28 Feb 2020

Positioning in Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is known for more than fifty years. The last ten years have been crucial in considering AI as the most powerful present tool to re-adapt the entire production process, explore new businesses, and improve existing ones.

Industrial solutions are already moving towards creating services. Those should be new businesses for new markets like the household one. A key option is to position yourself in using AI to reach that goal. From Girbau LAB we have launched an AI-linked challenge for new services around Girbau products.

AI and data

In 1956, AI was established as an academic discipline. Skepticism prevailed at the possibility that machines could talk to each other. At that time there were the first computers that allowed data to be captured with an unimaginable speed until that moment. That data was meant to improve sales.

The exponential growth of AI capabilities over the past decade has already demonstrated the idea that this discipline is more than to intelligently capture and process data. AI also helps machines learn, talk to each other, and decide on their own.

The starting point of AI remains the same as fifty years ago: capturing data. Now, with the Internet of Things (IoT) there are millions of potential sources of data collection. Anyone walking down the street, by public-private transport or own vehicle is a data source. What’s more, even if you’re not carrying a mobile phone or smart watch, you’re still a data source – Google detects, for example, movement on the streets and turns it into patterns of behavior.

Industrial challenges

Its application to the industrial sector is of great value. Industry 4.0 applies AI and IoT to production processes or the supply chain, among other areas. Machines interconnect, act autonomously, and learn to improve their processes.

In addition, in the generated products, the application of AI and IoT allows to develop services for the customer or end consumer. Industry, then, is walking with this digital revolution towards servitization.

At Girbau LAB we are no strangers to this reality. Girbau Group already applies IoT for the interconnection and data collection of our industrial washing machines. Thus, within the framework of the Corporates&Startups Innovation Challenges programme, we have launched the “Artificial Intelligence to Build New Businesses from Big Data” challenge. The good reception of the challenge has allowed us to meet with different startups. Now is the time to analyze and evaluate the potential joint projects that may arise from this interconnection.

The programme has been organized by ACCIO-Catalan Agency for Business Competitiveness, and Enterprise Europe Network, on 25 and 26 February 2020. This, within the context of Tech Spirit Barcelona .