Joint research and valorization program combining AI benefits with human knowledge

The AI (Artificial Intelligence) PLANNER OF THE FUTURE ambitious research program focusses on the increasing intertwining of technology and human aspects in the context of AI planning for supply chains and logistics. The European Supply Chain Forum (ESCF), the department Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences (IE&IS), and the Eindhoven Artificial Intelligence Systems Institute (EAISI) signed a long-term collaboration agreement.

Why combine AI with human weakness?

Scientific program leader Tom van Woensel: “The proposition that people only add errors is false. One needs to identify when people make predictable mistakes, and when they perform predictably better than purely data-driven models”. We aim to leverage the AI benefits without completely replacing the essential element of knowledgeable human beings. The AI PLANNER OF THE FUTURE program considers the explicit intertwining of technical and human aspects in the context of AI planning for supply chains and logistics, considering all relevant performance indicators (people, profit, and the planet). This necessitates knowledge from a multi-disciplinary point of view but also challenges the current AI research domain. Explainable AI, trustable AI, ethics, and the needed algorithms need to be generated or adapted to the planning domain, applied in a supply chain and logistics setting.

Experts from practice and academia

Van Woensel: “The AI planner of the future program needs a broad range of research fields and a rich set of involved companies. We have both! We combine the extensive knowledge of researchers from all multi-disciplinary IE&IS domains and the real-life living labs of European Supply Chain Forum companies from diverse industries. All industries are involved: fast-moving consumer goods, omnichannel retailing, last-mile logistics, services, health, transport and mobility, high-tech industries, etc.”

Ambitious program

The research program is a unique research and valorization network. It combines 25 Artificial Intelligence researchers, 10 Ph.D. students, and over 50 Bachelor and Master students, for five years (2021-2026). This program is hosted by the TU/e-based Department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences. It is supported by the European Supply Chain Forum, the Department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences, the Eindhoven Artificial Intelligence Systems Institute (EAISI), and Logistics Community Brabant.

Contact information: Prof.dr. Tom Van Woensel, Department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences, Eindhoven University of Technology, +31 40 247 5017, t.v.woensel@tue.nl, https://www.tomvanwoensel.com