Purdue’s new Institute of Hard AI connects AI with the physical world

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue’s College of Engineering announced the formation of the Institute of Hard AI on Tuesday (June 14) during the 11th annual meeting of the National Academy of Inventors in Phoenix. The collegewide institute positions Purdue as a national leader in artificial intelligence at the interface of the virtual and physical worlds.

To understand the term “hard AI,” think of it as bytes meet atoms. The full power of AI is at the interface between what we code and what we touch.

Intended to become a national leader at this frontier and guided by a top-tier alumni advisory board, the institute will combine research, teaching and commercialization in three areas:

AI by hardware: Future AI applications will place unprecedented demands on computing platforms, requiring advances in function-specific AI hardware to control complex systems and interconnected processes. Autonomous and connected systems, energy generation/distribution, health care and smart agriculture are examples of systems that will require specially designed AI chips. Leveraging Purdue’s unique strength in cognitive computing, the Institute of Hard AI will focus on a unique algorithm-to-hardware codesign approach, addressing challenges at all levels: algorithms, system architecture, circuits and devices.

AI of hard stuff: The location for AI is increasingly dispersed through edge computing, where computation, communication and control all move closer to the end users and are dispersed in a distributed, variable, highly constrained and underorganized computing substrate. This brings new challenges to the design of AI systems, including hardware heterogeneity, robustness and the need for extreme energy efficiency. Purdue has some of the world’s leading experts in edge computing, remote sensing and 5G systems. AI doesn’t just live in the cloud — it will be all around us.

AI for physical things: When AI is used for decisions at the interface of virtual-physical worlds, the criteria for success change. For example, responsiveness and safety matter no less than accuracy and throughput. From autonomous trucks to pharmaceutical manufacturing, from nuclear reactor operation to connected things in digital agriculture, Purdue leads the nation anytime applications touch physical things.

Kaushik Roy, the Edward G. Tiedemann, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, will serve as director of the institute; several associate directors will be named soon.

Roy said, “From smart self-driving cars to smart homes, even smarter manufacturing to smart agriculture, AI systems will profoundly change the way we live by enabling transformative solutions to societal-scale challenges that we face. To bring that future forward, the Institute of Hard AI will coalesce Purdue Engineering’s world-leading strength in hardware design, cognitive computing, learning algorithms and the Internet of Things, shaping bold advances in state-of-the-art AI systems. Our relentless focus will be on real-world impact driven by an aggressive and targeted research road map, unique workforce development and comprehensive partnerships with industry, federal and state government agencies to spur economic activity.”

The institute will be guided by an alumni advisory board that comprises luminaries from industry, including Chris Lister (BSIE ’95), Mike Harris (BSCEE ’91), Dan Rosckes (BSIE ’84) and Ujjwal Singh (BS computer science ’94 and BSEE ’94).

The institute is a one-of-a-kind comprehensive venture with a list of initiatives that includes cutting-edge research and innovation; courses related to hard AI for both industry and academia, including a minor degree in AI for physical applications; a distinguished lecture series; industry partnerships; student-industry networking and career development; and technology commercialization. The effort will also grow to include multiple other departments and colleges on the Purdue campus. 

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to today’s toughest challenges. Ranked in each of the last four years as one of the 10 Most Innovative universities in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at https://stories.purdue.edu.

Media contact: Brian Huchel, bhuchel@purdue.edu

Source: Kaushik Roy, kaushik@purdue.edu