Sysco LABS hosts first Machine Learning Hackathon
View(s):Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies are just beginning to see widespread adoption, development and application. It is against this backdrop that Sysco LABS hosted its inaugural Hackathon, “OVERCLOCKED 2019” for developers across its offices with a focus on machine learning, the company said in a media release.
The finale saw teams developing and presenting their solutions to an esteemed panel of judges consisting of Uthayasanker Thayasivam, Ph.D, an expert in machine learning and how it applies to data science and big data mining; Sankha Muthu Poruthotage, Ph.D, co-founder of Linear Squared and a force behind many of Sri Lanka’s large-scale analytics initiatives; and Hiranya Samarasekera, VP Engineering – Head of Enterprise Architecture Group (EAG) at Sysco LABS.
Team ‘Rotis’ consisting of Keet Sugathadasa, Roshan Alwis, Dulaj Atapattu, Indunil Asanka, Heshan Sandamal and Chamin Wickramarathna emerged as winners, with their intelligent customer support and incident manager that can learn from all its interactions with customers, continuously improving its service. The solution relieves the strain that support requirements play on organisations as they try to scale.
Team “We Are Here for the Hoodie” which included Jeyanthasingam Jegasingam, Tharmarajasingam Thuvarakan, Deshani Geethika, Rashindrie Perera, Kailayapathy Suthagar and Isham Mohamed, received the runners-up title for their development of a customer/potential customer profiling solution. A profile solution that predicts future trends in customer-eating habits could have massive impacts on Sysco’s business, allowing the development of better long-term relationships with customers, the release said.
“I believe the greatest danger of artificial intelligence is the fact that people assume they understand it very early on,” said Team ‘Rotis’ member Sugathadasa. “Learning is a never-ending process. The hackathon definitely involved a great deal of learning and tested our ability to use machine learning to solve the problems we face in the industry.”
On the back of a successful inaugural event, Sysco LABS aims to make hackathons a permanent fixture in its annual event calendar.