On the Friday afternoon of the crisp victory, the meeting of AIRE club #2 was held as an outdoor event in the Tehnopol Science and Business Campus, which, despite the weather, passed under heat lamps, glasses of glög in hand, listening to exciting speeches and getting to know the various parties. Sille Kraam, Vice-Chancellor for Economic Development of the Ministry of Economy and Communications, Sven Illing, Vice-Rector of Entrepreneurship of Tallinn University of Technology, Indrek Orav, member of the board of the research and business campus Tehnopol, Kirke Maar AIRE project manager, from Tallinn University of Technology, Andri Haran, from the Ministry of Economy and Communications spoke for two hours. head of industry and member of the AIRE steering committee, Kersti Kuusksalu, project manager of industrial digitization of the EAS innovation department, Martin Goroško, business development manager of Tehnopol, and lastly Siim Viilup, head of Starship Technologies mechanical engineering and robot infrastructure team. The artificial intelligence and robotics center AIRE (AI & Robotics Estonia) was created to increase the competitiveness of Estonian industrial companies and brings together industrial companies, solution providers, universities and research parks, who all work dedicatedly for one goal. The AIRE Club is a series of events aimed at creating a free and immediate environment for those interested in robotics and artificial intelligence to interact and network. Representatives of research and development institutions, industrial companies, IT and electronics companies, professional associations, support organizations and donors are invited. As AIRE will join a pan-European network in the future, which will include 200+ digital innovation centers of the European Union next year, the AIRE club will also be a physical meeting place where not only local services and success stories will be introduced, but also the activities of other European centers that could benefit Estonian industrial companies. An excellent example of good cooperation between the public sector, universities and companies In the opening remarks, Sille Kraam, Deputy Chancellor of Economic Development of the Ministry of Economy and Communications, said that AIRE is an excellent example of good cooperation between different parties. “I really hope that AIRE will become a strong competence and development center that will help companies take the next step to improve their technological level,” describes Sille. “A lot of work has already been done. I am glad that so many people have gathered here today. It seems to me that more and more is being understood about the possibilities of data and how it is possible to abuse data and thus not only increase the overall efficiency , but also to make better and higher-quality management decisions based on them. I sincerely believe that digitalization is a prerequisite and a good foundation for a more sustainable construction of the company’s business model.” In his speech, Indrek Orav emphasizes the pleasure with which Tehnopol is taking part in the project: “From Tehnopol’s point of view, we are very proud, because the whole topic of AIRE is very important to us. Our goal is to support innovation and technological entrepreneurship that makes the world better, and we see that through such a project we can support precisely those companies that want to grow and develop. I wish that AIRE does well and that the cooperation goes as smoothly in the future!” The size of the team does not determine the size of the acts At the beginning of his speech, Sven Illing mentions the motto of the University of Technology Mente et Manu, which translated into Estonian means “With Mind and Hand”. “When I walked in here, I thought it’s a perfect fit for what AIRE is about – we’re helping businesses be more competitive with artificial intelligence and a robotic arm.” In his presentation at AIRE’s first club in Tartu, Sven cited Google as one example, where teams of three have made world-changing solutions. “Now, looking at the Starship robot at this event, I can confirm that it is also a real example of how here in Estonia we can accomplish great things with a relatively small number of people,” he admits and adds inflammatoryly: “We will continue to do awesome things in Estonia and remember, that these things happen when we know each other and rely on each other.” Long-awaited grants In his presentation, Andri Haran, head of the industry sector of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, spoke about new digital investment support measures with a total amount of 58 million euros that will open in the first quarter of 2022. The main purpose of the measures is to support the automation of companies and the adoption of digital solutions. “The feedback from the industry has been that there are a lot of so-called soft measures, but a concrete opportunity to apply for money with which to implement your investments – at least on this scale, the industry has not had for a long time, and we are working on it.” The main target group of the support is companies in the processing industry, mining industry and logistics, which will be allowed to apply for support of up to 300,000 euros per project during the period 2022-2025. Andri noted four more points as supported activities: Purchase, development and implementation of intangible and tangible fixed assets, digital technologies, robots necessary for automation in the applicant’s supply chain (including the development of licenses and implementation and costs of patents); Organizing the necessary training for the development and implementation of technologies, robots and automation for its employees; Consulting service for the purchase, development and implementation of digital technologies, robots and automation; Remuneration of the employee(s) involved in the development and implementation of technologies, robots and automation and the person(s) working on the basis of the debt law agreement. Kersti Kuusksalu, project manager of the EAS innovation department’s industry digitization, also shared information about other possible grants. “Since every company has its own values ​​and characteristics – their needs are also different,” he described. EAS offers solutions and subsidies based on the individual needs of the entrepreneur. In addition to financial support, the Digitization master class has recently been added to EAS services. This service includes guidance with advice and information on how to carry out digitization. For three months, the company will receive personal guidance, during which trainings will also take place. A new group starts at the beginning of February, and you can apply until the beginning of January. Also, Tööstushäkk is taking place at EAS, which means a two-and-a-half-day event in the form of a hackathon, where entrepreneurs can create their own tailor-made solutions. Registration for this hack is currently open and the hackathon itself will take place in March. A program supporting artificial intelligence-based projects is expected Martin Goroško, business development manager of Tehnopol, introduced the framework program planned in cooperation with MKM and AIRE. The purpose of the yet-to-be-announced program is to start building artificial intelligence-based projects, where on the one hand challenges are identified that are data- and industry-based, and on the other hand, parties are brought together with solution providers, which also supports the implementation of pilot projects and their application to industry. During the break in between, the clubbers could go on another round of snacks and fill up glasses of glög, and then calmly get to know each other. However, there was no time to tell all the stories, because before the end of the evening, another speaker came, who was Siim Viilup from Starship Technologies. Siim Viilup, head of Starship’s mechanical engineering and robot infrastructure team, concluded the AIRE club #2 event with his presentation. In his presentation, Siim introduced the history of Starship, major and minor challenges in reaching the present moment, as well as other exciting things that remained in between. The round of questions that opened up after the presentation seemed endless at times – among other things, the questions “What did the robot look like at the beginning”, “Could it happen that the robot has no distribution? What will happen?” were answered. as well as “Was a robot thanking me for helping me out of the snow or was it a real person?” For the record, this was a real person. Check out the presentations of the event HERE The artificial intelligence and robotics center AIRE (AI & Robotics Estonia) was created to increase the competitiveness of Estonian industrial companies and brings together industrial companies, solution providers, universities and research parks, who all work dedicatedly for one goal.