Cyber Valley is Europe’s largest research cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI) with partners from politics, science, industry, and society. Cyber Valley supports research in AI, machine learning, computer vision, and robotics, and promotes technology transfer in these research fields by fostering start-ups and exchange between science and industry. Cyber Valley operates across Baden-Württemberg with company offices in Tübingen and Stuttgart. It is funded by the German Federal State of Baden-Württemberg.
AI methods are being vigorously developed worldwide and, as with all technologies, there are positive and possible negative uses. We believe it is important that these methods are researched in Europe, embedded in open societies and involving a critical and factual public debate. In this context, Cyber Valley promotes basic research as well as young scientists in the field of machine learning, computer vision and robotics. As a first step, ten new research groups were established, all lead by very promising, highly talented young scientists. Five research groups were set up at the participating universities Stuttgart and Tübingen and five at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS). Further research groups will follow in the coming years. Additionally, ten new university chairs for artificial intelligence and machine learning have been established at both universities, which have already been filled or are currently in the process of being filled. Furthermore, a new graduate school, the International Max Planck Research School for Intelligent Systems (IMPRS-IS), is responsible for the training and supervision of significantly more than 100 doctoral students. Cyber Valley is thus reacting to the lack of experts in the field of AI.
Cyber Valley also promotes a start-up culture among the scientists so that findings from basic research can be applied quickly. Cyber Valley provides an ideal environment for the transfer from research to industry. In addition, joint research projects have been established among the partners, which will also strengthen the transfer in this area of future technology. The lively exchange between application-oriented industrial research and curiosity-driven basic research will create new impulses for both sides and create the ideal breeding ground for spin-offs.
Intelligent systems are already ubiquitous today. For example, intelligent algorithms for automatic image enhancement are part of almost every commercially available camera, and with every Internet search, a machine learning algorithm predicts which search results might be of interest to the user. In addition, vacuum-cleaning and lawn-mowing robots are already in use in many households. This is just the beginning. Autonomous vehicles will drive on our roads presumably in the next decade, or AI systems will help to diagnose and treat diseases by bringing together experiences from the treatment of many patients. Intelligent power grids will adapt to weather and load forecasts and transport both energy and information. With Industry 4.0, our manufacturing will digitize and machines will communicate autonomously. The environment of such intelligent systems can be real (e.g., service-robotics or driverless cars), but it can also be completely virtual (e.g., autonomous Internet algorithms or data mining systems), or a combination of both, which is becoming increasingly important in the context of the Internet of Things.
The latest breakthroughs in artificial intelligence are based on machine learning. Given a number of examples, computer programs can recognize regularities in data sets and make predictions in similar situations. No wonder that on the one hand research institutions and companies worldwide are working to further boost the intelligence of machines, and on the other that artificial intelligence is regarded as a key technology of the 21st century that will strongly influence science, the economy and our everyday life.
The Stuttgart-Tübingen region is one of the most innovative regions in Europe. It is home to outstanding universities, research institutions as well as numerous world-leading companies.
Hence, the Stuttgart-Tübingen region has great potential to play a leading role worldwide in the development of artificial intelligence and robotics. Already today, the region is a leader in AI research: Researchers from Stuttgart and Tübingen occupy the top position in scientific publications in Germany. In the field of machine learning, the region even occupies the top position in Europe and is among the top 10 locations worldwide.
With its high industrial productivity and pronounced export strength, the Stuttgart-Tübingen region is one of the strongest economic regions in Germany. Cyber Valley is of central importance for the region’s economy, as expertise in artificial intelligence, the key technology of the 21st century, will soon be decisive for all industrial companies. Cyber Valley wants to do its share in enabling the industry in Baden-Württemberg and Germany to maintain its competitive strength and to ensure that jobs are preserved or created. This will be achieved – above all – by training highly qualified experts in the fields of artificial intelligence and machine learning at the Universities of Stuttgart and Tübingen and at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems.