From 10 to 12 February 2023, the "AI Challenge Days" hackathon took place, a 40-hour online programming competition organised by the AICommunityOWL. In contrast to the previous year, when the event was held at the SmartFactoryOWL in Lemgo in presence, this year's hackathon was held entirely online. A total of over 70 people from all over the world took part, including participants from India and Singapore.
The task of this year's hackathon was set by Phoenix Contact Electronics GmbH and revolved around the data-based prediction of the energy and nitrogen consumption of a PCB furnace in a PCB manufacturing facility. PCB stands for "Printed Circuit Board". It is an electronic circuit built on a flat sheet of insulating material. PCBs are used in many electronic devices, from simple circuits to complex computer chips. This year's challenge was to fill gaps in the PCB furnace's time series data using AI algorithms. One possible application of the solution would be energy optimisation of the furnace.
This year, the successful team consisted of inIT employees Daniel Antonow, from the "Interconnected Automation Systems" working group (Head: Prof. Henning Trsek), Baris Gün Sürmeli as well as new team member Paul Wunderlich, both from the "Authentication" working group (Head: Prof. Helene Dörksen). The inIT employees were able to contribute their AI knowledge and experience to the solution, and the team once again secured the first place with a prize money of 1000 euros.
The AI Challenge Days provide an excellent opportunity for AI enthusiasts to demonstrate their skills and network with other professionals. "I am very pleased that the inIT team was successful again this year and was able to demonstrate its AI expertise on an international level," says Prof. Henning Trsek, member of inIT board.