Data Analytics & AI

What is Artificial intelligence (AI)?

There are many definitions of what AI is and depending on who you ask and when this definition will vary a lot. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a term that has found its way from science fiction novels and academic institutions to end up in the common main street vocabulary in less than a decade. The explosion of the concept in recent years has been driven by various fantastic achievements within the field of algorithmic development, combined with a steadily growing access to economically tractable computing power. Nowadays the actual meaning of AI is somewhat unclear. For some, it can cover everything from rudimentary methods to classical statistical analysis and beyond, whereas for others it is still considered a rather narrow field at the forefront of academic research.

At AFRY we adopt a business-oriented and quite a liberal point of view on the subject. For us, a good definition of AI should encourage people, even without a technical background, to participate in the general discussions of how to build a better future with this powerful toolset at hand.

We believe AI to be any method that uses historical data to create business value, often through accurate predictions. For instance, it can prove to be a tool for forecasting, optimising or controlling a complicated process. At the core of AI lies data by which the mission is to help us solve both tedious and very complex problems in an intelligent and accurate way.

What are the benefits of AI?

• AI technologies can solve problems that aren’t possible to solve with conventional methods
• It is possible to streamline and automate monotone tasks that in the past needed to be handled by humans
• Systems can be personalised by letting an AI learn how you want to work
• Processes can be predictive instead of reactive thanks to the AI´s ability to forecast future parameters and external circumstances

What does AFRY do within AI?

AFRY AI Lab is one of the largest AI initiatives in the Nordics. We consist of 100+ AI specialists, holding over 30 PhDs, more than 1 000 man-years of experience, and have carried out 100+ successful assignments within the field. What makes our AI Lab unique compared to other initiatives is the wide range of deep domain knowledge, covering big sectors like Infrastructure, Industry, and Energy. We are constantly working in close collaboration with AFRYs 2000 digital specialists and 15 000 technical experts within Infrastructure, Industry, Energy, and Process Industry to achieve the best results possible.

Our competence portfolio is broad, and our expertise lies within:

• Predictive Maintenance
• Digital Twins
• Computer Vision
• Sensor Fusion and Perception
• Forecasting
• Optimization
• Data analytics