University of West Bohemia joins National Center for AI, working on energy and speech tech AI

Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of West Bohemia, joined NCUI, a 36-partner platform linking academia, industry, and the public sector with research and practice. It focuses on AI for energy, transport, healthcare, multimodal models, and security.

Jindřich Matoušek from the Department of Cybernetics at the Faculty of Applied Sciences (FAV, UWB) and Martin Střelec from the NTIS Research Center at FAV, University of West Bohemia, represent the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen at the National Artificial Intelligence Center. The Center brings together research teams from Czech universities, companies, and other partners to develop artificial intelligence as a key technology for the future of the Czech economy and society.

Jindřich Matoušek (JM) specializes in speech synthesis. His team is teaching computers not only to speak fluently like humans but also to pronounce foreign words, names, and abbreviations correctly that commonly appear in Czech text. Martin Střelec (MS) is developing solutions to enhance the security and resilience of critical energy infrastructure. What do they personally expect from this new collaboration?

NCUI expects outcomes that will impact industrial manufacturing, autonomous systems, biomedicine, and the energy sector. What specific impacts do you anticipate?

JM: Our team is responsible for computer speech processing, specifically the research and development of text-to-speech systems. We focus on converting written text into natural-sounding human speech. A key impact of our work will be making cutting-edge speech technologies accessible, taking into account the specificities of the Czech national environment, where universal global models often reach their limits. The key benefit is that our solution can run locally without sending data to a foreign cloud. This not only solves problems with response speed and data protection, but above all, strengthens technological autonomy in the domestic environment.

MS: Our research team focuses on the energy sector, specifically the development of predictive, security, and optimization tools to ensure the resilient operation of the transmission system, which is part of the Czech Republic’s critical energy infrastructure. ČEPS is responsible for the operation and development of the transmission system. The common goal of FAV NTIS and ČEPS is therefore to develop software that increases the observability of the transmission system’s operation, strengthens its robustness, and enables better control.

How will ordinary people notice this?
JM: The changes will be evident, for example, in higher-quality voice assistants, audiobooks, and interactive education. The social impact will also be significant; our technology will directly improve access to digital services for people with visual or other disabilities in the Czech Republic, who rely on high-quality voice output as a key gateway to information.

MS: Paradoxically, the greatest proof of the project’s success here will be the fact that the average citizen won’t notice any change at all. Ideally, there will be no large-scale power outages in the future, such as those that recently affected Spain, for example. The power grid will thus continue to operate reliably, safely, and stably, despite the massive transformation of the energy landscape.

Could you describe your role in this area in more detail?
JM: The goal is to ensure that the generated speech sounds natural in Czech, has no delay, and runs on standard hardware. Think of it this way: users can run our model directly on their devices without having to purchase expensive equipment. At the same time, we will address the pronunciation of foreign words and expressions in the Czech text. This will allow us to offer Czech companies a fully local alternative that will significantly reduce the Czech industry’s technological dependence on foreign services.

MS: Our activities within the competence center can be divided into several levels. First, we represent the University of West Bohemia on the scientific council and are responsible for the direction and quality of the AI center’s research. Furthermore, we coordinate and lead scientific and research activities in the energy work package, where, together with industrial partners, we develop new solutions for transmission networks and heat supply.