Vale S.A., a Brazilian multinational mining and metals giant, has inaugurated the Vale AI Center. Located at the Tubarão site in Vitória, it will serve all the company’s operations worldwide.
Vale says that the new AI Center is part of its artificial intelligence evolution strategy. Its goal is for the Center to become a hub for the development, monitoring, collaboration, and maintenance of solutions. The AI Center has a team of data engineers, business experts, and scientists.
According to a Vale press release:
“In a totally collaborative way, the AI Center will have a direct and continuous interface with all business areas, always focusing on results through data analysis and enabling process improvements.”
Alexandre Pereira, Executive Director of Business Support, said:
“The goal of the AI Center has never been technology through technology. We must always be focused on results and to achieve this, it is necessary to break barriers in an ongoing process of collaboration, with the technology and business areas being integrated.”
AI Center working on 13 projects
Teams are currently working on thirteen different projects. They are working jointly with Vale’s business areas (Coal, Metals, Base, and Ferrous).
They are also performing studies that will benefit employee health and safety.
What is artificial intelligence?
AI or artificial intelligence refers to software technologies that make machines think like humans. They also make them behave like humans.
Some engineers say that it is only artificial intelligence if it can perform either as well or better than a human. In this context, ‘perform’ refers to human computational capacity, speed, and accuracy.
Vale says the following about AI:
“Artificial Intelligence can be understood as the ability of machines simulating the human decision-making process and performing complex tasks as we do.”
AI Center focus
The AI center will focus on:
– Maintaining assets, from railroad tracks to off-road trucks.
– Improving the management of ore processing.
– Improving the pelletizing plant processes.
– Corporate integrity enhancements.
– Health and safety prevention.
– Improving environmental controls.
Malcolm McRae, who is Head of the AI Center, said:
“We can say that Artificial Intelligence is everywhere and today it is essential for companies. The AI Center is an opportunity, not only for the Vale but for the industry.”
“We are moving towards a transformation journey and we need all the areas involved to make this change in an integrated way. The very methodology we use values the partnership between the areas.”