Computer vision is a field of artificial intelligence (AI) that deals with allowing computers to process the analysis and understanding of data from digital images.
This solution is used in many business sectors such as retail, manufacturing, security, insurance, and more.
In fact, the global market for the industry was $ 10.9 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow to $ 17.4 billion in 2024, resulting in a compound annual growth rate of 7.8%.
So what makes this solution so widely used, and how exactly can it help your business? We’ll find it all in this article, but first, let’s see how computer vision really works.
How does computer vision really work?
The goal of computer vision is to understand images as humans do. However, the truth is that computers view such images very differently from humans.
For a computer, images are a combination of pixels, and the pixels themselves contain different numerical values. These numbers are essential for machine learning to be trained and taught to understand the images.
Computers look at each pixel in an image and try to recognize patterns to understand what the image might contain.
At the beginning of the learning phase, machines make mistakes; however, with more data and trial and error, the guesswork becomes more and more accurate.
Neural networks are another way that computers recognize complex images. The first neural network layer identifies the edges of the image. The following layers detect the shapes of these edges. In the end, the computer gathers all this information to understand the image.
Such technology paves the way for solutions such as facial recognition, object recognition, and much more.
How is computer vision used in business?
Companies are constantly looking for solutions that automate processes and provide high-quality service. This is exactly why the solution is so popular among businesses from every sector. Let’s take a closer look at the use cases and benefits that computer vision has to offer to companies.
Document scanning and classification
Although we have entered the digital age, we are still bombarded with a considerable amount of paper documents. Contracts, reports, invoices, certificates – these are just a small part of the physical documents that are stacked on our desks and shelves.
However, taking up a large part of our office space is not the only problem with physical documents. Whenever it is necessary to find certain clauses or elements in physical documents, it results in very time-consuming and tiring manual work.
This was further aggravated after the pandemic, as many companies had to review contracts and find appropriate clauses related to force majeure.
With the help of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Natural Language Processing (NLP), computer vision solutions can analyze the information within physical documents, making it possible to understand the data contained in these documents and digitize them. in seconds.
Users can later search the documents or any clause within these documents simply by inputting the text that the file might contain.
What do 100% text searchable documents mean?
- Higher productivity
- Reduced human error
- Cost reduction
- Less stressful work
Medical diagnosis
One of the most powerful applications of computer vision is in the healthcare sector, as it can save more lives.
As the solution can be trained to identify objects in digital images, it can be used to detect disease and illness at an early stage from X-rays, MRIs, or CT scans.
Deep learning algorithms can be trained from patient data to find common disease patterns. For example, in the case of melanoma, using the combination of neural networks and computer vision, the image of the patient’s skin is analyzed in seconds and compared to the predefined dataset. This process can be faster and more accurate to detect if the patient has signs of harmful disease.
In the same way, heart problems such as arrhythmias can be identified by computer vision by analyzing electrocardiograms.
The possibilities the solution has to offer to healthcare are immense and remain to be explored.
Reinforced security
The ability of computer vision to detect, classify, and recognize different objects opens many doors to opportunities in the security industry.
IP cameras powered by AI means that companies can have 24/7 surveillance where any prohibited object, unusual behavior, or unauthorized person can be instantly identified, triggering alerts to human personnel for interference.
Integrating such solutions into company security systems helps prevent crime while eliminating the need for additional staff and reducing costs.
Accident prevention
Employee safety should be the top priority for all employers, especially in warehouses and industrial jobs, where accidents are more likely to occur.
Providing your staff with the proper equipment and safety training is essential to keeping the workplace safe, but never a full guarantee against accidents. Fortunately, with the help of computer vision, employers can take staff safety to the next level.
Such systems can be trained to monitor how employees interact with equipment and monitor other details of worker behavior.
Computer vision solution compares the behavior of workers with their data set and understands whether or not they comply with safety regulations.
With the help of such solutions, companies can automate the detection of hazards such as:
- Safety zones and precautionary area compliances;
- Unsafe operation of the machine by workers;
- Risky behaviors that contribute to safety hazards;
- Much more.
Smart farming
One of the sectors that benefit the most from automation is agriculture. Advanced AI-powered technologies became an essential part of reducing costs and increasing productivity for farmers. And at the core of these solutions is computer vision.
With the help of this technology, farmers can automate visual inspections of fruits and vegetables. This approach helps them detect flaws, contaminants, or defects much more accurately.
Farmers went one step further and combined the potential of computer vision and drones. Camera-equipped drones fly over large areas of crops. Multispectral imaging cameras identify unhealthy crops due to lack of water or insects and inform farmers about it.
This frees farmers from time-consuming manual inspection and focuses their attention only on crops that are in real need of attention.
Conclusion
The examples mentioned above were only a small part of the business computer vision use cases. Due to benefits such as automation, increased precision, and higher productivity, more and more industries are looking for AI-powered solutions to improve their business operations.
If you also want to take advantage of similar AI solutions and are considering implementing them in your business, schedule a free consultation call with our AI team and let’s discuss how our partnership can take your company to the next level.
