Elite Czech AI Club: The National Center for Artificial Intelligence Begins Operations

The National Center for Artificial Intelligence (NCUI) officially commenced its operations following a kick-off meeting held on April 22 at the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics, and Cybernetics (CIIRC) at the Czech Technical University in Prague. This six-year grant project, funded by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic under the SIGMA program, received approval after a competitive selection process where only four out of nineteen submitted applications were successful. With a total budget exceeding half a billion crowns, the initiative seeks to consolidate national research capacities into a single platform for applied research and innovation. The consortium is coordinated by the Czech Technical University, specifically the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and CIIRC, and involves six academic institutions alongside more than thirty industrial and government partners. Key participants include Brno University of Technology, Valeo, Siemens, Škoda Auto, Phonexia, and various public utilities and hospitals. The non-profit sector is represented by prg.ai, creating a broad network designed to share know-how and jointly develop software, prototypes, and methodologies rather than working on similar problems in isolation. A primary goal of the NCUI is to facilitate the faster and safer practical implementation of artificial intelligence solutions across sectors such as healthcare, energy, construction, and manufacturing. Jan Černocký, who coordinates the project at the Faculty of Information Technology in Brno, described the center as an elite club connecting top-tier university laboratories with companies intent on intensive AI work. He emphasized that this represents the first real state support for artificial intelligence in the country, aiming to strengthen the influence of scientific findings on political and public decisions. Specific research efforts within the faculty include large AI models for speaker-oriented speech processing, focusing on verification, identification, and deepfake detection in collaboration with partner Phonexia. Additionally, Professor Martin Čadík will lead research in computer vision, primarily estimating camera position and orientation in natural environments. These technical advancements are intended to be integrated with international contacts and projects, such as the European Defence Fund-supported Archer project, to ensure robust and secure technological deployment.