The COMET research program of the BMK and BMDW is an ambitious and highly funded measure to strengthen Austria as a location for research and innovation. In 2016, VRVis was one of seven Austrian research companies to be approved by the FFG in an international two-stage peer review process for the K1 Competence Center Program. The funding period covers eight years, with a stop-or-go evaluation after half of the term. VRVis is pleased to have received a positive assessment at this halfway point and thus to have been granted funding for another four years of top-level research in and from Austria.
"We are very proud of the positive decision", says VRVis CEO Gerd Hesina, "the extension of the funding encourages us that we are on the the right track. We would like to thank the FFG, the ministries BMK and BMDW as well as the international jury for this recognition and trust, which confirms our performance and work in top-level research. At this point, I would also like to thank the VRVis team, our employees achieve important things every day". Hesina also takes a look into the future. "Four years in the COMET program give us the necessary security to continue to conduct excellent research and thus position Austria as a key player in the international science and technology landscape".
The core competence of VRVis is the use of the key technologies data analytics and visual computing, which combine the strengths of human perception with the processing power of computers to generate information and images from large and complex data. The focus of VRVis is on the human user, who makes decisions on the basis of tailor-made research solutions ("human in the loop"). This tradition is also continued in the research on artificial intelligence, on which VRVis will increasingly focus in the coming years. "The future lies in human-centered AI," explains Hesina, "i.e. artificial intelligence that places humans at the center and works towards them. This is of great importance for AI-based medical aid systems, for example".
In the network of sponsors of the new COMET period, VRVis can continue to rely on the BMK, BMDW, the province of Styria, Styrian Business Promotion - SFG and the Vienna Business Agency - A Fund of the City of Vienna. The province of Tyrol is also new as a sponsor and partner. The COMET program is managed by the FFG.