100 days can pass quite fast, especially if you are in the program of Startup Autobahn! We, Neohelden, are celebrating our graduation from program 6 on the EXPO Day of Startup Autobahn powered by plug and play today.
Startup Autobahn EXPO Day 2019: What’s that?
Startup Autobahn is one of the most prestigious startup-programs in Germany. Hence, we are a little proud that we are part of this renowned community and – from today onwards – a Startup Autobahn alumni. But what would a graduation party be without our friends and partners? We were especially pleased that our friends from Gebrüder Weiss – Andreas Pichler, Matthias Meidl and Thomas Mazzurana – accepted our invitation and participated in the Startup Autobahn’s EXPO Day. In our 100 days with Startup Autobahn, we implemented a pilot project with Mercedes-Benz / developers.
Our pilot project with Daimler Mercedes-Benz / developers
Starting 2020, an EU directive requires “OEMs” (i.e. manufacturers of cars) to also enable independent Roadside Assistance Providers to access their vehicles’ error logs “over the air”. Doing so, it shall be possible to carry out preliminary vehicle analysis before the vehicle enters the workshop.
Our use case with Mercedes-Benz / developers
To do so, Mercedes-Benz / developers are developing a Remote Diagnostic Support API, which makes said data available. This is where our AI-assistant platform comes into play:
- Neo will be available to the end user or owner of the car through an app and support him with questions about the vehicle. In case of problems, Neo can assist, help and read any error codes that occurred.
- The app is not offered by Mercedes, but by a “Roadside Assistance Provider”. Such a provider could be an automobile club or an independent workshop.
- If users have an issue with their car, they can use Neo to describe their problem. Neo detects said problem and reads the vehicle error codes, if the user gives consent. Neo sends this request to the responsible Roadside Assistance Provider.
- Service employees of the Roadside Assistance Provider can immediately analyze the problem and give feedback directly to the user: Can the user continue to drive? Or does the car have to come to an immediate stop?
Today, we were able to present the use case developed in the pilot project at EXPO Day and demonstrate how easy it is to integrate third-party systems – and even vehicle data – with Neo. At our booth we exchanged ideas and discussed opportunities with exciting companies and startups. Quick side note: On the last EXPO day, we were only guests and a team of5 people in total; this time we joined the EXPO Day as alumni and were represented by 5 of our 11 Neohelden.
Neohelden booth on the Startup Autobahn EXPO Day
Everything AI: What does the enterprise world of the future look like?
Our CXO Philipp participated on stage in a panel and pitched our Neo Enterprise Assistant Platform.
Panel on “Artificial Everything?”
The key-question of the discussion led by Martin Wahl (Daimler) was “Artificial everything? The future of business interaction”. Together with David Alain Bloch (CEO Legartis), Sascha Poggemann (COO & Founder of Cognigy), Adam Friedmann (Product Owner at passage.ai) and Frank Feulner (AX Semantics), Philipp discussed the future of AI in business interactions. Among other things, the (legitimate) question was raised as to whether people and their work will be impacted by machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Will AI take over my job?
When asked if we, as humans, have to worry about machines or artificial intelligence taking our jobs at some point, Philipp answered:
“I think that we’ve seen some enormous progress when it comes to automating mundane tasks and repetitive work, and eventually that might result in a change of the work we do and what we work on; but then again, when it comes to value creation, creativity and complex tasks, or jobs that rely on relationships and trust, all a system can do is support this type of work, but won’t take out the human in the equation in the foreseeable future.”
The other panel participants agreed: AI will make it easier for us, for example, to read thick contracts and automate repetitive work processes – there’s so much untapped potential when it comes to AI supporting us in our daily work, so that we can focus on work that matters to us..
In the “Ländle”, but international
On EXPO Day, you will not only meet local companies and startups, but also have the opportunity to talk with founders and corporates from Brazil, Belgium, and San Francisco.
100 days – and now? The Startup Autobahn community stays connected
Just because the program is over, does not mean that we are no longer part of Startup Autobahn. The connections made remain – and that is crucial and precious in (startup)life. This alone shows that today, about 1,400 participants took part in the EXPO Day, including several startup alumni.
In September, we will see our friends from Startup Autobahn again: Startup Autobahn is the official partner of our first event, which we host together with Technologiefabrik Karlsruhe: The “Zukunftstüftler 2019”, an event for startups, corporates and scientists (tickets available here)!
Thank you!
We would like to once again express our gratitude to the entire Startup Autobahn Plug and Play Team, our partners from Mercedes-Benz /developers and all the friends who have travelled to EXPO Day in Stuttgart. We are looking forward to the journey ahead with Startup Autobahn – now as alumni!
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