Bosch plans to ramp up its activities in the emerging technology of artificial intelligence (AI): in Tübingen in Germany’s Cyber Valley, the supplier of technology and services intends to invest some 35 million euros in a new “Bosch AI Campus.”
Bosch is currently in talks with the city of Tübingen to negotiate the purchase of a rough 12,000 square-meter plot on which to build the campus. The move into the new research complex is planned for the end of 2022. Roughly 700 experts will work on applied AI there. “Bosch aims to be among the global leaders in industrial AI research,” said Bosch CDO/CTO Dr. Michael Bolle. “The new Bosch AI Campus will bring us a step closer to achieving this goal.”
Space for startups and in-depth exchange
The Bosch AI Campus in Tübingen will be situated close to the research facilities of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems and the University of Tübingen’s AI research building. Besides laboratories and offices, the campus will offer spaces in which startups and external AI research groups can take up temporary residence. Freely accessible areas on the first floor of the campus will serve to foster exchange among Cyber Valley experts. Other parts of the facility will also be open to the public. “In the new building, experts from the Bosch Center for Artificial Intelligence (BCAI) will work on projects together with experts from other Bosch divisions and from startups. The campus structure will do a lot to foster an exchange of ideas,” Bolle said.
Bosch is a founding member of Cyber Valley, which was established in 2016. This joint research venture brings together partners from industry, academia, and politics to drive forward AI research in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The idea is to quickly transfer research findings into real-world industrial applications. “Excellence clusters like Cyber Valley are important, as they make Germany even more attractive to top AI experts and strengthen our position in international competition,” Bolle continued. “The Bosch AI Campus also enhances Baden-Württemberg’s international appeal as an AI hub.”
From research to practical application
Bosch is researching artificial intelligence that is safe, robust, and explainable. Its investment in the new AI campus is yet another step by the company to strengthen AI research in Cyber Valley. Last year, Professor Matthias Hein was appointed to a Bosch-endowed chair at the University of Tübingen. The company sponsors two Industry on Campus professorships, which allow the university to integrate practical industrial expertise into its research and teaching.
These professorships focus on the issues that arise when preparing for industrial applications. One example is predictive diagnostics, which makes it possible to predict machine breakdowns long before a fault actually occurs. Well-timed maintenance can avoid protracted machine downtimes. Predictive diagnostics is an example of machine learning, which is the focus of the research conducted at the BCAI.
