CTC Launches Support Service for the Construction of AI-based Materials Development Environments

ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Ichiro Tsuge, President and CEO; hereinafter “CTC”) today launched the MI Success Lab service that supports the construction of environments for materials development using AI-based data analysis technologies. CTC will create analysis engines for companies that conduct the research and development of new materials and provide training sessions mainly in fields such as pharmaceuticals and materials, aiming to introduce the services to 30 companies over the next 3 years.

In the automobile, aerospace, home appliance, housing, textile and other industries, companies are working to develop new materials to respond to environmental concerns and improve efficiency. In recent years, the field of materials informatics (MI), which uses IT to search for new materials, has been attracting attention, but its introduction requires IT knowledge and skills, including system building and data analysis skills and knowledge.

MI Success Lab is our new service supporting the construction of MI environments using AI-based analysis technologies. The service supports the introduction of MI and the shift to in-house MI by building an analysis engine tailored to each business of the companies developing materials, including for pharmaceutical products, alloys, and fibers. One example of this service is the building a company-specific analysis engine using AI-based learning of raw material mixing ratios, temperatures and pressures during mixing, and the performance of the generated material including durability and heat resistance from the data from past materials development experiments.

Furthermore, we provide comprehensive services including input data shaping, design and creation of analysis engines, training for the entire MI process including evaluation of results, creation of manuals, and Q&A service to support acceleration of customers’ shifting to in-house MI.

Normally, the building of an analysis engine specific to each customer's objectives and requirements and the training can be completed in about 3 months, enabling companies to search for materials with the predicted performance without having to conduct frequent experiments.

CTC has already provided services such as data analysis, the construction of AI environments, and consultation for the use of AI technologies to customers in various industries, including manufacturing and service industries, and has a track record of providing solutions in the field of material analysis that spans more than 30 years. The new service has been developed based on the expertise accumulated over the many years.

In the future, along with the provision of MI Success Lab, we will also offer solutions such as material database platforms and research portals to comprehensively support MI environments to contribute to the streamlining of materials development.