Feature articles

Feature articles

Fujitsu Opens New Research Lab in Toronto to Accelerate Social Implementation of Digital Annealer

On March 14, 2018 at the University of Toronto, Fujitsu held the opening ceremony for the Fujitsu Co-Creation Research Laboratory at the University of Toronto. The new facility will accelerate the research of innovative computing including Digital Annealer.

Fujitsu and the University of Toronto, which is among the world's top ranked research universities (*1), entered into a strategic partnership last year to engage in the research of innovative computing. We opened the Fujitsu Co-Creation Research Laboratory at the University of Toronto to embody the concept and advance the partnership. Fujitsu Laboratory researchers and University of Toronto professors and students will work together to study new algorithms and architectures that will advance Digital Annealer. They will also conduct empirical research on Digital Annealer applications in the fields of finance, healthcare and intelligent transportation.

One of the problems Fujitsu and the University of Toronto will tackle moving forward is the optimization of radiation doses in intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). IMRT is a technology for delivering sufficient radiation to tissues, such as tumors, while keeping radiation doses at levels safe for normal tissue by changing the radiation direction and intensity. However, advances in IMRT devices now require that a large number of optimization calculations be performed. By performing highly accurate calculations in a short amount of time with Digital Annealer, we will support efficient therapies.

(*1) QS ranked the University of Toronto 10th in the world in the field of Computer Science and Information Systems in 2018.

Opening speech by Fujitsu President Tatsuya Tanaka

Nearly 40 people from the University of Toronto and Fujitsu attended the ceremony to celebrate the opening of the new research hub. Fujitsu representatives met with university executives and exchanged views on new ICT businesses and the development of society and the economy. We also took a tour of the new facility.

Attendees at the opening ceremony

At the ceremony, Fujitsu President Tanaka expressed his expectations for the research lab: “I believe our Digital Annealer will lead to solving challenges that were intractable in the past in fields such as healthcare, finance and traffic. Through this partnership with the University of Toronto, we would like to further contribute to the development of society and the economy.”

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