Innovation i tech High

DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM
learning solutions for German
industrial companies, such as
for the development of selfdriving
cars, highly efficient
speech, image, and video
analyses, for dialog systems
and medical diagnostics;
i.e., for all applications which
require data to be analyzed
in an intelligent manner.
www.twentybn.com
TerraLoupe, Munich
This startup specializes in
the analysis of aerial images
and satellite photos. These
analyses are then used e.g.
by insurance companies or
map providers who require
precise information on the
type of buildings. www.
terraloupe.com
Parlamind, Berlin
The AI application of the
startup analyzes e-mails
and other messages from
customers and provides
service staff with suggested
replies. The information is
based on several million
conversations which were
evaluated using Deep
Learning. Currently, the
system understands more
than 200 different reasons
for establishing contact and
is constantly learning. www.
parlamind.com
Parquery, Zurich
This spin-off from ETH Zurich
develops Smart City Technologies
specifically for traffic
congested (inner) cities.
Smart Parking delivers occupancy
information from parking
lots in real time, which
serves as the basis for optimal
parking administration.
www.parquery.com
Starmind, Küsnacht
Starmind develops selflearning
Deep Learning
systems for companies. It is
a type of central brain of all
employees, which allows for
collective knowledge to be
utilized optimally for questions
and solutions to problems.
The development of Starmind
was based on work done on
virtual brain tissue and selflearning
neural networks.
www.starmind.com
Brief explanation of
terms
Artificial Intelligence (or AI for
short) is an area of computer
science that emphasizes
the creation of intelligent
machines that work and
react like humans. Some
of the activities computers
with artificial intelligence are
designed for include: Speech
recognition.
Artificial neural
networks
A neural network consists
of an interconnected group
of artificial neurons, and it
processes information using
a connectionist approach
to computation. In most
cases an ANN is an adaptive
system that changes its
structure based on external or
internal information that flows
through the network during
the learning phase. Modern
neural networks are non-linear
statistical data modeling tools.
Deep learning
refers to teaching artificial neural
networks to identify patterns in
information, to classify them,
and to categorize them. Every
piece of information and every
decision will then be examined
once again through Deep
Learning. If an assumption
is confirmed, a particular
information link is assigned a
higher level of importance; if it is
revised, it receives a new, less
important link. Over time, this
results in the development of an
increasingly intelligent system,
such as what takes place in
human brains—in ideal cases.
About the Author
Prof. Dr.rer.nat. Leo Brecht is
Executive Director of the Institute
for process and technology
management of the faculty of
economics and mathematics at
the University of Ulm, Germany
and Adjunct Professor at
the University of St. Gallen,
Switzerland. His work focuses
on innovation and technology
management to improve
company performance. He is
founder of several companies
and currently acts as chairman
of ALPORA. ALPORA is an
investment research company
headquartered in Switzerland.
ALPORA invests in most
innovative companies and
develops unique products how
to invest in innovation.
INNOVATIONANDTECH
January | 2018
35