When experienced operators retire or change jobs, important knowledge is often lost from the industry. LEAD company Cognible wants to solve this by using AI to collect and structure experience directly from employees at work.
Cognible is based on over 20 years of research from Linköping University in cognitive science and AI. The research of Jonas Lundberg and Magnus Bång at Linköping University has focused on how humans and AI can collaborate in complex environments.
The insight was clear: industrial companies often lose critical skills when experienced employees leave the organization.
One of those driving the company’s development forward is Axel Larsson, who first came into contact with the company through LEAD’s Entrepreneurs in Residence trainee program.
– Many organizations have enormous knowledge in their operators and technicians. When someone leaves, that knowledge risks disappearing,” says Axel Larsson.
Gathering knowledge while working
Cognible’s solution is designed for environments with centralized control rooms, for example in the energy and process industries. The system allows knowledge to be captured while work is being done. Operators can describe both verbally and in writing how they handle different situations, while the AI asks follow-up questions and structures the information.
The material becomes an organizational knowledge bank with instructions, scenarios and problem solving, often in the form of text and video, providing a new support in operational work.
– For example, a new operator can ask what to do when a certain pump behaves in a certain way and quickly get information on how an experienced operator solved the situation before.
Axel saw the potential right away
Axel Larsson started working with Cognible as part of the LEAD trainee program, where he and a colleague conducted market verification.
– I saw the potential right away. When I first heard the idea, I felt that this really solves a problem,” he says.
His own experience in control environments made it clear how long it can take to learn the systems.
– It can take up to six months before an operator feels confident in the role, and then you have only learned the basics in these complex environments. After the trainee program, Axel took a more active role in the company and focused on business development, customer dialogues and continuing to build the team around the company.
Next step: capital round
The team behind Cognible today consists of researchers, PhD students and people with experience in business development. Recently, LiU Invest invested SEK 500,000, at the same time as the company was formalized. The plan is now to carry out a capital round during the fall to be able to bring in developers and continue building the product.
– We are aiming for a round in November to take the next step in development.
The support from LEAD has been important along the way, says Axel.
– There is a great need for support when building companies and LEAD has been very important for us so far,” says Axel Larsson.
