Technology - AI research: startup receives major order
The Cottbus-based start-up Zander Laboratories GmbH can advance artificial intelligence (AI) with a research contract worth 30 million euros. The aim is to improve the interaction between humans and machines. The company signed a contract to this effect on Friday in Cottbus with the Agency for Innovation in Cybersecurity GmbH (Cyberagentur). The start-up - a spin-off from Cottbus University - will develop prototypes over the course of four years as part of a project to revolutionize the interaction between humans and machines.
The cyber agency, based in Halle, is assigned to the Ministry of Defense and the Federal Ministry of the Interior. It has been granted a total budget of 240 million euros by the Bundestag. These funds are used to finance research projects.
The start-up project "Neuroadaptivity for Autonomous Systems" (NAFAS) aims to create machines that can read and interpret human brain activity. This is according to Thorsten Zander, Managing Director of Zander Labs. According to the cyber agency, the contract is the largest single funding of a research project in the EU. It is purely about research.
The start-up had taken part in a competition looking for innovative ideas for research into neurotechnology in connection with human-machine interaction - and was awarded the contract. There were four other applicants. The conceptual strength and innovative approach were convincing, explained Andreas Schönau, deputy project manager at the cyber agency. The project has the potential to "set new scientific standards in the neurosciences."
According to the information provided, the background to the research is that machines remain limited in their ability to understand human emotions and their decision-making. This limitation restricts the potential of human-computer interaction.
Zander has been researching this for 20 years. The Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg(BTU) gives him the opportunity to implement this research, said the Professor of Neuroadaptive Human-Computer Interaction. This technology should now leave the laboratory and be used in the real world. New hardware and software are being developed for this purpose. "We will have a lot of work to do, but I also believe that we have the potential to change the world," said Zander.
Science Minister Manja Schüle was enthusiastic: "No, this is not a new film project by Steven Spielberg or Ridley Scott - this is science fiction "Made in Cottbus"." She sees a major boost for science and research in Lusatia.
The project brings together several institutions with specialized expertise. These include the Fraunhofer Institutes for Photonic Microsystems (IPMS) and for Digital Media Technology (IDMT), the Dutch TNO, Brain Products GmbH in Munich, Eaglescience Software B.V. in Haarlem and academic institutions at BTU, the University of Vienna and Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg.
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- The Federal Ministry of the Interior, responsible for overseeing the Agency for Innovation in Cybersecurity GmbH, has allocated a significant sum of 240 million euros for research projects, with a portion of this going towards the Brandenburg-based startup Zander Laboratories GmbH for their AI research.
- The large order of 30 million euros awarded to Zander Laboratories GmbH by the cyber agency will enable them to conduct research on developing machines that can interpret human brain activity, which could potentially revolutionize human-machine interaction and set new scientific standards in neurosciences.
- As part of a project to revolutionize human-machine interaction, Zander Laboratories GmbH based in Cottbus will use the funds to develop prototypes on the Internet, collaborating with several institutions and companies from various locations, including Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, the Dutch TNO, and Brain Products GmbH in Munich.
Source: www.stern.de
