About the IKKI

The Innovation and Competence Center
Artificial Intelligence (IKKI)

With the founding of the Innovation and Competence Center Artificial Intelligence(IKKI), the OTH Amberg-Weiden sets another milestone for knowledge and technology transfer in the Upper Palatinate and beyond.

For years, the department Electrical Engineering, Media and Computer Science as the nucleus for AI expertise at OTH, has not only enormously developed its range of studies in the field of artificial intelligence, but also greatly expanded its cooperations with companies and institutions in the field of Artificial Intelligence and Industry 4.0.

To this end the study programs Artificial Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence international as well as the Master’s programs Artificial Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence for Industrial Applications were introduced, but more AI content is also being taught and practically applied in the study programs Industry-4.0-Informatics, Media Informatics, Electrical and Information Engineering, Applied Research in Engineering Sciences and IT and Automation.

In addition, various approaches and possible applications of artificial intelligence have been and are being implemented in numerous final theses and research and transfer projects with cooperation partners. The transfer of research results and AI competence by the university is of particular importance in order to strengthen the innovative power and competitiveness of the region and, last but not least, to maintain and enhance jobs.

The strategic goal of the Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Competence Center is to bundle and network AI expertise at the university and beyond, to promote transfer to companies in the region, and to strengthen the working and research conditions for a broad base of users in the field of artificial intelligence.

GPU-Labor — GPU computer lab with 32 workstations

The tasks of the Innovation and Competence Center Artificial Intelligence are:

Implementation of information events and network meetings with focus on AI
Initiation and support of cooperations with research institutions and companies
Development of proofs of concepts and demonstrators
Organization of consulting and training on AI topics
Technical support in the acquisition, application, implementation, documentation and publication of results of transfer and research projects in the field of artificial intelligence.
IKKI Incub-AI-tor: Laboratory/office to support student start-up projects in the field of AI with a focus on the technical aspects such as testing innovative AI processes.

State-of-the-art equipment such as a GPU computer lab with 32 workstations, AR/VR lab, MakerLab, IKKI Incub-AI-tor, as well as Digital Model Factory, located in the new "Digital Campus" building (former Grammer administration building right next to the OTH site in Amberg), provide the necessary infrastructure and innovative spirit.

Last but not least, a special raw material for the university is to be tapped through cooperation with companies in the region: Data, for example from sensors, which are produced in large quantities in industry and are essential for practice-oriented AI teaching. This closes the circle: what the university transfers to the region flows back in another way and thus fertilizes the teaching.

In order to strengthen cooperations, OTH Amberg-Weiden is, among other organizations, a member of the cooperation platform KI Campus Ostbayern.

AI expertise

Computer vision, image analysis, classification, object recognition
Autonomous driving
Predictive Maintenance
Embedded Intelligence
Industrial / humanoid / service robotics
Data Analytics, Machine Learning, Deep Learning
Natural language processing, dialog systems, text mining
Knowledge management, semantic (search) technologies
Big Data andCloud Computing
Cybersecurity, quantum computing
and much more.

Background

Over the past two decades, the Upper Palatinate has developed from a former peripheral location to an important economic region with a very high industrial stock in comparison with the Bavarian administrative districts. Value creation in the Upper Palatinate is characterized by future-oriented industries such as automation, robotics, medical technology, logistics and vehicle manufacturing. Both internationally successful companies in industry and logistics as well as a large number of small and medium-sized businesses, which are often "hidden champions" in their field, are located here. The OTH Amberg-Weiden makes a significant contribution to innovation in the region, with the industrially influenced economic structure also reflected in the degree programs offered, with a focus on logistics, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science, economics and medical technology, among others. In addition to cooperations for dual studies (e.g. with Siemens Professional Education/SPE for the bachelor's degree program in Industry 4.0 Informatics), there is also a broad cooperation network in the area of research and technology transfer with regionally based companies from industry and business, other universities as well as research institutions on a national and international level, and partner universities in the region and in Germany and abroad.