Technology Briefing: Accelerating Innovation Processes with AI

Innovation is a key driver of competitiveness and economic resilience. As technological developments accelerate, artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how new materials, technologies, products and processes are developed. By enabling data-driven decision-making and autonomous experimentation, AI has the potential to significantly shorten innovation cycles and strengthen high-cost innovation hubs such as Switzerland.

While automation has long supported industrial processes, AI creates new possibilities by processing and connecting large amounts of data, identifying promising solutions and learning from results. Combined with modelling, simulation, experimentation and human expertise, AI can help science and industry to explore new possibilities and focus development efforts.

At the upcoming Technology Briefing, leading researchers from Empa, CSEM and PSI, together with industry experts from ABB and Sulzer, will show how these approaches are already being applied in academic and industrial R&D. The presentations will cover a range of applications, from accelerating the development of advanced thin-film materials and designing low-carbon cement formulations to combining engineering expertise with simulation, data and AI, and using AI to discover alternative materials and optimize industrial processes.

The event will explore how these approaches can help companies navigate increasingly complex development challenges and open up new opportunities for industrial innovation.