Hewlett Packard and Thai university partnering on AI computing

Thailand’s enthusiasm for technology has led to American firm Hewlett Packard partnering with King Mongkut University of Technology to build a high-performance computer prototype for artificial intelligence (AI).

The new computer will support Thailand’s medical hub and smart city projects in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC). The corridor is a three-province advanced development zone adjacent to Bangkok. It is where high and green technology will be the focus of industry as well as the growing towns and cities in the area.

“The company has invested [millions of dollars] in supporting high-performance computing to process AI use cases that would help drive Thailand 4.0, particularly in the EEC,” said Palasilp Vichivanives, managing director of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) Thailand.

Thailand 4.0 is the country’s long-term strategy to adopt innovation, creativity, research and development to power a green and high-tech economy and society.

The prototype computer will most likely be up and running by year’s end, said Djitt Laowattana, executive advisor of the Eastern Economic Corridor Human Development Center. It would be used in case applications involving AI in medical imaging and X-ray readings to support the medical planned for the EEC.

The country’s spending on enterprise technology is outpacing its overall economic growth, and according to American research firm IDC, the market for computer servers and storage grew 35 percent in the second quarter of this year.

Thailand has also been embracing AI, with imports of robotics and equipment related to AI rising steadily in recent years. It is not unusual to find robotics and automating in factories in far-flung provinces.

King Mongkut University of Technology is Thailand’s leading institute of higher education devoted to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Photo Courtesy of www.bangkokpost.com