For decades, artificial intelligence has evolved from a science fiction concept to an integral part of a data-driven world. However, creating new AI applications is a costly and complex undertaking. The industry needs a way to make these applications reusable and accessible to users beyond the company that created them, and to simplify implementation to lower the barrier to entry. This is the only way to meet customer demand.

The Acumos platform is an extensible framework for machine learning solutions. It provides the ability to edit, integrate, compose, package, form, and deploy AI microservices. In other words, it's an AI marketplace where applications can be interconnected to create complex and sophisticated AI services.

For example, if someone wants to create an AI application for video analytics, the Acumos platform offers a variety of applications to choose from, such as location tracking and facial recognition. The platform's simple interface allows users to select AI functionalities and automatically integrate them to function as a single application. In this case, the new service could identify where the video was filmed based on background landmarks and identify speakers—all designed and implemented within a single interface with minimal additional code development.

Content preservation, autonomous vehicles, drones, and augmented/virtual reality are other functionalities where artificial intelligence models could be used with the Acumos platform.

“The goal of offering the Acumos platform as open source is to make building and deploying AI applications as easy as creating a website,” said Mazin Gilbert, vice president of Advanced Technology at AT&T Labs. “We are collaborating with Tech Mahindra to establish an industry standard for AI in the network environment. We invite other parties to join us to globally align AI and be ready for future AI network applications and services.”.

The Acumos platform is built with open-source technologies and can be unified through the multiple artificial intelligence tools available today, allowing easy access for developers and businesses.

“We are paving the way for artificial intelligence. We are focusing on the areas of telecommunications, media, and technology, starting with the network. The platform will be available to everyone. The more users adopt it, the better,” says Gilbert.

All of this is powered by AT&T Indigo, the next-generation platform that delivers a seamless network experience.

“Our investment in AI solutions over the past few years is helping us identify significant opportunities to simplify AI for wider adoption,” said Raman Abrol, Senior Vice President and Business Unit Leader for Strategy at Tech Mahindra. “In partnership with AT&T, we will help enable businesses to leverage AI to reimagine business models, unlock the potential of data, and drive business outcomes. Our ultimate goal with Project Acumos is to accelerate and industrialize the deployment of AI in enterprises and enable developers and businesses to collaborate effectively to enhance how they live, work, and play.”.

“With Project Acumos, AT&T and Tech Mahindra are leading the way in how the developer community can access artificial intelligence and machine learning tools,” says Jim Zemlin, Executive Director of the Linux Foundation. “Making it easy for developers to get involved and lead the ecosystem around the project in the direction they want is key to the success of the Acumos platform.”.

AT&T previously used this model to launch ONAP, the operating system for virtualized networks. In that case, AT&T spent several years developing its own internal platform, called ECOMP, before releasing it as open source through the Linux Foundation.

Thus, AT&T is enhancing this approach with Project Acumos. The company is creating the initial open-source framework as quickly as possible. This allows the developer community to accelerate the platform's development. Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming a vital tool for businesses in nearly every industry. There's no time to lose in establishing a common platform that everyone can use and evolve.

For details on timing and availability of the Acumos platform, visit www.linuxfoundation.org/press-release/linux-foundation-host-acumos-project

For companies interested in joining as members, please visit www.acumos.org