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Computer Vision Uses
Three examples of mission-critical uses of computer vision that also publicly collect data include Amazon Go in retail and retail security, Slantrange drone systems in agriculture, and Osprey Informatics for industrial applications and site monitoring.
RESEARCH STRATEGY
Initial research yielded numerous applications or use cases of computer vision published by research firms such as Emerj. Autonomy and malware data collection was excluded with a focus on other examples of computer vision uses.
After thoroughly checking through all the examples found through Emerj, three cases of computer vision use were found, including Amazon Go in retail and retail security, SlantRange in agriculture, and Osprey Informatics for industrial properties. Further research was performed through each of the companies’ websites and news articles to find additional information.
FINDINGS
RETAIL AND RETAIL SECURITY AT AMAZON GO
Amazon opened its Amazon Go store located in Seattle, Washington which has cameras that specialize in computer vision. These cameras collect data of shoppers’ movements and which products they choose, registering when a product is taken from the shelf, which customer is taking/purchasing it, and billing the customer when they leave the store. This system can also determine when an item is returned to the shelf, and then removes the item from the “customer’s virtual basket.”
Through the camera network, customers in the store are tracked at all times, ensuring correct billing for shoppers as they exit the store. This also functions without the use of facial recognition. Human employees also work the Amazon Go store in maintaining and developing computer vision algorithms, correcting errors in product and customer detection.
AGRICULTURE COMPUTER VISION BY SLANTRANGE
Slantrange offers drones with computer vision equipment that monitors crop conditions. This system gathers images of open fields through operation by remote drone pilots. Each drone is connected to a central intelligence network that houses “processors, sensors, storage devices, networks, an artificial intelligence analytics software and other user interfaces.” This takes photographic data of agricultural properties, monitoring the signs of healthy or stressed/unhealthy crops.
SlantView provides an analytics system that stores and interprets drone data and provides farmers with necessary information to make the best methods and treatment decisions for their farms. A large SlantRange contract included drone data collection over Bayer facilities in the United States, collecting vital information for innovative pilot programs, using unique and advanced sensor technology.
INDUSTRIAL USES AT OSPREY REACH
Computer vision technologies through Osprey Reach monitors “the status of critical infrastructure such as industrial facilities, remote wells, work activity and site security.” This system enables on-demand images and live videos of any site where it is deployed.
The Osprey Reach computer vision system is intended to be deployed at high-priority sites, providing time-lapse footage of particular site areas. One Osprey Reach client reported that the need for site visits was reduced by 50%, and the average costs of human site inspections was reduced from $20 to $1.
Osprey Reach sensors information and camera footage is sent to AI software that generates alerts for maintenance departments, allowing for accurate safety operations to be performed at the sign of even the most minimal of stress detections by the system. This computer vision solution provides operators with the ability to remotely manage many types of sites with zoom capabilities for monitoring specified areas in detail.