Hyderabad: AI Research On to Make On-Device Ubiquitous

 Hyderabad: AI research is being advanced to make on-device AI ubiquitous, by creating AI platform innovations that are fundamental to scaling AI across the industry, said Rajesh Narayanan, VP of Engineering at Qualcomm, at the inaugural edition of the TechForward Research Seminar Series held on Friday evening at Qualcomm's premises in Madhapur.

The technology futures series, jointly run by IIIT Hyderabad, industry partners, and the broader city tech ecosystem, aims to bring together academia and industry to deliberate on emerging technologies. The opening seminar, titled ‘AI on the Edge,’ was chaired by Rajeev Kurundkar of Qualcomm. The event marked the beginning of a series of monthly seminars that include research insights, showcasing the latest research from leading academic institutions, industry reflections, highlighting real-world applications and business innovations, and networking, facilitating collaboration and idea exchange among professionals and leaders. The series targets mid to senior-level techies and leaders from the industry, academia, various research institutions, and startups.

Rajesh Narayanan and Anoop M Namboodiri, Professor at IIIT Hyderabad, were the key speakers. Rajesh Narayanan spoke about enabling AI at the edge, covering AI-based use cases, benefits, Qualcomm's initiatives, AI research for increased power efficiency, the Qualcomm AI Hub, and Generative AI trends and challenges. Professor Anoop M. Namboodiri discussed the vision for AI on the edge, emphasising computer vision innovations that push the edge of AI, including Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), Generative AI, and Advances in Vision allowing AI on the edge.

PJ Narayanan, Director of IIIT Hyderabad, highlighted the significance of this community initiative. "It’s a community initiative anchored by IIIT Hyderabad, probably the first time in India an educational institution has embarked on such an initiative. It is a very unique attempt," he said. He also noted that IIIT Hyderabad is located amidst many IT companies, making it a valuable connection point for both academia and industry.

Shashi Reddy, VP of Engineering at Qualcomm India, expressed pride in hosting the inaugural talk. "Technology is changing so fast. A lot is happening on that front. It is very challenging to keep abreast of the developments. The TechForward, an industry and academia connect initiative, is the need of the hour," he said.

Rajeev Kurundkar remarked that the opening talk on AI on the Edge provided valuable insights from both industry and academic perspectives, helping participants understand where the field currently stands.

The TechForward series will also feature a branded newsletter, TechForward Dispatch, offering monthly updates on research trends in Computer Science and AI, including treatises from research and industry, distinguished talks, and related research works.