A Russian developer here has created an open source computer vision platform, in collaboration with Facebook and Google, that acts as a teaching machine and enables them “see”.
VisionLabs, a solutions developer in the field of computer vision, data analysis and robotics, and a Skolkovo IT Cluster resident have developed this as a global open-source computer vision project with the support of Facebook and Google, an official said.
VisionLabs integrated two popular libraries for developers – OpenCV and Torch. The joint project with Facebook and Google was launched last year. “The two IT giants became interested in the in-depth study of neural networks and artificial intelligence and hence extended their support,” the official told IANS.
The most popular tools for developers in this field are the OpenCV Open Source Computer Vision Library and the Torch Open Source Scientific Computing Framework with wide support for Machine Learning Algorithms. Each of them has thousands of users. VisionLabs initiated integrating the two libraries. Google and Facebook funded the work and tested the results.
Balmanohar Paluri, Research Lead, Facebook AI Research, said: “The project opens up the field of computer vision to a greater audience of developers. Our focus is making machines see. To do that, knowledge needs to be open.”
As a result of the work undertaken, a number of technological barriers the developers had faced within the fields of computer vision and neural networks were lifted. From now on, any start-up in this field can launch a project in a matter of days where it could literally take years previously.
Google, Facebook and VisionLabs do not consider this a commercial project — its purpose is developing the community and its aim is long-term prospects.
The idea of integrating the two popular developer “worlds” had been on the cards for some time. The creators of Torch and OpenCV had been discussing it. But, as is often the case, nobody actually set about making the integration happen, the official elaborated.
