Microsoft Research Asia (MSRA) and Orient Overseas Container Line Limited (OOCL) have announced a partnership to apply artificial intelligence (AI) research to improve network operations and achieve efficiencies within the shipping industry.
The collaboration is expected to nurture over 200 AI developers over the next 12 months.
General Manager of Microsoft Hong Kong said: “Microsoft has been committed in providing cutting-edge AI solutions for companies across different industries to help drive digital transformation.
“With our Intelligent Cloud and Intelligent Edge vision, we are partnering with selected top customers worldwide to accelerate the adoption of AI innovations into products and solutions that can be applied in real business contexts.
“The partnership between MSRA and OOCL demonstrates our strong progress in revolutionizing the shipping industry.”
OOCL has fully embraced a hybrid cloud infrastructure with auto-switching and auto-scaling throughout its businesses and machine learning for several years.
For example, OOCL processes and analyzes over 30 million vessel data every month.
By leveraging AI technology and machine learning, the company develops predictive analytics on vessel schedules and berth activities.
Chief Information Officer at OOCL, Steve Sui, said: “With MSRA’s efforts and expertise, we expect to save around US$10 million in operation costs annually by applying the AI research and techniques for optimizing shipping network operations from our most recent 15-week engagement.
“Moving forward, we will embark on an 18-month joint-partnership in research and development to apply deep learning and reinforcement learning in shipping network operations.
“Moreover, MSRA will assist us in training over 200 AI engineers by conducting machine learning and deep learning sessions at the Hong Kong Science Park over the next 12 months.
“We look forward to strengthening our partnership with MSRA to leverage AI research and innovations to drive digital transformation in the shipping industry and to exchange knowledge among our top developers so that we can better address customer needs with advanced technologies and predictive analytics.”
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MSRA is Microsoft’s fundamental and applied research arm in the Asia Pacific region and the leading research community for core AI technologies including machine learning.
It has access to cutting-edge technologies and the best researchers in the world who continue to invent new algorithms and solutions to push the start of the art and to fulfil different customer needs.
OOCL is headquartered in Hong Kong and is one of the world's largest integrated international container transportation and logistics companies, with more than 360 offices in 70 countries.
Linking Asia, Europe, North America, the Mediterranean, the Indian sub-continent, the Middle East and Australia/New Zealand, the company offers transportation services to all major east/west trading economies of the world.
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