California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Technology Innovation Institute (TII) have today announced a global strategic partnership to collaborate on key research priorities. The three-year, multi-million-dollar partnership includes a comprehensive exchange of researchers enabling the partners to conduct interdisciplinary research in the areas of autonomous systems, quantum algorithms, low precision AI, biotechnology, and propulsion systems. The partnership will also focus on sustainable technologies to contribute to the reduction of environmental risks.
The collaboration on autonomous systems topics brings together the expertise in TII’s Autonomous Robotics Research Center (ARRC) and Caltech’s Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies (CAST). The combined team will push the boundaries in autonomous systems, advanced control systems, and high-speed drones.
All research projects under the partnership will be driven by real-world use cases, focused on finding solutions to the challenges of tomorrow, today. The quantum team will target the development and optimized encoding of new quantum algorithms and quantum neural networks, while the artificial intelligence research projects will focus on low precision AI and the emerging topic of developing new neural network models for energy constraint edge devices. The biotech emphasis will be on advancing cell therapy frameworks, and the propulsion experts will collaborate on emission reduction systems.
An important element of the partnership is the training and development of young researchers in the early stages of their careers. From Masters students to Ph.D. graduates, the collaboration will provide countless opportunities for exchange and upskilling as aspiring researchers look to learn from some of the leading pioneers in their fields.
“Since launching CAST in 2017, we’ve pushed the boundaries of research in autonomous systems. Through this partnership with TII, we’re about to push that boundary even further,” says Caltech’s Mory Gharib (PhD ’83), the Booth-Kresa Leadership Chair of CAST and the Hans W. Liepmann Professor of Aeronautics and Medical Engineering, as well as the director of the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories (GALCiT).
The partnership was spearheaded by Caltech’s Anima Anandkumar, Dr. Bren Professor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, and TII’s Dr. Najwa Aaraj, Chief Researcher at the Cryptography Research Center and Acting Chief Researcher of the Autonomous Robotics Research Center. Anandkumar and Aaraj first recognized the potential for collaboration in many areas of science and engineering between the two institutes, with AI and autonomous systems as an initial focus.
Dr. Ray O. Johnson, CEO, Technology Innovation Institute, said: “This partnership is a testament to the incredible work TII has accomplished in the past two years. Caltech is one of the most prestigious universities in the world, and we are delighted to be collaborating with them on such critical research.”
“Caltech is globally renowned for its relentless pursuit of excellence and its first-class research. This mindset is one that we have adopted at TII, so I’m excited to see what the partnership will deliver,” he continued.
The Caltech announcement brings TII’s global research partnerships to a total of 96 agreements in just two years. With nearly 600 researchers in its stable from 71 nationalities, including 144 UAE nationals, the Abu Dhabi-based institute is well on its way to building an innovative R&D ecosystem in the country and putting the UAE on the research map.
