Robots generate a massive flood of data that can be used to optimize processes and predict wear and tear. In a new project, researchers from the University of Southern Denmark will help Universal Robots to develop AI systems that can predict how to optimize the programming of the robots.
Professor Kim Guldstrand Larsen from the Department of Computer Science at Aalborg University has received a DKK 30 million Villum Investigator grant. The grant has been awarded for a new project aiming to improve the safety of so-called cyber-physical systems such as autonomous cars and medical equipment.
In order for Denmark to take the lead in technology, we need to strengthen the collaboration between researchers and companies. We need to invest in independent, digital research and actively work on how we can develop new models for cooperation between the public and private sectors, says Thomas Riisgaard Hansen, Managing Director, DIREC – Digital Research Centre Denmark.
Headed by world-leading American AI researcher, Serge Belongie, the centre will conduct world-class artificial intelligence research focusing on societal challenges, people and design, while putting Denmark at the international forefront.
Thomas Riisgaard Hansen, Managing Director of DIREC, looks forward to the Danish digital research environment being further strengthened: “One of our focus areas in Digital Research Centre Denmark is AI. The new pioneer centre is a unique opportunity for Denmark to achieve the critical mass and international attention needed to attract the best AI research to Denmark and preferably other important computer science areas. I am very much looking forward to the collaboration with Serge”.
The pioneer centre is funded by Danish National Research Foundation, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Carlsberg Foundation, the Villum Foundation and the Lundbeck Foundation and will open at the end of 2021.
(Photo: Dan Jensen)
In 2020, Denmark got two new nationwide players in digital innovation, which can promote the power of innovation in the future digital technologies and business.
We keep hearing it: Digital innovation and the use of cutting-edge digital technologies are essential for companies when it comes to increasing Danish competitiveness by developing future-proof products, increasing productivity and streamlining companies.
At the same time, studies show that many companies still tend to put the brakes on instead of stepping on the gas when it comes to digital progress.
The sale of Humio for billions of dollars has generated many headlines about the Danish entrepreneurial business recently. They all ask the same question: How do we bring Danish world-class research into play and develop more Danish tech successes? Thomas Riisgaard Hansen, Managing Director of DIREC, asked Humio’s founder and CTO Kresten Krab Thorup.
Thomas Riisgaard Hansen, Managing Director of DIREC, asked Humio’s founder and CTO Kresten Krab Thorup.
Watch the interview here:
When asked how we get more successes like Humio, Kresten Krab Thorup answers clearly:
“You need to think big from the start. Someone has to be the best, so why not you? If you can get some venture capital, then it is all about speeding up, getting things developed and released to the customers. As a founder, obviously you are selling out of your business, but you do it to speed things up.”
Collaboration with research environments could also be an interesting way forward, and when researchers and businesses work together, they should think of their joint idea as a bet:
“Think of it as a bet. Is your idea viable? If you have the impetus to do it yourself in the best possible way, you can get really far. And at the same time, it attracts various interesting profiles to your company. And it is the company that can execute. That is what we have succeeded in doing.”
In short, Humio enables insight into massive amounts of log data, which is often spread out on many different servers in the cloud. With Humio’s system, businesses can see what is happening to their servers and see log data in real time. Today, the system is used by large businesses such as Microsoft and Bloomberg.
Kresten Krab Thorup is a computer scientist from Aarhus University and is one of the co-founders of the IT company, Trifork. He founded Humio in 2016 with two former Trifork colleagues, Christian Hvitved and Geeta Schmidt. They started Humio because they saw a gap in the market for a solution that could handle analysis of large amounts of log data.
They developed a prototype and started out with 4-5 employees in the first year. Starting up has especially required a technical understanding of how to use the hardware in the best possible way and an understanding of cloud technology, explains Kresten Krab Thorup:
“Cloud has become a novel architectural constraint. Today, it is not the physical hardware that controls performance and what can be done. It is the price of a service. It is a direct input to the architecture. It is much cheaper to store in the cloud than on a regular hard drive, and if you can make it run at peak performance, it will be much cheaper. Understanding it is extremely important”.
Humio has chosen to create their own database. This is the very key to their technology. But you become more successful by bringing together diverse skills to create a solid business:
“It requires a whole ecosystem of diverse skills, including front and back-end developers, UX designers, salespeople and accountants,” he says and adds:
“Most people tend to get together with like-minded people. But it is important to get together with people who knows something completely different, because often it is at the interface that ideas develop.
CEO and President of Falck, Jakob Riis shares his conversation with Managing Director of DIREC (Digital Research Centre Denmark), Thomas Riisgaard Hansen. Thomas considers digitalisation an imperative for health as a mean not only for optimisation but also to create better outcomes.
By Pernille Bjørn and Valeria Borsotti, Professor and Deputy Head of Research at the Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen and PhD student and Diversity Chair at the Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen.
Despite the fact that equality between male and female researchers – particularly in computer science and other IT disciplines – has received attention in both politics, media and research projects, development is making slow progress. We believe that one of the reasons for the slow development is that gender equality in research has not yet become a concrete political priority that sets clear goals for universities.
The press release on DIREC was published at the end of November and was picked up by several Danish media. The coverage reflects an expected interest in the success of bringing together all Danish IT departments in a joint mission to strengthen the efforts for highly-qualified IT specialists in Denmark.
This approach was taken by PROSA, ProIng, supply media, Science Report and ITWatch among others. With a new national centre for research in digital technologies (DIREC), the computer science departments at seven Danish universities are joining forces with the Alexandra Institute to expand the capacity within research and education in digital technologies in Denmark.
The aim is to satisfy the great need for highly educated IT specialists in companies and the public sector as well as to develop new solutions based on artificial intelligence, big data and IoT. DIREC hopes to become an internationally recognized center that can match the most respected centres in the world and thus attract the best researchers. For example, brought here:
Tech Management adopted the message that it is necessary to intensify the efforts in the digital field. The column was written by Ole Lehrmann Madsen and Jens Christian Godskesen with the message: Denmark must invest in both digital infrastructure, IT-based companies and capacity in IT research, innovation and education. You can find the entire article here:
The people behind that centre are always of interest. The Danish news magazine Mandag Morgen welcomed the story of DIREC’s director Thomas Riisgaard Hansen. An excerpt from the article says:
No less than seven Danish universities plus the Alexandra Institute have joined forces to create a centre the aim of which is to assert itself internationally and attract foreign researchers and students. Thomas Riisgaard Hansen has been elected to lead the centre. He will take office on 1 January, and to sum up the task he faces, it is – which is very appropriate for a digital center manager – to build networks.
Read the article here in Danish (paid):
It is crucial for Danish companies and the public sector to have access to highly qualified IT specialists and knowledge about digital technologies. The new national centre for research into digital technologies – DIREC – is a step in the right direction.
