 30.09.2021

Project executing organisation: German Aerospace Center e.V. (DLR), Berlin

Overview of the joint project KI-LiveS

The project primarily pursues the transfer goal (“third mission”), to better anchor findings from university research into artificial intelligence (AI) in the commercial economy in order to stimulate developments in innovative products, in particular services, that promote Germany as a business location strengthen sustainably. For this purpose, a project team consisting of university lecturers from the University of Duisburg-Essen and the Technical University of Dortmund has been formed as part of the University Alliance Ruhr (UA-Ruhr). It is made up of university researchers from information technology as well as the fields of applied production and logistics, information and project management as well as healthcare.

In the AI laboratory, “data-driven” application areas of AI products are to be looked after particularly intensively. This includes, for example: sensor data from the maintenance of container gantry cranes, video data from intralogistic systems, sensor data for monitoring medical implant kits, video data from MRI recordings, audio data from urban environments, as well as action, customer, supplier and product data in the project management. Based on new research findings, AI applications are developed that range from “intelligent” online evaluations of sensor or video data to “intelligent” reuse of experience-based knowledge from projects already carried out for the planning of new projects.

To meet the transfer target stated above, qualification offers with regard to the practical use of AI hardware, AI software and AI brainware should be developed in the context of an AI laboratory, especially for companies from the region. These qualification offers range from the “experimental” use of AI products from the three aforementioned AI areas “on site” in companies that are won as cooperation partners, as well as multimedia online training courses to blended e-learning offers that can be used “sustainably” by prospective customers from the business practice, especially after the project funding has ended.

The AI laboratory is to be set up and used in particular in close cooperation with business partners from business practice. In addition, numerous practical bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral theses are planned in the context of the AI laboratory, which are intended to stimulate in-depth cooperation between business and universities with “bidirectional” knowledge transfer between project partners in the AI area. Finally, the AI laboratory will serve as a platform for further professional training. This platform offers “digital” formats for in-service qualifications for specialists and managers in the field of deployment of AI systems and AI methods in the business practice.

Project partner of the joint project KI-LiveS

a) University partners

Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bernd Noche (Overall project manager)

The University of Duisburg-Essen, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Transport Systems and Logistics (UDE, Area of Expertise TuL)

Internet: www.uni-due.de/zlv/portrait/noche.php

E-Mail: bernd.noche (at) uni-due.de

Univ.-Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Susanne Moebus

University Hospital of the University of Duisburg-Essen, Institute for Urban Public Health (UDE, InUPH)

Internet: https://www.uk-essen.de/inuph/das-institut/mitarbeiterinnen/moebus/ 

E-Mail: susanne.moebus (at) uk-essen.de

Univ.-Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Gregor Schiele
The University of Duisburg-Essen, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Embedded Systems in Computer Science (UDE, Area of Expertise ES)

Internet: www.uni-due.de/es/gregor_schiele_de

E-Mail: gregor.schiele (at) uni-due.de

Priv.-Doz.Dr. Frank Weichert (Substitute professorship)

Technical University of Dortmund, Computer Science VII, Chair of Computer Graphics (TU DO, Chair CG)

Internet: ls7-www.cs.uni-dortmund.de/cms/de/weichert

E-Mail: frank.weichert (at) tu-dortmund.de

Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Torben Weis
The University of Duisburg-Essen, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Distributed Systems (UDE, Area of Expertise DS)

Internet: https://www.uni-due.de/zim/services/suchdienste/mitarbeiter.php?id=11656&vcard=

E-Mail: torben.weis (at) uni-due.de

Univ.-Prof. Dr. Stephan Zelewski

The University of Duisburg-Essen, Faculty of Economics, Institute for Production and Industrial Information Management (UDE, Institute PIM)

Internet: www.pim.wiwi.uni-due.de/team/stephan-zelewski/

E-Mail: stephan.zelewski (at) pim.uni-due.de

b) Practice partner

State: 09.07.2020

b1) Practice partners in the context of the sub-project “AI Brainware Development” (responsible: PIM Institute):

• Accenture GmbH in Düsseldorf (Dependance in Essen, Zeche Zollverein), contact persons: Tale Wenholz, Eva-Maria Schmitz, Gina Hoppe and Mario Tippelt;
• adesso AG, contact persons: Dr. Angela Carell and Prof. Dr. Jürgen Angele;
• Atos Information Technology GmbH, contact persons: Anja Muhmann, Ganen Sethupathy and Ulrich Wilmsmann;
• EY (Ernst & Young GmbH) Deutschland, contact persons: Silvana Hinsen and Dr. Yilmaz Alan;
• GFOS mbH, contact persons: Burkhard Röhrig, managing director, and Katharina Röhrig, head of department business development;
• Grunenberg & Comp. GmbH, contact persons: Dr. Michael Grunenberg, Markus Steinkötter and Thies Hülsbusch;
• OFIGO GmbH & Co. KG, contact person: Andreas Rittel;
• Ruhr Campus Academy (RCA) gGmbH, contact person: Jürgen Scholz;
• thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions AG, contact persons: Dr. Benedikt Meier, Dr. Peter Ritz and Hasan Göksu.

b2) Practice partner in the context of further subprojects of the joint project KI-LiveS (responsible: Department of TuL):

• Arvato,
• Clatronic International GmbH,
• Duisburger Hafen AG,
• SDZ GmbH,
• Zolitron Technology GmbH.

An overview of the entire project is offered in the presentation of the overall project manager (Mr. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Noche).

You will find more information about the sub-project "AI brainware development" of the Institute for Production and Industrial Information Management here in the near future [a link will be added later].