Copyright © 2014 Embedded Vision Alliance 1

Jeff Bier, Founder, Embedded Vision Alliance / President, BDTI

Welcome to the Embedded Vision Summit! Santa Clara, California—May 29, 2014

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“Half of the human brain is devoted directly or

indirectly to vision.” – Paraphrased from Prof. Mriganka Sur, MIT

Vision is Powerful… and Vision is Hard

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Most devices are useful only to the extent that they interact with the

physical world

Visual information is the richest source of information about the real

world: People, places, and things

Vision is the highest-bandwidth mode for systems to obtain info from the

real world

Embedded vision can:

• Boost efficiency: Improving throughput and quality

• Enhance safety: Detecting danger and preventing accidents

• Simplify usability: Making the “user interface” disappear

• Fuel innovation: Enabling us to do things that were impossible

The Highest Bandwidth Input Channel

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Computer vision: systems that extract meaning from visual inputs.

Computer vision has been an

active research field for decades,

with limited commercial applications.

Embedded vision: the practical, widely

deployable evolution of computer vision

• Applications: industrial, automotive,

medical, defense, retail, gaming,

consumer electronics, security, education, …

• Embedded systems, mobile devices, PCs and the cloud

Computer Vision Embedded Vision

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The proliferation of embedded vision is enabled by:

• Hardware: processors, sensors, etc.

• Software: Tools, algorithms, libraries, APIs

Why is Embedded Vision Proliferating Now?

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0

5000

10000

15000

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1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012

MM

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s/s

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Year

DSP Performance: High-end, Single-core DSPs from TI

Source: BDTI Analysis

10 GMACs/

second

Enabling Embedded Vision:

Processor Performance

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What Does Embedded Vision Enable?

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Innovating with Embedded Vision:

Myris Iris-based Identification Device

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtKmcWe4tJs

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• Infinitely varying inputs in many applications…

• Uncontrolled conditions: lighting,

orientation, motion, occlusion

• Lead to ambiguity…

• Leads to the need for complex,

multi-layered algorithms…

• Leads to high computation requirements…

• Which, combined with cost, size, and power consumption constraints,

creates design challenges…

• Hence, many vision applications require parallel or specialized

processors

• And, most product creators lack experience with embedded vision

What Makes Embedded Vision Hard?

www.selectspecs.com

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The Embedded Vision Alliance (www.Embedded-Vision.com) is a

partnership of leading embedded vision technology

and services suppliers

Mission: Inspire and empower product creators to incorporate

visual intelligence into their products

The Alliance provides low-cost, high-quality technical

educational resources for engineers

• The Alliance website offers in-depth tutorial articles,

video “chalk talks,” code examples, tools and discussion

forums

• The Embedded Vision Insights newsletter delivers news,

Alliance updates and new resources

• Embedded Vision Summit conferences provide

classroom and hands-on learning, exciting demos

and keynotes, and unique networking opportunities

Empowering Product Creators to

Harness Embedded Vision

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Alliance Member Companies

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• Alliance Member companies position themselves as

leaders in front of thousands of product creators

who visit the Alliance web site each month

• Embedded Vision Summit conferences introduce

Member companies and their products to hundreds

of prospective customers

• Member companies meet quarterly to develop

business partnerships and gain insights into

embedded vision markets and technology trends

• We secure frequent press coverage on embedded

vision topics, gaining exposure for our members as

thought leaders

Vision Technology and Service Suppliers:

Join the Alliance

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Embedded Vision Summit Lead Sponsors