Innovation

Do you know the public / private financing options for R&D in Chile?

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¿Conoces las opciones de financiamiento público/privado para I+D?
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Do you know the public / private financing options for R&D in Chile?

Source: CIDIF 

Among the institutions that seek to support innovative solutions we can name:

  • CORFO: The largest institution to find financing for national projects. Among the funds we can mention the Crea y Valida, to help carry out innovative products or services with a co-financing of up to 150 million pesos, and the Flexible Assignment Seed Subsidy (SSAF), which is mainly oriented to startups.
  • Sercotec: The Technical Cooperation Service is a private law corporation, dependent on the Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism, dedicated to support micro and small businesses and entrepreneurs in the country. If you have a project that is just starting, the recommended fund is Capital Seed Emprende. If your project is already in advanced stages, you can apply for the Grow subsidy.
  • FIA (Foundation for Agricultural Innovation): This organization seeks to promote the development of enterprises in the area of irrigation and agricultural efficiency. Offers subsidies for young entrepreneurs that contribute ideas to the national agriculture.
    ANID: By 2020 it was decided that scientific projects will be financed by ANID, instead of CONICYT. Among the notable funds is the IDeA I + D + i, aimed at non-profit legal entities.
  • COPEC UC: This Foundation seeks to unite industry and academia with the purpose of promoting R&D to innovate mainly in the natural resource sectors. The Regular R + D to Innovate Contest can subsidize up to 4000 UF and is aimed at individuals, companies, universities and research centers.
  • StartUp Chile: This is a business accelerator that has driven almost 2,000 startups today. It has free funds of up to 50 million pesos for projects that are just emerging (Seed) or that have already been validated (Bridge).

Open innovation funds are another way to acquire financing. This is a model of linking with the needs of companies in an efficient, agile and low-cost way. ChileGlobal Ventures (Fundación Chile) develops open innovation challenges with companies and organizations. ImagineLab, Microsoft’s incubator and accelerator, also offers open innovation opportunities throughout the year.

At CIDIF we can help you formulate, apply and offer technological support in projects for the financing sources you need. Feel free to contact us for help.

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Do you know the benefits of the R&D Law?

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¿Conoces los beneficios de la Ley I+D?
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Do you know the benefits of the R&D Law?

Source: CIDIF 

The Research and Development (R&D) Law aims to contribute to improving the competitive capacity of Chilean companies, by establishing a tax incentive for investment in R&D, allowing them to reduce the first category tax to 52.55 % of resources allocated to Research and Development (R&D) activities.

R&D is understood as those activities that seek to generate new technological knowledge (Research) or the application of existing research knowledge to improve the processes or products of a company (Development).

The Law is flexible, in the sense that R&D expenses can be made by the company itself or by hiring third parties. In addition, it is aimed at companies of all sizes, sectors and seniority.

Since the Law came out in 2012, more than 400 companies have applied for the R&D Law in order to subsidize their innovation activities.

In order to access the R&D Law, it is necessary to complete an online application. There, CORFO will verify that the activities budget is in accordance with the definition of R&D activities and that the costs are consistent with market conditions.

At CIDIF we can help you formulate, apply and offer technological support in projects for the financing sources you need. Feel free to contact us for help.

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The Power of Prediction in Industry​

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Entrada blog
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The Power of Prediction in Industry

by Adolfo Navarro Mena

Questions to be resolved:

  • What are predictive algorithms?
  • What is possible to predict through them?
  • How does that impact the smooth running of the industry?
  • What technologies has Forcast developed in this area?

Introduction

What would have been the fate of Rose and Jack if the Titanic technical team had had a modern system to predict the appearance of icebergs? We will never know, but what we are sure of is that with a better predictability the captain could have made a faster and more assertive decision, favoring the protagonists in a better way.

The previous example makes us reflect on the way our decisions impact; But, what would it be like if we had more tools to know what the future will be like? Probably centuries ago the prediction was something associated with the occult or esotericism, but with the passage of time the prediction has become something more common and accessible than many believe. And by common, we do not mean the Octopus Paul, who “supposedly” had the ability to guess the outcome of football matches during the 2010 World Cup, is somewhat more complex and is related to the new technological capabilities of the 4th industrial Revolution.

What is Data Processing?

Data mining, also called knowledge discovery in databases, in computer science, is the process of discovering patterns in large volumes of data. The field combines statistical tools and artificial intelligence (such as neural networks and machine learning) with database congestion to analyze large digital collections, known as a data set.

Source: Enciclopedia Británica, 2020. 

Data determines our decisions

“We know that data is the new oil,” says Fernando Castillo, Forcast’s operations manager; However, not all the information produced by a company is in good condition to be used or to deliver positive results, says the expert; But, thanks to the new capabilities of the various algorithms coming from computer engineering, today industrial processes can be carried out with a greater number of advantages in the face of the adversities of large-scale production.

Through what technologies is the above possible?

The machinery used for mining, agriculture, or other industries produces enormous volumes of information full of relationships that multiply and extend in various directions. Something that, according to Fernando Castillo, is difficult to be analyzed by human beings since it would take too long and, in most cases, it would be impossible to carry out. However, today we have various computer systems that are highly capable of using all that information produced and giving new answers to operators to make intelligent decisions for the benefit of a company. It is what is known as neural networks, the ones that even have memory.

Fernando Castillo (COO Forcast.)

“There are techniques that can focus on predicting anomalies, others on making more complex classifications that directly show production errors. For example, if an engine gets very hot in certain cycles, it is possible to preempt a failure that causes production to stop, ”says Fernando Castillo.

This is possible since we work with algorithms and time series that allow us to evaluate the past and present behavior of the machine to know during production what problems the company will eventually deal with.

“Every time new and better learning architectures are born and with that we are modeling more precisely”, says Fernando Castillo.

Regarding its applications, the COO of Forcast indicates that its scope is very wide, “all industries that have machinery can benefit from predictive algorithms”. This is the case of the bolts used in the structure of SAG mills for mining. Forcast developed and applied a system capable of predicting failure of these metal parts based on their performance history, what does this mean?

Fernando Castillo says that if the bolts of this mining machinery fail, this may mean that a mill does not operate for two full days. With a predictive system, you can know when the best time to do maintenance will be and stopping the operation of the mill is reduced to, for example, two hours. In this way, the company saves millions of pesos in loss.

On the other hand, a greater optimization of resources is also achieved. This is the case of solar energy, which decreases the quality of its energy production due to the weakening of the panels. With predictive algorithms it is not only possible to predict failures but also strategic decisions can be made. For example, postpone the repair of a panel if it still does not have a decisive influence on production and save on emergency maintenance that are much more expensive than scheduled.

Taking the leap towards digital transformation in the industry

For Fernando, all these opportunities are located in the field of digital transformation that the world is experiencing. The possibilities are endless and, in his own words, it is essential that everyone explores how companies can benefit by making use of these technologies and improving the ability to make smart and wise decisions.

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Exporting #MadeInChile technology to global innovation ecosystems.

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Exportando tecnología
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Exporting #MadeInChile technology to global innovation ecosystems.

by Adolfo Navarro

Münich was the destination chosen to carry out the third version of the ProChileInnovation Summit, an event organized by ProChile in alliance with the Federated State of Bavaria in Germany, and the accelerator WERK1. The instance seeks to insert SMEs and national entrepreneurs in the main innovation ecosystems of the world to promote other economic sectors of the country.

Marcela Zúñiga is an engineer with studies in process optimization, continuous improvement, project manager, among others, carried out in various countries around the world such as Brazil, Japan and Germany and with extensive experience in international business development in China, Slovakia, Spain, England . India, Latin America, and more. Today she represents Forcast as Country Manager and was in charge of traveling to Germany since the company was selected to participate in the ProChile Innovation Summit 2019.

During the event, the Forcast Country Manager was able to meet with Chilean businessmen seeking to generate business in that country and with various representatives of business accelerators and German companies interested in hiring Chilean companies, “that was mainly the focus of the event, where we they talked about the real requirements regarding technological services and software development ”. In addition, the delegation in which Marcela participated had the opportunity to meet the offices of prestigious companies such as Microsoft and BMW.

The event was attended by prominent representatives of the public and private sectors, among them, the Chilean Ambassador to Germany, Cecilia Mackenna; the Director General of ProChile, Jorge O’Ryan, the Vice Director General of the Ministry of Economy, Regional Development and Energy of the State of Bavaria, Ulrike Wolf; the Director of the International Department of the Bavarian Ministry of Economy, Energy and Regional Development, Markus Wittmann.

Marcela Zúñiga participated as a speaker in one of the panels of the workshop organized by ProChile, where various experiences were exchanged, “the perception of what should and should not be done was shared, in addition to providing recommendations and experiences.”

The expert points out that after a trip to the Germanic country in the middle of this year, a series of opportunities have been identified in Munich, “the main German brands and largest companies are there (…) The most serious businesses, with more support, or the most important of this line (IT services and software) are developed in Munich. In addition, it serves as a platform for nearby countries like Switzerland, which are also high consumers of these services ”.

The space granted by this Summit, as Marcela tells us, was very valuable both for its official agenda and that developed by Forcast in parallel. To review the full event program, click here

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The new revolution of Artificial Intelligence in Digital Marketing​

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AIDigitalMarketing
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The new revolution of Artificial Intelligence in Digital Marketing

One of the most developed areas within Smart Marketing is the analysis of BigData from machine learning algorithms (Machine Learning). Making use of the immense data repository in the cloud, it is possible to segment and characterize users to make personalized recommendations at the right place and time.

Another area of application of AI in Marketing is advertising testing, with the purpose of measuring the level of impact or effectiveness that it has on the user. A widely used technology here is Biometric Marketing, which basically consists of monitoring the signals of the human body when faced with a certain stimulus. For example, it is possible to follow the path of the human eye and identify the residence time in a particular image.

Customer Service and Retention is another area where Artificial Intelligence will play an important role in the not too distant future. There are already companies that are implementing bots with Artificial Intelligence in order to establish direct communication with the user and offer them personalized options. Digital employees will allow people in the future to focus on what really matters, such as establishing strong and lasting relationships with customers.

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Digital transformation index in Chile: How well are we doing?

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AIEngineer
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Digital transformation index in Chile: How well are we doing?

Source: CORFO

According to a study led by CORFO, Chile obtained 43 points on a scale from 0 to 100, known as the Digital Transformation Index, going from “Beginner to Digital Intermediate”. The study considered 8 sectors, eight sectors (commerce, food industry, productive industry, construction, communications, services, health, public administration and basic services) and a total of 465 companies.

The study concluded that “the Communications, Health and Services sectors lead the Digital Transformation, while those in the rear positions are the Public Administration and Construction, this last mentioned being the one that registers the lowest level of maturity”.

The components that the study considered are:

  • Leadership towards digital.
  • Vision and digitization strategy.
  • Digitization of processes and decision making.
  • Forms of work, people and digital culture.
  • Technology, data management and digital tools.

The dimension “Forms of work, people and culture” is the one with the highest level of evolution, which indicates that culture allows a transformation to an Intermediate Digital level, from then on culture can be a brake on transformation if it does not evolve along with the other dimensions.

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The birth of Smart Cities

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AISmartCities
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The birth of Smart Cities

Source: CIDIF

Increasingly, city administrations are turning to specialized technologies to attack social, ecological and economic problems. The incipient concept of SmartCity seeks to promote the inclusion of sensors and Big Data through what is known as the Internet Of Things (IoT). The ability to collect information in real time provides a better understanding of how cities evolve, adapt and respond to various conditions.

The areas where the SmartCity concept can be applied are varied. These include government, the economy, the environment, mobility, infrastructure, education and health.

An application with a lot of development within Smart Cities is that of image processing (Computer Vision), which has the purpose of identifying millions of simultaneous events within the urban sphere, such as people, cars, public workers, garbage, accidents , fires and natural disasters. This not only makes it possible to monitor the health of cities in real time, but also to help decision-making by organizations for the public administration.

Although Artificial Intelligence has been used extensively to attack problems of a technological nature, its potential to also contribute in human dimensions, such as Resilience, Security and Sustainability, cannot be set aside.

With the appearance of Covid-2019 we have been able to observe how the so-called Smart Cities have been able to combat the advance of the pandemic. In China, a series of measures have been deployed to control the spread of the virus that are based on the use of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data. The measures range from patrol robots that detect the use of masks in public places to infrared thermometers installed in strategic areas that can measure the temperature of ten people at a time. In South Korea, one of the most acclaimed countries for crisis management, an online coronavirus monitoring system was launched that monitors the behavior of infected patients through the use of surveillance cameras and transaction records based on credit cards. credit.

The use of information within the sphere of SmartCities has opened a debate regarding data privacy and security. The recent appearance of BlockChain technologies seeks to guarantee the transparency and security of the processes through the use of an open and transversal platform. On the other hand, it is also necessary for intelligent systems to work hand in hand with laws to protect privacy and human rights. What do you think?.

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Artificial Intelligence for the world of Medicine

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IAenlaMedicina
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Artificial Intelligence for the world of Medicine

Source: CIDIF

The areas where Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be applied in medicine are wide, ranging from robotic consulting physicians to diagnostic systems using image processing or Computer Vision.

It is said that Medical Artificial Intelligence allows the development of the well-known 4Ps of medicine (Prediction, Prevention, Personalization and Participation) and therefore has the ability to grant greater autonomy to patients.

One field where work with AI has recently started is Gastroenterology. This discipline normally presents a certain difficulty and complexity in the diagnosis, which is why it benefits from the use of Deep Learning algorithms and Neural Network Convolutions to detect abnormal structures, such as colon polyps or gastric cancer.

Another example of the application of AI is found in the diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases. The pharmaceutical company Bayer has teamed up with technology partners to determine the diagnosis of an individual through data on symptoms, causes, test results and images, and in turn, create new drugs through the use of Machine Learning techniques.

Finally, the use of Artificial Intelligence in the planning and monitoring of a surgical intervention is growing. Surgical robots may be able to analyze a large amount of data prior to the operation and guide the surgeon during the intervention in order to favor decision-making that results in a shorter patient stay.

One of the great barriers to the adoption of AI in medicine is the fear of dehumanization. This is largely due to the administrative burden imposed on doctors. However, modern technologies such as ACI and Natural Language Processing seek to solve the administrative burden issue and help doctors focus exclusively on patients.

Although there is a latent fear that AI could replace doctors in the future, the general opinion is that it is best to consider it as a tool with the potential to complement the intelligence of the specialist. What do you think?

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How Artificial Intelligence will transform the Renewable Energy Industry

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IAEnergíasRenovables
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How Artificial Intelligence will transform the Renewable Energy Industry

Source: El Periódico de la Energía

The consultancy DNV GL has published its latest document “Making renewable energies smarter: benefits, risks and future of artificial intelligence in solar and wind energy”, in which it predicts a growing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), for which it foresees a $ 3 trillion market by 2024, across the industry, in which it analyzes its current and future potential to accelerate processes in multiple areas of renewable energy development.

The report focuses on the downstream sector and notes that wind and solar plants have already benefited from the widespread development of sensor technology and data analytics. “We look forward to the installation of more sensors, the growth of easier-to-use machine learning tools, and the continued expansion of data analysis, processing and analytics capabilities to create new operational efficiencies,” said Lucy Craig, Director of Technology and Innovation at DNV GL.

The paper expects solar and wind power to further harness the benefits of artificial intelligence in the areas of inspection and troubleshooting, where “autonomous drones with real-time AI support analytics” and “crawling robots that can get close to the surface of a structure”. Ultrasonic transmission, which can be used to penetrate structures and reveal material flaws, will pay off.

Planning and due diligence is another area that DNV GL says can benefit from the increased use of AI: “planning and analysis that today can require many human hours and thousands of documents can be greatly reduced in the future and even improved” .

DNV GL even speaks of a future in which the construction of wind and solar plants will be fully automated and carried out by ‘autonomous driving robots, which in the future may build entire terrestrial or solar wind farms: parts of a wind turbine or solar panels are transported from the factory by autonomous trucks, unloaded by another set of robots, attached to the foundations that other robots have excavated and filled, and assembled by a final set of robots and drones ”.

Despite all this potential, DNV GL points out the risks of such approaches and the danger of relying too heavily on artificial intelligence rather than the deep insights needed to manage such a system. “For the majority of participants in the renewable energy industry,” states the DNV GL press release, “building stable, progressive and reliable artificial intelligence systems requires knowledge and data sets from many different projects.”

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AgroTech: Artificial Intelligence to improve agriculture

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AIAgroTech
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AgroTech: Artificial Intelligence to improve agriculture

Source: CIDIF

Precision agriculture has been one of the areas that has benefited the most in recent years with the use of Artificial Intelligence. According to the Huerta Digital (https://lahuertadigital.es/agtech-tendences/), among the main trends within the world of Smart Agriculture can be named remote monitoring of crops, robotics and agricultural automation and the area of ​​research and development in genetics and biotechnology.

Within remote crop monitoring, one of AgTech’s most recent forays is the analysis and processing from satellite images. This technology has the potential to monitor droughts and predict harvests in real time over large areas.

Another topic in full development within agricultural monitoring is how to achieve effective control of pests, diseases and other risk factors for Agro. The FuturCrop company implements technologies for the automatic detection of larvae and has declared that its initiative allows a reduction of 30-50% in the use of phytosanitary products in horticultural and fruit trees.

Regarding robotics and automation in agriculture, there are different types of robots for each productive stage, ranging from drones to robotic arms specialized in the harvest of fruits and vegetables.

In short, Artificial Intelligence promises to increase productivity in the agricultural sector by allowing the business to be managed more profitably. In periods of water deficit, such as the one that has plagued a large part of Latin America in recent years, it is essential to have technologies that allow optimizing and increasing the response capacity of this industry.

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