LEARNING FROM THE BRAIN FOR THE COGNITIVE DATABASE OF THE FUTURE

THE INNOVATOR:

PETER PALM, FREE SPIRIT AND DATABASE VISIONARY

Sprind And Pleodat

Why We Are Committed

Because data is the gold of the digital age. Because, however, only information and knowledge offer added value for society. Because data handling is currently cumbersome, complex, not secure and non-transparent. Because right now, knowledge does not just simply arise. Because the digital future should be built on a solid foundation.

The Potential We See

Cortex can become universal data storage that unites operational and analytical data and integrates streaming data. Queries are possible without in-depth expert knowledge. The knowledge contained in the data is made accessible to everyone. A variety of different data can be merged like this to point out a new, informative way of looking at customers, processes and relationships. Cortex can be a platform on which data is securely stored and access can be controlled easily, in a detailed way and individually. Cortex can support agile processes, simplify IT and reduce energy consumption at the same time in the process.

What We Do

Building an information bank at a research company from the existing Cortex platform. Making resources available and giving developers room for the most important tasks. Making contact with potential users with challenges that make the Cortex technology shine.

ADDRESSING A BROAD MARKET

Developing functions that enable the broad application of Cortex technology.

THINK TANKS AND THINKING BIGGER

Utilizing SPRIND’s extensive network of experts to interact with minds who understand the range and potential of the new approach.

Sometimes it is coincidences which give life a boost. In the case of Peter Palm, an electrical engineer and passionate computer scientist born in 1954, it was a particular encounter which led him to think in a totally new direction in the mid-1990s. He had already been active in the industry for many years and was often dissatisfied with the information that was available about customers. That is why the techie developed a customer relationship management system in 1984—before a name for this concept even existed, and for which he was largely viewed with a skeptical eye. With a grin, Palm explained that, even back then, his motto was: “If someone says it cannot be done, they should get out of the way of the one who is doing it.” ‘Harmony’ quickly became a hit and emerged through the years as the solution for quite a number of companies that have to process large amounts of customer information.

Then in 1995, he met a friend of his dentist, a psychologist, by chance. “This person had studied the transition from the scribbling phase to the drawing phase in children for his doctoral thesis. Children first begin scribbling, then they look for interpretable elements which look like something known to them and only then do they try to draw these identifiable objects,” recalled Peter Palm, remembering that he had thought, “If that is true, we are doing IT all wrong. In that field, we process data in hindsight. The brain, on the other hand, first forms several hypotheses and then sees if they can be confirmed.”

The Human Brain Is A Prediction Machine

It continually tries to predict future trends and can process many expectations at the same time. In so doing, it reduces things down to certain aspects, and data processing occurs in various different cognitive contexts. It occurred to Peter Palm that this is also how it should be with databases, so he developed an innovative system: the Cortex database.

“Data only becomes information once its relationship with other data has been clarified. In the Cortex database, the building of context is already taken into account in its architecture. The database is based on the human brain here, the cortex,” explained Palm enthusiastically, continuing, “which is why I had to contemplate an entirely new schematic-free structure. You can describe objects with any number of elements, and objects are made up of properties in different contexts. Our database did not come about as a result of optimization considerations. Rather, it is based on a completely new approach.” This new design enables database operations which seem impossible in previous databases— even with very large data volumes like big data.

A Paradigm Shift In Information Management

Peter Palm and his team have long been working on both Harmony and the Cortex database server, “but at one point, the old structures were getting in the way too much. We went ‘blank slate’ and committed ourselves fully to our new project,” remarked Palm. That was in 2008.

Jan Buß, the business development specialist and storyteller of the team, had already been collaborating with the innovative free spirit since the Harmony days and has been on board with Cortex for many years. He stated with certainty, “We solved a fundamental problem of information processing in such a generic way that the solution can be applied to solve a vast number of other problems. The Cortex database has the potential to introduce a paradigm shift in information management on an atomic basis from all the way at the bottom.”

According to the business economist, what still needs to be done is to, “find early adopters who appreciate the revolutionary potential of Cortex.” “It is tough to gain a foothold at large companies, as there is a tense relationship between the marketing and sales divisions. Organizations eat innovation for breakfast,” said Palm in describing a dilemma of visionary ideas. The database is currently available as a commercial product, but there is not a turn-key mass-produced product yet. It can, however, be custom-tailored to the needs of an individual company and is able to merge data from different databases already in use, for example, so it can be utilized for analytical or operational requirements in a data hub.

Peter Palm and his team—which has also included Dr. Georg Loepp as managing director of the newly founded SPRIND subsidiary Pleodat since receiving support from SPRIND—are absolutely convinced of its disruptive potential. “Essentially, every database in use today is just a special version of our Cortex database,” declared the astute inventor with wisdom appropriate for any life situation. “I realized back then that a good solution can be applied to any problem. This is exactly what our database does, and I am still coming up with ideas all the time.”

Submissions

SUBMISSIONS WITH DISRUPTIVE POTENTIAL CAN COME FROM ANY TECHNOLOGY FIELD AND INNOVATION AREA.

PREVIOUS PROJECT SUGGESTIONS SO FAR

1,000+

OUT OF WHICH HAVE BECOME SPRIND PROJECTS

40

NUMBER WHICH HAVE BECOME SPRIND SUBSIDIARIES

6

CRUCIALLY IMPORTANT IS THAT THESE SERVICES, PRODUCTS OR SYSTEMS CREATE LARGE­SCALE POSITIVE AND SUSTAINABLE IMPACT.

WHICH AREAS ARE REPRESENTED IN THE SUBMISSIONS?

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING MEDICINE

AGRICULTURE, GEOLOGY

CHEMISTRY, BIOLOGY

IT SOFTWARE

ENERGY

IT HARDWARE

OTHER FIELDS

CONSTRUCTION

HUMAN NECESSITIES

SOCIETY, EDUCATION, ORGANIZATION

TRANSPORTATION, LOGISTICS

WHERE DO MOST SUBMISSIONS COME FROM?