The laboratory was established as part of Siemens’ investment program for digital research and development, the company’s official press release states. In 2016-2017, Siemens funneled 40 million rubles into the university, 21 million of which was invested directly into this laboratory. The money was used for purchasing a supercomputer, kits for the development of artificial intelligence embedded systems, server hardware, a data storage system, equipment necessary for setting up eight individual working stations (including laptops, monitors, personal computers), and so forth.
The laboratory’s specialized supercomputer, with a production capacity of about 1 petaflops, was designed to solve problems in the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning. It is the only such system in Russia , and is equipped with state-of-the-art computer technology. Supercomputers allow researchers to solve problems in the field of deep learning, which require hardware with a production capacity of one or more petaflops in multi-user mode.
Политех и Siemens открыли совместную лабораторию «Промышленные системы искусственного интеллекта» #СПбПУ #Политех #спбполитех #ПолитехПетра #spbstu #spbspu #spbpu https://t.co/b9UEHVfnZy pic.twitter.com/yiBIwUsBJ3
— СПбПУ (@pgpuspb) 29 ноября 2017 г.
“Siemens has significant experience in the field of digitalization, and this new laboratory will allow us to make use of this expertise for the needs of Russian industry,” said Dietrich Moeller, President of Siemens Russia, during the laboratory’s opening ceremony. “It is a new step towards the development of local digital projects, which are one of the company’s main priorities today,” he added.
The new laboratory will focus on solving important problems using big data for the needs of Russian industry, SPbPU’s Media Center explained to RIA Novosti. With the help of artificial intelligence, the laboratory’s researchers will conduct monitoring and diagnostics of industrial systems and machines. The findings will be applied to the oil and gas industry, power generation and other high-technology areas in Russia as well as other countries.
READ MORE: Russian University Launches Supercomputer for 'Conversational' Intelligence
“SPbPU’s Institute of Computer Science and Technology has been conducting research in the field of industrial automation and artificial intelligence for many years – this research paved the way for the establishment of the Industrial Systems of Artificial Intelligence laboratory,” said Andrei Rudskoi, rector of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University and a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
With the help of the Polytechnic Supercomputer Center and the new embedded intelligence platforms provided by Siemens, research on the integration of artificial intelligence and the internet of things will be conducted, Rudskoi said. In addition, he expressed his confidence that the agreement on a strategic partnership with Siemens will give a new impetus to the development of cooperation in other significant areas.
During the opening ceremony, the participants also emphasized that in 2018 and beyond, Siemens will continue investing to provide the SPbPU’s laboratory with the necessary equipment, and will also help to attract industrial contracts.
