Microsoft facility in Germany adds to the company’s IoT labs in the U.S. and China.
Microsoft announced it will this month inaugurate an internet of things-focused AI Insider Lab in Munich, Germany. The IoT artificial intelligence lab is set to connect technology hubs and capital cities across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The facility is set to have specialists in areas such as sensor hardware, machine learning, artificial intelligence and cloud computing, the company said. It’s also set to offer 24/7 secure onsite access to users, and will be split up into separate, functional sections, including private office space for four customer groups for idea generation, designing and problem solving.
Companies will be able to use the Munich lab at no cost, with full access to Microsoft technology, machine learning, AI and Azure cloud experts. Lab stints are set to run between one and three weeks, allowing users to refine their product architecture, unblock technical issues and build the skills to create an end-to-end IoT solution, Microsoft said.
Microsoft has opened similar facilities in Redmond, Washington, and Shenzhen, China.
Microsoft’s IoT and AI Insider Labs are designed to allow users to bring early stage projects for rapid design, prototyping and testing, the company added. Before companies get to work in the lab, Microsoft engineers sit down with them to better understand their goals, problems and product architectures.
Microsoft also announced Cisco Systems’ full IoT portfolio will be available in Microsoft labs.
“Customers can get a first-hand experience of the combined power of Cisco IoT and Microsoft Azure IoT platform to develop innovative use cases in the IoT Insider lab,” explained Vikas Butaney, GM for Cisco IoT Connectivity, in a statement. “Customers can now securely connect devices, use intelligence at the edge and with Azure IoT achieve their business outcomes.”
Microsoft partner OPC Foundation claims to have also worked closely with the Insider Lab to bring open source-based technology to customers.
“Microsoft’s Insider Lab in Munich provides customers with various technologies and technical experience to help connect and digitize their businesses,” said OPC Foundation VP Stefan Hoppe, in a statement. “Microsoft is the strongest open source contributor for OPC Unified Architecture, which enables industrial compatibility. Microsoft’s open source integration of the OPC UA code with Microsoft Azure IoT allows companies to bring millions of devices and apps to the public cloud and manage them with one single application, regardless of what operating system they’re running.”
