From smart homes to the Internet of things (IoT), the University of Miami Institute for Data Science and Computing (IDSC) will partner with General Electric’s subsidiary GE Global Research to explore collaborative research opportunities throughout the technology sector.

“Our initial areas of collaboration will include smart homes and cities, with an emphasis on healthy living components,” said Nicolas Tsinoremas, PhD, Director of the Institute. “Our experienced faculty will draw on our edge computing resources to examine large-scale datasets, using tools like artificial intelligence to better understand the challenges facing our world today.

Justin John, Technology Director, Controls and Optimization, GE Global Research in New York, recently signed a memorandum of understanding with UM to pursue research in various fields of technology.

Yelena Yesha, PhD, Visiting Distinguished Professor and IDSC Innovation Officer, will lead the UM efforts with Michael Mannino, PhD, IDSC Director of Programs. “We will take a multidisciplinary approach within UM,” she said. “For instance, faculty and students from the School of Architecture will be heavily involved in our studies of smart homes and cities.”

Mannino said IDSC is building industry partnerships that bring together academic research and commercial opportunities in various sectors of technology. The new partnership with GE Global Research will include:

• Additive Manufacturing/3D Printing Advancing the state-of-the-art in additive technologies and systems to digitally create physical objects.
• Artificial Intelligence Enabling the smart Industrial Internet by connecting minds and industrial machines to create intelligent and user-friendly products.
• Biology and Applied Physics Building creative tools and imaging solutions to shape the future of healthcare, biomanufacturing, biotechnology and related industries.
• Future IoT Controls and Optimization Leveraging controls, estimation, optimization, operations research, and risk management to improve IoT.
• Digital technologies Delivering business value with foundational systems and applications that digitally manage critical business data and operations.
• Cybersecurity and Edge Computing Pushing data collection, analytics and computation to the edge to dynamically manage industrial machines securely and safely.

As these collaborative projects move forward, Yesha said IDSC will also test new applications and other tools within the university setting. “We can serve as a test bed for deployment of smart devices using 5G networks and edge computing,” she said. “That can provide an initial proof of concept and accelerate bringing valuable technologies to the global market.”

Story by Richard Westlund

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About the University of Miami Institute for Data Science and Computing

The University of Miami is one of the largest private academic and research institutions in the southeastern United States. The University’s mission is to transform lives through education, research, innovation and service. Drawing on the multidisciplinary resources of the University of Miami, the Miami Institute for Data Science and Computing (IDSC) is dedicated to solving pressing societal challenges by empowering data science research, education, ethics, community engagement and commercial ventures. The institute is organized around research programs that focus on key areas of societal need, including Atmosphere, Ocean and Earth Science, Data Driven Discovery in Biological Sciences and Health Care, and Urban Lab and Smart Cities.  For more information, visit idsc.miami.edu. Follow us on Twitter @UMIDSC