MindLabs Tilburg welcomes Defense Academy as a new partner

By Team IO

The Ministry of Defense joins MindLabs and, therefore, also moves into the Mindlabs building on Tilburg’s Spoorzone, the Central Railroad Area. Professor Roy Lindelauf, affiliated with the Defense Academy, announced this during the official opening of the MindLabs building on Wednesday, Sept. 27. MindLabs focuses on cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence and interactive technology.

MindLabs was founded by Tilburg University, Fontys Hogescholen, ROC Tilburg, and the municipality of Tilburg. There are now 35 affiliated organizations. The concept focuses on cooperation between business and knowledge institutions, from secondary vocational education to scientific research. Together, the partners investigate the possibilities and deployment of technologies such as robotics, serious gaming, VR, and natural language processing in their interaction with human behavior: human-centered AI. In this way, they want to develop new applications that help solve social issues such as shortages in healthcare. The MindLabs building currently houses Fontys School of Journalism, Fontys ICT, Tilburg University, DPG Media (Brabants Dagblad), Onderwijsgroep Tilburg, Tilburg University and Uitgeverij Zwijsen.

Mayor Theo Weterings of Tilburg made no secret of his pride: “That we were able to realize this in our Spoorzone is great. And the Spoorzone in itself is an area with so much dynamism. With so much exchange of knowledge. And to be able to combine precisely this artificial knowledge with everything we already have in terms of human and social science in Tilburg, that’s what’s so special. And we will do that here in a way that is appealing to everyone.”

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Cybersecurity and misinformation

The Ministry of Defense, particularly their Datascience Centre of Excellence, is moving into part of the third floor. The defense employees and other MindLabs partners will explore topics such as cybersecurity and combating misinformation. However, developing algorithms to improve military decision-making is also on the agenda. Roy Lindelauf is the initiator. “We will conduct research here on various topics in the field of AI that are of interest to defense. MindLabs is the ideal partner because it allows us to work closely with other knowledge institutions, such as Cognitive Science & Artificial Intelligence at Tilburg University and Fontys Journalism. This way, we operate in the middle of society. We find that contact important because it allows us to act together on complex issues such as, for example, the ethical side of AI.”

Human avatar

The news was announced during the official opening of MindLabs. After a plenary welcome by Tilburg Mayor Theo Weterings, the 300-plus guests were given a tour of five knowledge stations, which included demonstrations and presentations by researchers, developers, students, companies, and institutions involved in MindLabs. ‘MAI’ did the official opening, an avatar developed especially for MindLabs. MAI is a pilot project of BUas (Breda University of Applied Sciences), Fontys ICT, and their partners and will develop further in the future.

MindLabs is located in the heart of Tilburg’s Railroad Area, north of the city center. The old railroad hall was renovated and expanded with new construction designed by Ector Hoogstad Architects. The steel trusses of Hall 70 have been reused in the new situation and include the central meeting hall of MindLabs.