100 Top Artificial Intelligence (AI) Companies in 2023

The Promise Of AI For Engineering Leaders

The promise of AI is plain and simple: greater product development efficiency and faster time to market. Products are becoming more complex, yet engineering teams don't have more time. Using historical or current engineering test data to train self-learning models, today's visionary engineering leaders are reducing testing time and simulations for products with even the most intractable physics, increasing competitiveness and speeding time to market. 

The release of ChatGPT has been a quantum shift in the public's perception of what artificial intelligence can do and has sparked a boom in interest. GPT4 can now match human intelligence simply by having trained a neural network of enormous size on an enormous amount of data.

The story that deep learning can outperform other methods and even surpass human intelligence is not new. By training reinforcement learning methods, Google beat the world champion at Go. Later, they used deep learning to understand protein folding, an immensely complicated scientific problem. This last accomplishment is crucial to knowing where AI should be applied in engineering: to solve intractable physics problems.

Most research labs at top universities and leading companies are currently exploring how to solve materials, turbulence, chemical, or other physically intractable problems with AI.

The biggest challenge they must overcome is collecting and using test data. In a recent Forrester survey of engineering leaders, 50% said they do not analyze historical test data, and 54% found recording and storing test data properly for others to use later extremely or very challenging. Looking ahead, the opportunity is to rethink how you are working and understand where and how AI complements or replaces your current tools and workflows.

The same Forrester survey also found that 71% of engineering leaders need to find ways to speed product development to stay competitive, and the majority (67%) also feel pressure to adopt AI. And yet, in the areas where AI technology is being applied, R&D teams are realising incredible innovations in new product development. The study found that those who have adopted AI are more likely to achieve increased revenue, profitability, and competitiveness for their employers.

Let's look at a few examples.

Improving vehicle acoustics with AIKautex-Textron is a top 100 automotive supplier to global OEMs. The Kautex-Textron validation engineering team used AI to enhance vehicle acoustics by solving one of their most complex engineering challenges with fuel 'sloshing' while reducing design iterations, prototyping, and testing costs.

The core of the Kautex engineers' challenge was to reliably understand the relationship between the properties of the fuel tank, the test parameters, and the resulting sloshing noise – an intractable physics procedure typically requiring multiple physical tests with prototype tank shapes filled at differing levels.

Dr. Bernhardt Lüddecke, Global Director of Validation, Kautex-Textron, said: "With the Monolith machine learning method, we solved the challenge and reduced design iteration times and prototyping and testing costs. The software reduces design analysis time from days to minutes with improved accuracy. We are thrilled with the results and confident we have found a way to improve future design solutions."

Leveraging the power of AI to accurately predict sloshing noise generated when a vehicle decelerates, the ground-breaking work opened a world of opportunities for Kautex-Textron engineers to expand the application of AI to solve further engineering challenges in the era of electrification.

Fig 1. Physical test setup for the sloshing (top left), measured acoustic signals (top right), and 3D data (bottom) – all fed into the Monolith platform to solve an intractable physics problem.

Honeywell reduces product development time by 25%The product innovation team at Honeywell is always exploring new methods to design products faster while meeting exceedingly high-quality standards and creating products that customers can trust in times of high energy bills and fluctuating prices. Often, these products, such as smart meters to measure energy consumption, involve highly complex physics, such as gas fluid dynamics, that require extensive simulation and physical testing to understand.

The engineering team at Honeywell collaborated with our engineers to explore how advanced machine learning methods could be used to understand and predict complex product behaviors faster and in extreme operation conditions. Within days of using no-code AI software tailored explicitly to engineering applications, they found new insights that delivered real business value.

Before using AI, Honeywell followed a traditional and familiar development process that involved physically and virtually testing of many different product variables to arrive at a product design as fast as possible that was suitable for manufacture. This process typically takes 18 months to ensure that the calibration error is below the minimum legally required 1%. With AI, they could achieve this 25% faster.

Fig 2: An idealized workflow for a well-understood (linear) problem where time to market and testing is minimized by solving known equations that are based on physical models

Jota Sports cuts car setup time by 50%Race cars are complicated. The biggest area of complexity is the massive amount of data engineers must deal with. For instance, during race weekends, Jota Sports, a British sports car racing team with a history of punching above its weight, produces 7500 data points per second. That's 27 million data points per hour, and races last much more than one hour – Le Mans notably lasts 24.

Le Mans is arguably one of the most elite car races in the world. For a small racing team like Jota, with a limited budget and time to create a car that can compete on this stage, their visionary engineers had to think differently. Using traditional methods to model the car and validate the prototype under every conceivable condition was not only cost-prohibitive but humanly impossible.

By using AI, Jota engineers can better understand and predict the aerodynamics of their cars by building self-learning models. As a result, they have reduced the number of simulations and tests by 50%, cut car time-to-setup in half, and achieved a 66% reduction in overall costs.

Solving highly complex physics problemsThese examples make clear that self-learning models are becoming a standard tool for engineering. As AI becomes a trusted part of the product development process, we expect engineers across all industries to reduce by 30-60% the verification and validation tests that today take weeks or months. Of course, there are areas in which AI is more suited than others; we believe its greatest promise is firmly located in deeply complex engineering problems where the physics is intractable, and the number of parameters is extensive.

As the non-linear, high-dimensional complexity of products in these industries becomes more and more challenging to understand, engineers find themselves in a dilemma: either conducting excessive tests to cover all possible operating conditions or running insufficient tests that risk the omission of critical performance parameters.

AI is already reducing validation tests by up to 60%As data science research continues, new AI capabilities empower engineers to realize even more value. For instance, using robust active learning technology, engineers can now build models inside Monolith that will automatically provide a recommended list, in ranked order, of the critical tests to run and which to skip.

This capability, called the 'next test recommender,' works for any complex system engineers trying to safely explore the design space, such as battery or fuel cell cooling system calibration. In one fuel cell use case, an engineer trying to configure a fan to provide optimal cooling for all driving conditions had a test plan for this highly complex, intractable application that included running a series of 129 tests. When this test plan was inserted into the software, it returned a ranked list of what tests should be carried out first. Out of 129 tests, as shown in Fig 3., the platform recommended the last test – number 129 – should be among the first five to run and that 60 tests are sufficient to characterize the full performance of the fan, a 53% reduction in testing.

Fig 3. Using robust active learning technology, engineers can now build AI models that automatically provide a recommended list, in ranked order, of the tests.

While available, open-source AI methods don't allow an engineer to influence the test plan, a critically unique aspect of the 'next test recommender' technology is that it will enable human-in-the-loop inspection of the selected experiments, granting a domain expert user oversight of the system, combining their expertise and domain knowledge with the power of machine learning without any knowledge of AI or coding.

AI won't replace you; engineers using AI willMachine learning is becoming an increasingly important part of our personal and business lives, either as a conscious decision by the user or subtly through the basic tools we use daily. There's understandable anxiety among knowledge workers around AI, but we see much more upside than potential risk of downside. This technology will foster greater engineering creativity, create many more new jobs, and improve how engineers develop great products.

And we believe by 2030, every engineer will be an AI engineer. These AI engineers will not need to be Python coders or data scientists, just domain experts in their field. On our way to this aspirational goal, we've defined a near-term vision: by 2026, we will empower 100,000 visionary engineers to use machine learning to cut their product development cycle in half and help their employers be more profitable.

Are you one of the hundred thousand?

Department Of Electrical And Microelectronic Engineering

The department of Electrical and Microelectronic Engineering (EME) offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees that combine the rigor of theory with the flexibility of engineering practice. From technology development to technology application, the innovations of electrical and microelectronic engineers are shaping our future.

The department's mission is to establish its electrical and microelectronic engineering programs among the top programs in the world by providing high quality, inclusive education that cultivates intellectual curiosity. Our curricula apply mathematical and scientific foundations to the varied electrical and microelectronic disciplines in order to train high quality, independent thinking engineers and researchers that make measurable impacts on the world. 

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Electrical Engineering 

Electrical engineering is a discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, magnetism, and electromagnetism. The discipline is divided into multiple focus areas, including: Analog and Mixed-Signal Electronics, Electronic Devices and Components, Digital and Computer Systems, Electromagnetics and Waves, Mechatronics, Electrical Power Systems, Telecommunications, Signal Processing, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics. As a result, electrical engineers work in a wide variety of industries and are required to possess skills such as device modeling, circuit design, system architecture, algorithm development, and project management. Electrical engineers intensively use computer assisted design tools and methods, and test equipment.

Microelectronic Engineering 

Microelectronic engineering focuses on the study, design, and fabrication of very small electronic devices and components (micrometer scale or below). These are semiconductor and photonic devices that impact virtually every aspect of human life, from communication, entertainment, and transportation, to health, solid-state lighting, and solar cells. There is an ever-increasing need for talented engineers that not only understand the design of these devices but can direct and optimize their fabrication. Integrated nanoelectronic and microelectronic circuits and sensors drive our global economy, increase our productivity, and help improve our quality of life. 

Accreditation

The BS degrees in electrical engineering and microelectronic engineering are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.Abet.Org, which certifies that they meet the highest quality standards of the corresponding professions and that the graduates are well prepared to enter a global workforce.

For Enrollment and Graduation Data, Program Educational Objectives, and Student Outcomes, please visit the college's Accreditation page.

Re-engineering Engineering For The Age Of AI

Advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), along with other recent developments in technology, are pivotal in designing a resilient future. In a recent discussion, as president of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), I emphasised how engineers em

Engineering, traditionally a bastion of problem-solving and practical application of theoretical knowledge, is experiencing a seismic shift. The current technological era necessitates that engineers extend beyond their specialisations, embracing the rapid advancements in AI, materials science, and life sciences, championing continuous learning and adaptability.

AI is a force-multiplier, intersecting with various scientific domains, profoundly impacting human health and comfort. This intersection is where modern innovation flourishes. However, it also brings new responsibilities for engineers, who must now evolve into storytellers and artists, advocating for their ideas while addressing ethical implications and environmental sustainability. Leadership in this new era demands vision beyond traditional business goals. Leaders must inspire creativity and innovation while acting as change agents in our digital world.

The practical applications of AI are both diverse and impactful. As examples from my own team at Myelin Foundry, AI has enhanced video resolution and night-time video quality, improving streaming experiences, parking assistance, and surveillance applications. In another instance, AI adapted to local needs, like identifying every object on crowded Delhi streets, including cattle. In healthcare, AI's role in predicting chronic diseases through non-invasive methods marks a shift from a reactive to a proactive approach in medicine, potentially revolutionising healthcare.

However, harnessing AI's power requires a strong sense of responsibility. Ethical considerations in AI, focusing on fairness and privacy, are paramount. Contrary to fears of AI-induced job losses, AI is set to create new opportunities, redefine existing roles, and make work more accessible globally.

The concept of resilient futures is central to our discussion. To achieve this, we need to track and understand socio-political and consumer trends and innovate responsibly. The future of engineering and AI lies at the intersection of biology, digital technology, and material science. This convergence is crucial in sustainable innovation.

One ambitious goal I have outlined is the creation of 100 million AI jobs in India, focusing on both rural and urban areas across various sectors. This requires a multifaceted approach involving education, infrastructure, policymaking, and industry partnerships. These jobs need not be full-time and traditional -- they could be for a couple of hours a day or a couple of days a week. The key thing is that the jobs provide meaningful and fair income options.

l→70% in rural areas for data creation and annotation: Establish training centres in rural areas for skills in data annotation, improve internet connectivity, create micro job platforms, and encourage local language projects.

l→20% in urban corporates and start-ups for AI application development: Support the start-up ecosystem, foster corporate partnerships and collaborations, and set up urban innovation hubs.

l→10% in academia, government, and large corporations for AI algorithm development: Invest in R&D within universities, develop ethical AI policies, engage in international collaborations, and provide funding for cutting-edge research.

Cross-cutting strategies include educational reform, establishing regulatory frameworks, increasing public awareness about AI, and ensuring sustainable and inclusive AI development.

In India and globally, we should acknowledge the significant challenges ahead of us:

While AI fosters new job-creation, it risks displacing workers in sectors like manufacturing and healthcare, necessitating strategic retraining and reskilling. AI's limitations in understanding context and making nuanced judgements, especially critical in healthcare, pose reliability concerns. Additionally, AI's environmental impact, due to its high energy consumption, calls for sustainable practices in technology development. Ensuring AI's accessibility and inclusivity for diverse populations is crucial to avoid societal divides. Lastly, the growing global skill gap in AI demands educational integration, vocational training, and international collaboration to foster a workforce adaptable to AI advancements.

As we stand at the threshold of a new era, the intersection of AI, advanced materials, and advanced biology promises a future that is not only technologically advanced but also environmentally sustainable and cantered around the betterment of humanity.

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