Learn about the importance of labeled datasets in computer vision and the concept of synthetic data generation. Explore the career journey of Chris Andrews from Rendered AI, specializing in synthetic computer vision data. Discover the use of physics-based synthetic data generation and the trend of reality capture and digital twins. Dive into the challenges of training AI systems and the future landscape of synthetic data in computer vision.
Synthetic data provides large, labeled data sets of realistic images for training computer vision algorithms in geo AI.
Rendered AI specializes in generating custom synthetic data with physics-based simulations.
Advancements in generative AI, like GANs, hold promise for future synthetic data generation in computer vision.
Deep dives
The importance of synthetic data for computer vision algorithms
Synthetic data plays a crucial role in training computer vision algorithms by providing large, labeled data sets of realistic images. This is especially valuable in geo AI, where a diverse range of data is needed. Synthetic data sets, also known as fake data, can be automatically generated based on specific sensor specifications, allowing for customized training. Rendered AI is a company that specializes in generating tailored synthetic data for computer vision applications. They use classical simulation techniques to create physics-based synthetic data that emulates real-world scenarios. While generative AI methods like GANs are not widely used yet, they hold promise for future advancements in synthetic data generation. Overall, synthetic data fills the gap for industries that need more data for algorithm training and allows for greater control and diversity in training data.
Introducing Chris Andrews from rendered AI
Chris Andrews, COO and Head of Product at rendered AI, has a diverse background in geology, programming, and GIS. His career has spanned working at startups, larger companies like Bentley Systems and Esri, and now rendered AI. With a passion for working at the intersection of data investigation, analysis, and visualization, Chris brings a wealth of experience to the field of synthetic data generation. His expertise lies in customizing and extending GIS for analytical purposes. He joined rendered AI to have a more direct influence on the development of a small company in the emerging technology domain of synthetic computer vision imagery for AI training.
The process of generating synthetic data with rendered AI
Rendered AI offers a platform as a service for generating synthetic computer vision data. The process involves containerizing synthetic data channels with simulation capabilities and access to 3D and 2D content. Customers can set parameters for simulations, such as sensor specifications, scene assembly, and additional variations like fog effects or lens distortion. This containerized simulation package can be deployed on rendered AI's platform, where computer vision engineers can configure and execute simulation jobs to generate large amounts of synthetic data. The data sets include realistic images of objects, annotations, and even pixel image masks for precise training. Rendered AI continuously works to improve the realism and comparability of synthetic data to real data for optimal algorithm training.
Applications and impact of synthetic data
Synthetic data has a wide range of applications and real-world impact. It is used in fields like defense, agriculture, medical diagnostics, and even robot vacuum manufacturing. By generating tailored synthetic data, specific objectives can be achieved, such as detecting diverse patterns of damage in trains, detecting rare objects in military and defense settings, and improving precision in recognizing defects or counting objects in manufacturing. Synthetic data can enhance algorithm training and validation, allowing businesses to jumpstart computer vision projects, fine-tune existing models, and explore different scenarios for algorithm failure predictions. It provides a cost-effective and efficient alternative to relying solely on real sensor data.
The future of synthetic data
In the next five years, the synthetic data landscape will see advancements in generative AI, enabling more sophisticated and diverse synthetic data generation. While classical simulation techniques are currently dominant, there is potential for generative AI, like GANs, to play a larger role in synthetic data creation. This could allow for the generation of whole image chips based on text instructions and expanded simulation capabilities. Open standards and collaboration among companies are driving innovation in reality capture, game technology, rendering, and 3D modeling, which will further enhance the synthetic data generation process. The market for synthetic data is expected to grow as more companies recognize its value in training computer vision algorithms and addressing data scarcity challenges.
Computer vision is everywhere! But teaching an algorithm to identify objects requires a lot of data and this is definitely the case when we think about GeoAI
But it is not enough to have a lot of data we also need data that is labeled
If we are looking for cars in images we need a lot of images of cars and we need to know which pixels are the car!
Of course, I am oversimplifying but I hope you get the idea,
Now imagine that you can automatically generate a large labeled data set of realistic images of cars based on the specifications of a specific sensor.
These data sets are often referred to as synthetic data or fake data and to help us understand more about this I have invited Chris Andrews from Rendered AI on the podcast.
Here are a few previous episodes you might find interesting
In this episode, the discussion is aimed at an increased understanding of the differences between computer vision and the AI that is used in the Earth Observation world.