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Delaware Data Innovation Lab debuts in Wilmington

Delaware Public Media

New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer toured the new Delaware Data Innovation Lab created to help fight COVID-19 with the backing  of county CARES Act money.

The lab in Wilmington is developing data and analytical approaches using artificial intelligence to move research from the lab to the marketplace.

CompassRed is the data analytics and artificial intelligence company awarded the $2 million grant from the county, and its CEO Patrick Callahan says the progress made is in large thanks to the grant.

"To be able to hire 22 people from all over the place from University of Delaware, Harvard, all over the place has been really a fast-moving game, but we could have done it without the county or the CARES Act money as well," said Callahan.

Part of its work involves virtual reality settings where up to 30 people can collaborate and exchange data.
Callahan and his staff demonstrated that tech Monday, as the company continues to ramp up three weeks after opening at the new CSC Station building by Wilmington’s train station.

"So the Delaware Data Innovation Lab is one of the first community based data labs that's all about innovation and bringing people together," said Callahan. "We have been able to bring people from out of state and move them into state and get them working on really solving problems, everything from the evictions, to hospital beds, to everything else like that."

Credit Delaware Public Media
New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer tests out the Delaware Data Innovation Lab's VR technology.

The lab is modeled after MIT’s Media Lab, and hopes to work with First State universities and ChristianaCare on projects using the lab’s technology.

As helpful as the lab can be during the pandemic, County Executive Matt Meyer says the goal is for it to remain useful after COVID-19

"That we can learn things to help us fight the virus to emerge from this and ultimately get tools that we can use in this city, in this county, in this region long into the future," said Meyer.

Joe brings over 20 years of experience in news and radio to Delaware Public Media and the All Things Considered host position. He joined DPM in November 2019 as a reporter and fill-in ATC host after six years as a reporter and anchor at commercial radio stations in New Castle and Sussex Counties.
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