Smart Region – new Transferlab in the Eifel region

01/26/2024 | Press release | Kaiserslautern

Flood forecasting, energy management, mobility - the Eifel district, a group of well-known companies and DFKI are setting up a joint transfer lab to research and test the potential uses of artificial intelligence for intelligent smart city/smart region applications. Initial projects will focus on the use of AI for flood forecasting based on sensor data, intelligent energy management for the AI-supported control of e-charging stations and in the context of a "virtual power plant" as well as the optimization of multi-modal mobility.

In the presence of Minister President Malu Dreyer (center), Andreas Dengel (left) and representatives of the Eifel district and partner companies, Minister Daniela Schmitt (seated on the right) and the Chairman of Eifel digital e.V., Jürgen Weiler (seated on the left), sign the state's accession to the association.

Public-private partnership: Ambitious companies, the state and DFKI

In the Transferlab, the DFKI Trier branch team led by Prof. Dr. Ralph Bergmann is working closely with the Eifel district of Bitburg-Prüm and a group of ambitious companies from the region in a public-private partnership (PPP). The companies have joined forces in the "Eifelkreis digital" association, which the state of Rhineland-Palatinate has now joined. The founding members of the association are: Weiler-Bau, Westeifel Werke, Euweco, Zahnen Technik, BIT Control, Kreissparkasse Bitburg-Prüm, Volksbank Eifel, STIHL, Bitburger Braugruppe, Trier Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Kommunale Netze Eifel, LST-Automation, Tesla Automation and the Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm. Further partners are to follow.

Rhineland-Palatinate's Minister President Malu Dreyer emphasized: "Innovation processes are key drivers of economic growth and employment in our state. Artificial intelligence is one of the central social and economic fields of the future, which we as the state government are shaping very actively. Politicians are called upon to shape the framework conditions for the application of AI in such a way that the central foundations of our coexistence, the rule of law, human dignity and social cohesion are preserved. Cooperation between research and industry, as planned here, supports the state government's innovation policy. I wish the Transferlab in Bitburg and everyone involved every success and good ideas."

Daniela Schmitt, Minister of State for Economic Affairs, Transport, Agriculture and Viticulture of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate: "The transfer from research to application often succeeds where professional technology and innovation networks have been formed over the long term. With the DFKI Transferlab, such a network is being created here in the Eifel region, closely linking business and science. Our innovation agency also ensures that it is embedded in the entire innovation ecosystem of the state. The diverse applications of artificial intelligence in particular offer great potential - also for SMEs. The Transferlab makes the findings from DFKI's cutting-edge research accessible to companies in the Eifel region. I am therefore delighted that my ministry will closely support this development as a supporting member of the Eifel digital association."

Prof. Andreas Dengel, Executive Director of DFKI in Kaiserslautern: "We are delighted about the start of this unique cooperation and look forward to jointly researching where and how modern AI tools can help to further develop the Eifel region into a smart region in the coming years and provide meaningful support for the everyday lives of citizens and the attractiveness of the business location. The joint Transferlab is the ideal format for the direct and lasting transfer of knowledge and technology from current AI research into concrete applications."

The Eifel district of Bitburg-Prüm has been part of the federally funded "Smart Cities Model Projects" since 2020. The establishment of the transfer lab together with DFKI and local companies is now the next step in identifying selected fields of application for artificial intelligence and developing concrete solutions. Alongside the close cooperation with DFKI researchers, an AI research lab is being set up on site in Bitburg as a contact point for interested parties and companies.

Successful transfer from the research ecosystem

The Transferlab model is a successful DFKI cooperation concept for effectively and sustainably transferring know-how and technologies from the AI ecosystem to companies and social applications. Employees from partner organizations and companies are integrated into the DFKI research teams. There they work in DFKI's "research ecosystem" and develop concrete solutions and products for the partners in the protected data room. The identification and development of relevant technologies is thus closely interlinked with scientific progress. DFKI already maintains transfer labs with industrial companies from various sectors, such as BASF, Müncher Rück, John Deere, Hitachi, Ricoh, IAV, Sartorius, the Deutsche Bundesbank, as well as with the Rhineland-Palatinate State Criminal Police Office and the Federal Criminal Police Office.