Groundlight Announces Computer Vision Service for Automation and Robotics
AI startup, Groundlight, recently announced the launch of its visual understanding service based on natural language instructions. Groundlight’s service enables any developer to understand images programmatically using simple English language instructions and just a few lines of code. Groundlight’s platform is easily integrated into applications such as industrial automation, process monitoring, and robotics. This pilot service is now available to select customers.
Groundlight’s innovative platform empowers any developer, even those without data science experience, to quickly build robust vision solutions. Previously developers would have to gather and label a dataset, train a model, and then figure out an MLOps solution to maintain it, a process that could easily take months. Instead, Groundlight 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 tracks the confidence of this model and continuously optimizes it using feedback from expert human monitors.
“As the most powerful AI models get better, there is the tendency to think that all you need is a Large Language Model. While they make great demos, robust commercial systems need real human judgment to handle edge cases reliably. And massive LLMs are too slow and expensive to be relied on in isolation for many applications,” said founder Leo Dirac. “Groundlight’s approach seamlessly ties together traditional deep learning with massive foundation models, edge computing, and real-time expert human supervision.”
Groundlight enables small and mid-sized manufacturers to quickly turn on machine learning solutions that increase productivity. Austere Manufacturing in Washington State produces cam buckles known for their high performance and lightweight quality meant to last a lifetime. “Quality control, process efficiency, and continuous improvement are crucial to our success. We’re excited to use Groundlight to inspect our products and monitor our processes without the development overhead of a typical industrial solution. Their 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,” said Uriel Eisen, Founder of Austere Manufacturing.
“So many machine learning projects don’t even get off the ground because of the big effort and scarce expertise required to credibly investigate the feasibility of a solution, much less implement it. Then they require operational expertise to keep them running. Groundlight has the potential to change all of that,” said Thomas Stubbs, ARC Labs, Slalom Consulting.
“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 utilize off-the-shelf cameras and inexpensive equipment to quickly build and reliably operate customized models. We are excited to work with this brilliant team as they build the company,” said Tim Porter, managing director, Madrona.
Groundlight was co-founded in 2019 by Amazon AI veteran Leo Dirac and Microsoft Hardware alum Avi Geiger, Groundlight is emerging from stealth, backed by $10 million in new funding led by Madrona.
For more information: www.groundlight.ai
