Artificial intelligence startup Groundlight has launched a computer vision platform based on natural language instructions that can speed up the time it takes to build vision solutions.
The platform enables developers – even those without data science experience – to interpret images programmatically using only simple English instructions and a few lines of code.
It can be integrated into applications such as industrial automation, process monitoring, retail analytics, video stream analysis, and robotics.
Building vision solutions often involves collecting and labelling vast amounts of data, training models, and designing MLOps solutions to maintain them; processes which can take months.
The Groundlight platform instead lets developers get going in minutes by simply describing their visual task in natural language, which is instantly turned into an application-specific model. Groundlight then tracks the confidence of this model and continuously optimises it using feedback from expert human monitors.
The firm’s approach “seamlessly ties together traditional deep learning with massive foundation models, edge computing, and real-time expert human supervision,” according to Founder Leo Dirac.
It enables small and mid-sized manufacturers to quickly turn on machine learning solutions that increase productivity.
For example, Austere Manufacturing, a US producer of high-performance cam buckles, is already using Groundlight’s platform to: “...inspect our products and monitor our processes without the development overhead of a typical industrial solution,” said Uriel Eisen, Founder of Austere Manufacturing. “Their [Groundlight’s] API enables a $10 camera and a few lines of code to implement a working solution in minutes. Far less time than we’d spend to even evaluate an expensive industrial computer vision product.”
The new platform, which is backed by $10 million in funding from Madrona, Greycroft Partners and Founders Co-Op, is now available as a pilot to select customers.
“The newest generation of foundation models are incredibly powerful, but they are both expensive to operate and unreliable for many use cases. Every company has unique data, especially in industrial applications. Groundlight’s approach enables companies to utilise off-the-shelf cameras and inexpensive equipment to quickly build and reliably operate customised models. We are excited to work with this brilliant team as they build the company,” said Tim Porter, Managing Director of Madrona.
