Hannover Messe 2022: Using the cloud to accelerate computationally intensive processes in research and development projects

Once a prototype has been developed, what usually follows in research and development is a time-consuming testing and analysis phase. Huge amounts of data from different sources flow through complex, repetitive computing processes. The Kaiserslautern-based start-up Aithericon has committed itself to accelerating this phase. The founders are working on a cloud-based platform that consolidates the necessary infrastructure in a central environment and thus automates computer-based research and development processes. The founders will be presenting their project at the Hannover Messe in the Young Tech Enterprise Area (Hall 3, Stand A 20/B 08) from May 30 to 31.

Milan Ender, one of the Aithericon founders, has experienced first-hand how time-consuming data processing is in research projects. The idea for the start-up originated from his work as a research assistant in the magnetism group at Technische Universität Kaiserslautern (TUK). “In our working group, we often use numerical simulations as development tools,” explains the physicist. “Research data in particular is very complex, comes from different sources and is available in many different formats. Development and research processes involve continuous iteration upon results and therefore necessitate consolidating, interpreting and conducting a large amount of computations.
This creates an additional challenge. Across a wide range of projects and over the years, huge amounts of data are generated in institutes or research departments, which can no longer be accurately attributed retrospectively.”

Following his graduation, Milan Ender shifted his scientific focus from research to research infrastructure. According to the founder, what companies have been doing for a long time, namely to centralise their data landscape, will now be made possible for scientific purposes. The idea is based on a cloud platform as an environment for the entire development work including data management in the sense of the “platform-as-a-service” concept. For their specific development project, users can compile the appropriate applications with access protection and link them to a virtual computing assembly line. Users “place” their simulation model, code or programme on this assembly line and the automated computing work can start. Likewise, all input and output data are stored in the associated digital workspace. This ensures traceability, also in the sense of the increasingly demanded thorough and transparent handling of research data.

On this, Milan Ender comments as follows: “We integrate existing open source as well as commercial applications into our platform. Everything is specifically adapted to scientific computing tasks. In addition to the computational tools, AI methods are also available, so that not only analysis processes, but also optimisation processes linked to them are possible.” For example, it is possible to automatically design and improve virtual prototypes in simulations. Such processes require enormous computing capacities, which can be automatically increased by the Aithericon platform. Thus, enabling institutions and companies to dynamically adapt hardware resources to their needs.

The founders will demonstrate how the cloud platform works in detail to interested visitors at the Hannover Messe using a demo access to the live system.

The start-up project Aithericon is funded by an EXIST start-up grant within the framework of the start-up funding programme of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. This programme supports students, graduates and scientists from universities and non-university research institutions who want to realise their start-up idea and implement it in a business plan. The aim of the programme is to transfer research knowledge from the university to the business world.

Moreover, the start-up office of Technische Universität Kaiserslautern and Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences provides advice to the three founders - Milan Ender, Pascal Frey, also a physicist, and the business expert Jan Morbach. Jun.-Prof. Philipp Pirro provides expert support to the start-up team. Milan Ender and Pascal Frey completed their scientific training in their research group under the umbrella of the AG Magnetismus and started work on the cloud platform.

Questions can be directed to:
Milan Ender
Aithericon
Phone: +49 631 205-2382
E-mail: contact@aithericon.com

+++
The appearance of the Kaiserslautern start-ups is coordinated and organized by the project "IDEENWALD-Ökosystem" of Technische Universität Kaiserslautern and Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences . The goal of the project is, among other things, to create a close-knit network of people interested in founding a company, start-ups and established companies, as well as to provide meeting places, workshops and creative spaces. In addition, there are various seminars and workshops for interested parties, such as summer camps, which focus on the methods that can be used to turn one's own ideas into reality. In addition, startup ambassadors help spread the startup spirit on campus. The German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection is funding the project for four years with two million euros.

Contact persons at the fair are: Bernhard Lorig (0631 205-2833; lorig(at)gruendungsbuero.info) and Nina Bernhart (0631 205-5178; bernhart(at)gruendungsbuero.info).

Klaus Dosch from the Department of Technology and Innovation at the TU Kaiserslautern is also the contact person for companies and arranges contacts to science, among other things.
Contact: Klaus Dosch, e-mail: dosch(at)rti.uni-kl.de, tel.: 0631 205-3001