SWARM Engineering and Virginia Tech Collaborate to Solve Problems in the Agri-Food Supply Chain

IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SWARM Engineering, a startup that uses next generation cognitive computing to tackle challenges in the agri-food supply chain, announces a research & development collaboration with Virginia Tech. The goal is to tackle real-world optimization problems in the agri-food supply chain, using a unique approach that combines the latest AI and machine learning techniques with operational research, and novel visualization approaches.  This union leverages the high-quality research and world-class talent within Virginia Tech's Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, along with SWARM's pioneering technologies and cloud-based software platform. Virginia Tech's LINK + LICENSE + LAUNCH team facilitated the relationship and assisted with contract details, intellectual property rights, and support needs. 

Virginia Tech researchers led by Dr. Ran Jin, Associate Professor and Director of Laboratory of Data Science and Visualization at the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, will team up with SWARM to develop innovative ways to optimize key processes repeatedly used in the agri-food supply chain, with a particular focus on how to manage and visualize multiple-objective optimizations. These types of optimizations are often highly complex to both model and solve, and frequently combine several functional areas of a value chain in a single process. Solving this category of problems can deliver significant efficiency benefits in the cost of food production and transportation, positively impacting sustainability. The research project will have the potential to expand into several key areas for the University and SWARM.

"The Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering is committed to continued advancement on the forefront of science and technology. This collaboration with SWARM will expand our innovations in the cognitive computing space," Dr. Jin said. "Our current projects explore areas at the intersection of AI and machine learning applied to State-of-the-Art Optimization and Problem Formulation."

"We're thrilled to launch this project with Dr. Jin and his team at Virginia Tech. The quality of the University's research and their ability to attract world-class students, faculty, and staff to work on some of the most cutting-edge science, makes this collaboration a great opportunity to jointly develop advanced AI models. SWARM is excited to work on technologies and new approaches that will help democratize AI and Operational Research, making the latest scientific advances available to people running agri-food businesses, in an easy-to-consume way," Anthony Howcroft, SWARM CEO said.

About SWARM Engineering:
SWARM is a Software-as-a-Service platform that uses next generation cognitive computing to tackle challenges in the agri-food supply chain to save costs, reduce waste, and deliver environmental benefits. The SWARM platform is structured around a multi-agent approach which utilizes a curated market of algorithms to transform key processes such as demand/supply planning, optimizing yield, inbound and outbound logistics, or pricing optimization. SWARM provides an easy way for business users to define problems, and rapidly match them to advanced solutions without any software coding, knowledge of advanced AI, or machine learning. SWARM is democratizing AI for the agri-food supply chain.

About Virginia Tech:
Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking a hands-on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to be leaders and problem-solvers. A comprehensive land-grant institution that enhances the quality of life in Virginia and throughout the world, Virginia Tech is an inclusive community dedicated to knowledge, discovery, and creativity. The university offers more than 280-degree programs to a diverse enrollment of more than 37,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in eight undergraduate colleges, a school of medicine, a veterinary medicine college, Graduate School, and Honors College. The university has a significant presence internationally and across Virginia, including the Innovation Campus in Northern Virginia; the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke; sites in Newport News and Richmond; and numerous Extension offices and research centers. A leading global research institution, Virginia Tech conducts more than $550 million in research annually.

LINK+LICENSE+LAUNCH is a team of Virginia Tech professionals dedicated to all aspects of corporate partnerships, from research collaborations to corporate giving, technology commercialization, and start-ups.

Media Contact:
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SOURCE SWARM Engineering