The aim of the project is to support and accompany SMEs in the implementation of AI projects CRAI (Center of Research and development of trustworthy AI applications for mid-sized companies). Based at the German Center for Artificial Intelligence (Deutsches Zentrum für Künstliche Intelligenz, DFKI) in Osnabrück, the project was launched in October and, following an initial phase, is set to open its doors in spring 2025 as Germany’s first real-world laboratory for trustworthy AI in SMEs.
The central task of the CRAI project will be to actively support SMEs in all phases of the implementation of their AI projects and to provide practical support for the integration of AI. The aim of the project is to create an experimental test space in which new technologies, applications and systems can be tested. In addition, a mechanism for regulatory learning is to be created in order to improve the legal framework for the use of AI. As a flagship project for SMEs, CRAI will also promote cooperation between science and practice. Initial implementations will take place in the production, logistics, healthcare and administration sectors. However, the real-world laboratory is also pursuing a cross-innovation approach, i.e. established use cases from one sector (e.g. healthcare) are to be transferred to other sectors in order to create new integrated AI products or AI services.
An important piece of the mosaic is the networking of stakeholders. The initiators of the CRAI project are therefore actively encouraging interested trade associations and companies to keep themselves regularly informed about the progress and results of the real-world laboratory and to participate in the dialog on the future of AI in Germany as an associated partner. The project in Osnabrück will also expand existing offers from the MISSION KI initiative and thus form an elementary component of an initiative with which the federal government aims to create contact points for SMEs throughout Germany.
CRAI is supported by a consortium that includes the DKFI, the city and district of Osnabrück as well as a large number of companies and the State Commissioner for Data Protection (LfD) of Lower Saxony. The project is being funded by the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport (BMDV) and the Lower Saxony Ministry of Economic Affairs, Transport, Building and Digitalization (MWNI) with a total of 8.3 million euros over the project duration of three years.