If social media is any indication, OpenCV AI Competitors 2021 individuals have actually hit the bottom working. The competitors, sponsored by Microsoft Azure and Intel, options over 1000 builders on over 200 Section 1 profitable groups worldwide and our feeds are already buzzing with superior movies and images as groups take their first steps towards the International Grand Prize award of $20,000.
On this submit we’re that includes a few of the groups posting cool stuff on-line utilizing the #OAK2021 hashtag, that includes a brief Q&A with every. Right this moment you’ll meet Charlie the tremendous Lego robotic, learn to management an airplane together with your face, and extra. Thanks for taking the time to talk with us Egypt Iris, Kauda, and Cortic Tigers!
Need your group to be featured right here? Put up content material with the #OAK2021 hashtag! We’ll undoubtedly see it and so will 1000’s of competitors watchers everywhere in the world.
Some Highlights From The #OAK2021 Hashtag
Shout-out to everybody who has posted just lately. Listed here are a few of our favorites from the start of the competitors. Your updates have been an inspiration to your fellow opponents and to these of us working the competitors too!
That is only a quick listing of our faves. We encourage all people to observe the hashtag on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Fb, and Instagram.
Group Profile: Cortic Tigers
Ye, Jane, and Michael from Cortic Tigers have been posting all types of nice movies to Twitter, Insta, and LinkedIn, displaying their sensible robotic Charlie studying new expertise with lots of persona. On their social media feeds you will discover movies displaying the little bot studying how you can navigate, acknowledge faces, perceive American Signal Language, and extra.
What’s your challenge?
AI is powering the world. Consequently, there’s a enormous demand for AI literate abilities within the workforce. Nonetheless, studying AI may be intimidating and costly for freshmen. At Cortic Know-how, we need to leverage our experience in edge computing to scale back the associated fee and energy required to study AI.
We expect the best approach to study AI is to construct an AI system your self to resolve issues you care about. Our aim is to facilitate any such hands-on studying by enabling a big number of state-of-the-art AI algorithms to run effectively on cheap edge gadgets just like the Raspberry Pi or the OAK-D. Our software program helps laptop imaginative and prescient, speech recognition, pure language processing, speech technology, LEGO motor management, and sensible dwelling management in a single programming setting. We constructed a fast prototyping setting that makes use of visible block-based programming to encourage freshmen to experiment with AI from day one. Our system may translate visible applications into Jupyter Pocket book format or native Python code when individuals purchase extra expertise and need to take full benefit of Python’s energy and suppleness. Our challenge is absolutely open-sourced, and we encourage everybody to present it a strive. You’ll be able to entry it at https://github.com/cortictechnology/cait.
What’s your group “origin story?”
All cofounders of Cortic Know-how (Ye, Jane, and Michael) met whereas working for a earlier AI startup in Vancouver. Ye and Jane each have teenage kids. Due to the rising recognition of AI, our youngsters grew to become very interested in issues we do at work and wished to know extra concerning the expertise. The humorous factor is after we began to reply their questions and speak about fundamental algorithmic ideas, they grew to become bored instantly. We rapidly came upon that they might somewhat spend the time constructing AI initiatives with us than speaking/discussing the speculation behind how issues work. One other massive shock for us is that although we virtually didn’t spend any time instructing them the essential idea, they gained an important understanding of it simply by doing these hands-on initiatives. They have been additionally very motivated to look issues up on the Web after they wanted to assist with something. We started focusing far more on hands-on studying after observing this behaviour. We had tons of enjoyable constructing every kind of initiatives with our youngsters. Cortic Know-how was born with the intent of giving different customers the liberty to construct on our work and quickly prototype utilizing this outstanding expertise to resolve attention-grabbing issues.
How did you determine what downside to resolve?
We observed that there are many individuals concerned with studying AI, however there’s simply an excessive amount of friction (price, time funding, steep studying curve, and many others.) for a lot of of them to even get began. We see lots of worth in eradicating this friction in order that extra individuals can study and contribute to this burgeoning subject.
What’s the most enjoyable a part of #OAK2021 to you?
Probably the most thrilling half about #OAK2021 is the chance that the OAK-D system brings. The #OAK2021 competitors introduced collectively over 250 groups worldwide to make use of the OAK-D system to resolve totally different issues. We’re already beginning to see many inventive makes use of of this system, resembling utilizing it to construct a plugin for the Unreal sport engine for character modelling, actually constructing a cow tracker, and to not point out all of the initiatives that use it to assist these amongst us which can be bodily challenged.
What do you suppose / really feel upon studying you have been chosen for Section 2?
We have been undoubtedly humbled by the truth that we made it to Section 2. There are such a lot of thrilling concepts and succesful groups from over 1400 submissions in Section 1. We’re very lucky to have the ability to transfer into the following section of the competitors and have an opportunity to showcase how we are going to make the OAK-D system a core a part of our resolution.
What, if something, has stunned you thus far concerning the competitors?
We’re continually stunned by the creativity and technical prowess of everybody concerned on this competitors. The DepthAI discord channel is our go-to place when we have now complicated technical points that we have to clear up. The velocity at which Brandon and his group at Luxonis reply these questions is simply thoughts boggling, contemplating the variety of new questions that present up day-after-day. We’re very grateful for all the assistance we acquired from Luxonis and our fellow opponents.
Do you will have any phrases on your fellow opponents?
We need to inform our fellow opponents to maintain their inventive juices flowing. We’re very wanting to see all the ultimate submissions in July. We sit up for studying from each considered one of our fellow opponents.
The place ought to readers observe you, to greatest sustain together with your progress?
The easiest way to observe our progress by the competitors is unquestionably on both Twitter (https://twitter.com/CorticTechnolo1) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/firm/cortic/).
Group Profile: Kauda
Teammates Giovanni Lerda and Gerard Espona Fiedler met as a result of Giovanni’s work on the Kauda robotic arm final 12 months. Gerard brings the software program energy and Giovanni is the group’s {hardware} skilled. We liked seeing their LinkedIn submit displaying a DepthAI plugin for the Unity sport engine that permits you to management a airplane together with your face.
What’s your challenge?
Our challenge principally is about enabling laptop imaginative and prescient duties on Kauda robotic arm. Kauda robotic arm is an open supply, low price – 3D printable desktop-size 5-axis robotic arm designed and developed by Giovanni Lerda. It’s the right platform for anybody concerned with robotics, particularly within the interval of business 4.0 the place laptop imaginative and prescient on anthropomorphic robots are more and more in demand, and furthermore excellent to analysis and develop utilizing laptop imaginative and prescient, 3D depth and AI basically. Our aim is to mount an OAK-D digital camera and allow complicated robotic duties utilizing Spatial AI.
What’s your group “origin story?”
Every little thing began when Giovanni launched Kauda robotic arm final 12 months on Instructables (https://www.instructables.com/KAUDA-Robotic-Arm/) and on his personal web site (https://lerdagiovanni.wixsite.com/kauda). Once I noticed the challenge I knew rapidly it might be the right match to analysis and develop robotics utilizing laptop imaginative and prescient, deep studying and AI basically. I contacted him and we teamed as much as enhance Kauda. Giovanni as a proficient industrial developer is concentrated on bettering Kauda on mechanical and electronics design in the meantime I’m specializing in software program improvement, specifically in digital twin inside Unity that permits us to program extra complicated duties utilizing laptop imaginative and prescient and AI. So we’re sort of totally different however complementary profiles.
How did you determine what downside to resolve?
Kauda robotic arm is a good platform however some extra superior duties are solely potential enabling spatial AI, eg: detect and decide objects dynamically or concentrate on the encompassing setting to allow collaboration duties.
What’s the most enjoyable a part of #OAK2021 to you?
In regards to the contest we’re thrilled to compete with such prime quality groups and for us it’s an ideal alternative to take Kauda to the following degree.
What do you suppose / really feel upon studying you have been chosen for Section 2?
Properly truthfully we have been conscious of the excessive quantity and prime quality entries so we invested various time getting ready the submission and it was surprising to know on the finish we have been chosen. We’re actually pleased with that.
What, if something, has stunned you thus far concerning the competitors?
To see a few of the groups across the globe with such good concepts to resolve actual world issues due to Spatial AI and edge AI gadgets like OAK-D.
Do you will have any phrases on your fellow opponents?
We want the very best for all of the finalists. We all know every group is working very laborious to finish their very own proposal and we all know the standard bar may be very excessive. Ofc we preserve some surprises for our submission in July.
The place ought to readers observe you, to greatest sustain together with your progress? (Twitter, LinkedIn, and many others)
Proper now most likely Linkedin is the very best place and there you will have my private web site, twitter and IG.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerardespona/
Group Profile: Egypt Iris
Rowan Hisham, Safynaz Tarek, Mahmoud Elkarargy, Aya Elghannam of Egypt Iris are a group who met at Alexandria College. Collectively they’ve labored on many initiatives prior to now together with expertise with Azure Kinect, IBM Cloud Providers, and remotely operated autos. Safynaz’s “first steps” submit is my private favourite. Like final 12 months’s Grand Prize winner, Jagadish Mahendran, their challenge seeks to enhance the lives of these with visible impairments.
What’s your challenge? Briefly Describe your downside assertion and proposed resolution
Our challenge, Egypt Iris, goals to make the most of the ability of assistive expertise in order that it may very well be utilized by the visually impaired to assist promote independence and autonomy, each for the particular person and people round them. We intention to create an assistive system that may act as a second eye to the person. The system leverages the ability of edge AI to supply a number of options to the person wanted in his on a regular basis life.
What’s your group “origin story?”
Our shared ardour for robotics was the rationale our group members met again in 2019 after becoming a member of our college’s robotics group. We joined a number of competitions the place we have been challenged to make use of picture processing strategies, which launched us to the OpenCV library that sparked our curiosity in laptop imaginative and prescient and AI. That’s why getting this opportunity to compete in a contest organized by OpenCV itself was extremely gratifying.
How did you determine what downside to resolve?
Being undergraduate college students ourselves, we see the wrestle of our visually impaired colleagues of their on a regular basis life, from taking notes, answering exams, to choosing the colour of what they wished to put on so we determined to concentrate on a case research that features a visually impaired pupil, and the way our system generally is a second eye to them all through the day.
What’s the most enjoyable a part of OAK2021 to you?
Probably the most thrilling half was receiving an OAK-D for every member of our group, we’re
grateful for the prospect to get our hand on such a chunk of tech we wouldn’t usually have entry to.
What do you suppose/really feel upon studying you have been chosen for section 2?
It felt unimaginable. Particularly in such a large-scale competitors, it’s very thrilling that we obtained an opportunity to develop our thought. It appeared unimaginable initially, however then… it’s not.
What, if something, has stunned you thus far concerning the competitors?
Variety of groups and concepts, it’s nice to get an opportunity to compete with 250+ groups from throughout the globe. We’re wanting ahead to figuring out extra about every group’s
challenge and what downside they’re aiming to resolve.
Do you will have any phrases on your fellow opponents?
Give attention to studying and benefit from the course of, competitions like this one are an important catalyst for innovation, it’s not nearly profitable however about experimenting with new applied sciences and studying.
The place ought to readers observe you to greatest sustain together with your progress?
We plan to submit our progress often on our LinkedIn profiles:
Extra To Come
Thanks for studying this primary in our collection of group profiles. These are only a few of the over 200 groups competing on this enormous competition- we want all of them the easiest of luck! In the event you’re an AI creator who needs to affix in on the cool stuff, why not purchase your self an OAK-D from The OpenCV Retailer, or from Mouser?
Keep tuned for extra profiles, and a gradual stream of superior stuff from these wonderful groups. Don’t neglect to join the OpenCV E-newsletter to be notified when new posts go stay, and get unique reductions and affords from our companions.
